presumed forced disappearance of Mr. Jorge Julio López
Geneva, 3 October 2006. The International Secretariat of the World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT) manifests its serious preoccupation that up to the time of issuing this press release, it has received no new information concerning the whereabouts or the personal integrity of Mr. Jorge Julio López, a former disappeared-detainee and key witness in the trial of Mr. Miguel Osvaldo Etchecolatz, a former policeman and former Director General of the Investigations of the Bonaerense (Investigaciones de la Bonaerense), for crimes against humanity committed during Argentina’s last military government (1976-1983).
The OMCT recalls that on 18 September 2006, Mr. Jorge Julio López had to leave his house, situated in the Los Hornos neighbourhood of the city of La Plata, in order to witness the arguments of the lawsuit against Mr. Miguel Osvaldo Etchecolatz in the building of the Municipality of La Plata. That day, he did not present himself to this scheduled court appearance. Since then, even though his family and relatives have filed reports and carried out the necessary rigorous search, all these careful efforts have been unsuccessful, as there is no information on his whereabouts or his personal integrity (see OMCT Urgent Appeal ARG 260906).
Background of the situation:
In the last few years, the Argentine government has been developing a policy against impunity, repealing the laws that protected some of the perpetrators of grave human rights violations committed during the dictatorship.
If this policy favours and grants justice to victims, who have been waiting 20 years, it provokes reactions by certain authors of violations, who thought they were protected from any punishment or judgement. Indeed, according to reliable sources, a few of the suspected perpetrators of grave human rights violations committed during the dictatorship, or people connected with them, have recently threatened judges and witnesses.
In light of this context, the disappearance of Mr. Jorge Julio López shortly after his testimony against the former policeman Mr. Miguel Osvaldo Etchecolatz for acts of torture committed against him is feared to be a case of enforced disappearance carried out by former supporters of the last Argentine military dictatorship.
In accordance with permanent jurisprudence, the OMCT considers that although the State is not directly involved in an action done by its agents, it nonetheless assumes a responsibility, given its duty to protect. Given this obligation and in this context, liable criminal acts committed by individuals without an official position can and must be qualified as human rights violations. The OMCT recalls that in cases like that of Mr. Velásquez Rodríguez (29 July 1988) and Mr. Godínez Cruz (29 July 1989), the Inter-American Court of Human Rights argued that State responsibility is engaged not only when the authors of the violation(s) are State agents, but also by all violations committed by individual persons when the State has an obligation of due diligence.
In this case, taking into account the fact that the current government plays a key role in the fight against impunity and in granting justice to victims, it is clear that it is not actively involved in the disappearance of Mr. Jorge Julio López. However, the Argentine State has the obligation to protect its citizens against all enforced disappearances, especially in cases of vulnerable victims like the case at hand of Mr. Jorge Julio López, and of the other victims who call for justice, insofar as they are targets of threats and pressure.
The OMCT calls for all appropriate and necessary measures to be taken to: find Mr. Jorge Julio López and to guarantee his security and physical and psychological integrity; investigate all the events related to threats against witnesses and judges; take the necessary measures to adequately protect the witnesses and judges in charge of cases of human rights violations committed during the last Argentine dictatorship; ensure that nor the victims, witnesses or judges in charge of these cases be victims of attacks against their rights; and, ensure that justice will be done according to the rule of law that has been restored in the country.
The OCMT also requests that international mechanisms, particularly the United Nations Human Rights Special Procedures, take the necessary measures and act in such a way as to find and protect Mr. Jorge Julio López, insofar as to use these Special Procedures, it is not necessary to exhaust all the appeals at the national level, nor to acquire permission from the concerned person or his family. This means that these Special Procedures can and must act when they receive reports submitted by any serious and reliable organisation.
Contact OMCT: Telephone: + 41.22.809.49.39. Fax: +41.22.809.49.29. E-mail: omct@omct.org