Villagrán-Morales, et al. (“Street Children”) v. Guatemala
Country: GuatemalaYear: 1999
Court: Inter-American Court of Human Rights
Citation: Merits, Judgment, Inter-Am. Ct. H.R. (ser. C) No. 63 (Nov. 19, 1999); Inter Joint Concurring Opinion of Judges A.A. Cancado Trinidade & A. Abreu-Burelli, Inter-Am. Ct. H.R. (ser. C) No. 63 (Nov. 19, 1999).
Health Topics: Child and adolescent health, Poverty, Violence
Human Rights: Freedom from torture and cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment, Right to bodily integrity, Right to due process/fair trial, Right to liberty and security of person, Right to life
Five youths, three of whom were minors, were “street children” abducted, tortured, and killed by State security agents. The children lived in a sector of the city where violence and crime rate were high and where State officials commit illegal acts against “street children,” including “threats, arrests, cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment and homicides as …Read more
Martín de Mejía, Raquel v. Perú
Country: PeruYear: 1996
Court: Inter-American Commission on Human Rights
Citation: Martín de Mejía v. Perú, Case 10.970, Report No. 5/96, Inter-Am.C.H.R., OEA/Ser.L/V/II.91 Doc. 7 at 157 (1996).
Health Topics: Mental health, Sexual and reproductive health
Human Rights: Freedom from torture and cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment, Right to due process/fair trial, Right to life, Right to privacy
A group of armed persons with their faces covered by masks violently entered the home of the Mejías, abducted Mr. Mejías and later returned to the house, apparently to ask Mrs. Mejías for her husband’s identity documents. While she looked for them, one of the men followed her into the room and told her that …Read more
Tshishimbi v. Zaire
Country: Congo, DRCYear: 1996
Court: Human Rights Committee
Citation: Communication No 542/1993
Human Rights: Freedom from torture and cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment, Right to liberty and security of person
Tshishimbi (T) had been a military adviser and bodyguard for the prime minister in a government politically opposed to the president. Members of the government and their advisors had been subjected to constant surveillance, harassment and bullying from military and paramilitary groups loyal to the president. T was abducted in March 1993, although the exact …Read more
Mónaco de Gallicchio v. Argentina
Country: ArgentinaYear: 1995
Court: Human Rights Committee
Citation: Mónaco de Gallicchio v. Arg., U.N. H.R. Comm., U.N. Doc. CCPR/C/53/D/400/1990 (Apr. 27, 1995).
Health Topics: Child and adolescent health, Health information, Mental health
Human Rights: Right to due process/fair trial, Right to family life, Right to privacy
Grandmother of a child orphaned at the hands of the military government of Argentina who was then falsely adopted filed claims against the government citing ICCPR Articles 7 (freedom from torture, including psychological), 23 (family) and 24 (child protections) rights violations. Ximena Vicario’s parents disappeared when she was 9 months old and she was cared …Read more
El-Megreisi v. Libyan Arab Jamahiriya
Country: LibyaYear: 1994
Court: United Nations Human Rights Committee
Citation: Communication No. 440/1990
Health Topics: Prisons
Human Rights: Freedom from torture and cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment, Right to liberty and security of person
El-Megreisi (E) alleged that his family home was searched at dawn by the security police and that his brother, having been asked to leave with them to assist in an unspecified security matter, never returned. He also alleged that after over three years had elapsed, his brother’s wife was allowed to visit him in a …Read more
Velasquez Rodriguez v. Honduras
Country: HondurasYear: 1988
Court: Inter-American Court of Human Rights
Citation: Series C No. 4, July 29 1989
Health Topics: Prisons, Violence
Human Rights: Freedom from torture and cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment, Right to bodily integrity, Right to due process/fair trial, Right to liberty and security of person, Right to life
This case considered the practice of “forced disappearances” by the Government of Honduras, which included secret surveillance, kidnapping and executions. The Court found as proved that “[d]uring the period 1981 to 1984, 100 to 150 persons disappeared in the Republic of Honduras, and many were never heard from again.” It recognized patterns in these disappearances …Read more
Velasquez Rodriguez v. Honduras
Country: HondurasYear: 1986
Court: Inter-American Commission on Human Rights
Citation: Resolution No. 22/86, Case 7920, April 18, 1986, OEA/Ser.L/V/II.68 Doc. 8 rev. 1, 26 September 1986
Health Topics: Prisons
Human Rights: Right to due process/fair trial, Right to liberty and security of person, Right to life
Angel Manfredo Velasquez Rodriguez (“AMVR”), a UNAH student, was arrested without warrant in Tegucigalpa on September 12, 1981. Eyewitnesses saw members of the National Investigation Directorate and G-2 (Intelligence) of the Armed Forces of Honduras apprehend and take AMVR to an unknown location. On September 9, 1981, the Government of Honduras recognized the jurisdiction of …Read more