IACHR
Press Release
IACHR Publishes Report 334/20 on the Marcelo Ramón Aguilera Aguilar Case, Concerning Honduras
December 8, 2020
Friendly Settlement Report No. 334/20on Case 12.972
IACHR Press Office
[email protected]
Washington, D.C. - The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) announced its decision to approve the friendly settlement agreement relating to case 12.972, Marcelo Ramón Aguilera Aguila, which was signed on August 12, 2020, by the state of Honduras, the victims, and their representatives.
On August 16, 2006, the IACHR received a petition presented by Marcelo Ramón Aguilera Aguilar against the State of Honduras, in which he alleged that the State was internationally responsible for violating his rights to judicial guarantees and protection as a result of his dismissal from the position of Director General of Special Investigation Services at the Ministry of Public Works, Transportation, and Housing, on August 9, 2001, on the grounds of Decree 58-2001, without following the procedure ordered by the Organic Law of the Judiciary.
In the friendly settlement agreement signed by the parties on August 12, 2020, the Honduran State committed to providing financial compensation for the victim, Marcelo Ramón Aguilera Aguilar. In this regard, the IACHR reported in its Report on Friendly Settlement 334/20 that the State had complied with the commitment it had made and sent the corresponding means of verification. It also verified that the victim was satisfied that the agreement had been complied with. The IACHR therefore considered that this aspect of the agreement had been fully complied with and declared this to be the case.
It 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. Likewise, the IACHR commended both parties for their willingness to move toward settling this issue through nonadversarial means and welcomed the fact that the agreement had 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. It also invited the State of Honduras to continue to use the friendly settlement mechanism in other cases that derive from the effects of Decree 58-2001, and other individual cases that are currently being processed through the petition and case system and concern the country.
The Friendly Settlement Report No. 334/20 on Case 12.972 is available here.
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. 294/20