IACHR
Press Release
IACHR Announces the Publication of Report No. 212/20 on Case 12.981, Adán Guillermo López
Lone and Others, Concerning Honduras
September 24, 2020
Washington, D.C. - The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights
(IACHR) announced its decision to approve the friendly settlement of
Case 12.891, Adán Guillermo López Lone and others, signed on June
19, 2019, between the state of Honduras and Ms. Bertha Oliva de
Nativí, Coordinator of the Committee of Relatives of the Disappeared
in Honduras (COFADEH), the petitioner organization representing the
victims.
On April 27, 2006, the IACHR received a petition presented by the
Committee of Relatives of the Disappeared in Honduras, which alleged that
the state of Honduras was internationally responsible for events relating to
the raid on the home of Mr. Rafael Rivera Torres and the arbitrary detention
and subsequent torture and cruel, inhumane, degrading treatment suffered by
victims Adán Guillermo López Lone, Edwin Dagoberto López Lone, Gilda María
Rivera Sierra, Ana Suyapa Rivera Sierra, Marlén Irasema Jiménez Puerto, and
Milton Danilo Jiménez Puerto, and the sexual violence suffered by Gilda
María Rivera Sierra and Marlene Irasema Jiménez Puerto, in acts carried out
by state agents in 1982.
On November 13, 2012, the IACHR issued Admissibility Report No. 114/12,
in which it declared itself competent to examine the alleged violation of
the rights enshrined in articles 5 (humane treatment), 7 (personal liberty),
8 (fair trial), 11 (protection of honor and dignity), 13 (freedom of thought
and expression), 16 (freedom of association), and 25 (judicial protection),
in accordance with article 1(1) of the American Convention.
On June 19, 2017, the state of Honduras signed a friendly settlement
agreement with Ms. Bertha Oliva de Nativí, representing the victims, in
which the state committed to complying with measures of reparation in favor
of the victims for the harm caused and to create the necessary conditions
for them to return to their lives and live them fully, by implementing the
following actions:
1. Continue implementing the human rights-related reforms and training
programs for members of the National Police Force and Armed Forces and
establish internal mechanisms to protect and defend the human rights of the
Honduran population;
2. Hold a public ceremony to acknowledge the state’s responsibility and
apologize to the victims;
3. Continue investigating, prosecuting, and sanctioning those responsible
for the events in question;
4. Implement the right to truth of the victims, their relatives, society as
a whole, and collective memory by transferring sufficient money to the
Committee of Relatives of the Disappeared in Honduras to purchase the farm
that belonged to Colonel Amilcar Zelaya, where the events in question took
place, such that a site of memory can be established there;
5. Grant economic compensation to remedy the material and moral damage that
were caused.
In response, in approval report no. 212/20, the IACHR declared that both
parties to the agreement had complied fully with the requirements regarding
the right to the truth and economic compensation. The IACHR decided to
continue following up on the aspect relating to investigating, prosecuting,
and sanctioning those responsible. Consequently, the IACHR deemed that the
agreement had been partially fulfilled at the time of publication.
The IACHR monitored the development of this friendly settlement closely
and praised the two parties for the efforts they made during the
negotiations toward reaching a friendly settlement agreement that would be
compatible with the objectives of the Inter-American Convention on Human
Rights. The IACHR commended both parties for their willingness to move
toward settling this issue through nonadversarial means. It will continue to
monitor implementation of the remaining measures until they have been fully
complied with.
The IACHR also congratulated the state of Honduras for its efforts to
develop public policy on friendly settlements and alternative forms of
dispute resolution.
A principal, autonomous body of the Organization of American States (OAS), the IACHR derives its mandate from the OAS Charter and the American Convention on Human Rights. The Inter-American Commission has a mandate to promote respect for and to defend human rights in the region and acts as a consultative body to the OAS in this area. The Commission is composed of seven independent members who are elected in an individual capacity by the OAS General Assembly and who do not represent their countries of origin or residence.
No. 230/20
Washington, D.C. - The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) announced its decision to approve the friendly settlement of Case 12.891, Adán Guillermo López Lone and others, signed on June 19, 2019, between the state of Honduras and Ms. Bertha Oliva de Nativí, Coordinator of the Committee of Relatives of the Disappeared in Honduras (COFADEH), the petitioner organization representing the victims.
On April 27, 2006, the IACHR received a petition presented by the Committee of Relatives of the Disappeared in Honduras, which alleged that the state of Honduras was internationally responsible for events relating to the raid on the home of Mr. Rafael Rivera Torres and the arbitrary detention and subsequent torture and cruel, inhumane, degrading treatment suffered by victims Adán Guillermo López Lone, Edwin Dagoberto López Lone, Gilda María Rivera Sierra, Ana Suyapa Rivera Sierra, Marlén Irasema Jiménez Puerto, and Milton Danilo Jiménez Puerto, and the sexual violence suffered by Gilda María Rivera Sierra and Marlene Irasema Jiménez Puerto, in acts carried out by state agents in 1982.
On November 13, 2012, the IACHR issued Admissibility Report No. 114/12, in which it declared itself competent to examine the alleged violation of the rights enshrined in articles 5 (humane treatment), 7 (personal liberty), 8 (fair trial), 11 (protection of honor and dignity), 13 (freedom of thought and expression), 16 (freedom of association), and 25 (judicial protection), in accordance with article 1(1) of the American Convention.
On June 19, 2017, the state of Honduras signed a friendly settlement agreement with Ms. Bertha Oliva de Nativí, representing the victims, in which the state committed to complying with measures of reparation in favor of the victims for the harm caused and to create the necessary conditions for them to return to their lives and live them fully, by implementing the following actions:
1. Continue implementing the human rights-related reforms and training
programs for members of the National Police Force and Armed Forces and
establish internal mechanisms to protect and defend the human rights of the
Honduran population;
2. Hold a public ceremony to acknowledge the state’s responsibility and
apologize to the victims;
3. Continue investigating, prosecuting, and sanctioning those responsible
for the events in question;
4. Implement the right to truth of the victims, their relatives, society as
a whole, and collective memory by transferring sufficient money to the
Committee of Relatives of the Disappeared in Honduras to purchase the farm
that belonged to Colonel Amilcar Zelaya, where the events in question took
place, such that a site of memory can be established there;
5. Grant economic compensation to remedy the material and moral damage that
were caused.
In response, in approval report no. 212/20, the IACHR declared that both parties to the agreement had complied fully with the requirements regarding the right to the truth and economic compensation. The IACHR decided to continue following up on the aspect relating to investigating, prosecuting, and sanctioning those responsible. Consequently, the IACHR deemed that the agreement had been partially fulfilled at the time of publication.
The IACHR monitored the development of this friendly settlement closely and praised the two parties for the efforts they made during the negotiations toward reaching a friendly settlement agreement that would be compatible with the objectives of the Inter-American Convention on Human Rights. The IACHR commended both parties for their willingness to move toward settling this issue through nonadversarial means. It will continue to monitor implementation of the remaining measures until they have been fully complied with.
The IACHR also congratulated the state of Honduras for its efforts to develop public policy on friendly settlements and alternative forms of dispute resolution.
A principal, autonomous body of the Organization of American States (OAS), the IACHR derives its mandate from the OAS Charter and the American Convention on Human Rights. The Inter-American Commission has a mandate to promote respect for and to defend human rights in the region and acts as a consultative body to the OAS in this area. The Commission is composed of seven independent members who are elected in an individual capacity by the OAS General Assembly and who do not represent their countries of origin or residence.
No. 230/20