83
necessity and proportionality, after first attempting to use other dissuasive methods. 282
Repression cannot be the only tool used by the authorities to preserve order. Moreover,
“[i]n all circumstances, the use of force and of firearms, or any other means used to
counteract violence or emergencies, shall be subject to the supervision of the competent
authority.” 283 And, in the event that people are killed or injured in the course of such
actions, the State is obliged, under Articles 8 and 25 of the American Convention, to carry
out, ex officio, serious, exhaustive, impartial, and prompt investigations to uncover the
causes, identify those responsible, and impose the corresponding legal punishments. 284
G.
Right of persons deprived of their liberty to lodge judicial remedies and
complaints to the Administration
241.
Deprivation of freedom frequently affects, as a necessary result, the
enjoyment of other human rights in addition to the right to personal liberty. Although such
restrictions must be subject to strict limitations, the rights to privacy and family intimacy
may, for instance, be restricted. However, other rights –such as the right to life, to humane
treatment, and to due process– cannot be restricted on account of internment, and any
restriction of those rights is prohibited by international human rights law. 285 Therefore,
persons deprived of liberty maintain and have the right to exercise their fundamental rights
recognized under domestic and international law, regardless of their legal situation or the
stage of the proceedings against them, and in particular, they maintain the right to humane
treatment and due respect for their dignity as human beings. 286
242.
Accordingly, the IACHR reiterates that the State acts as a guarantor vis‐à‐
vis of the persons in its custody and therefore has a special duty to guarantee their
fundamental rights and to ensure that the conditions of their detention are consistent with
the dignity inherent to all human beings. The guaranteeing of those conditions by the State
means that it must establish the judicial remedies to ensure that the jurisdictional organs
effectively protect such rights. Furthermore, alongside judicial remedies, the State must
create other mechanisms and channels of communication to enable inmates to inform the
prison administration of their petitions, claims, and complaints regarding matters relating
to the conditions under which they are detained and life in prison, which by their very
nature are not competence of the judiciary.
282
See in this regard, Basic Principles on the Use of Force and Firearms by Law Enforcement Officials
(Principles 3 and 4).
283
IACHR, Principles and Best Practices on the Protection of Persons Deprived of Liberty in the Americas,
Principle XXIII (2). See also, the Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners (Rule 54.1); and the Basic
Principles on the Use of Force and Firearms by Law Enforcement Officials (Principles 6‐7 and 22).
284
IACHR, Principles and Best Practices on the Protection of Persons Deprived of Liberty in the Americas,
(Principle XXIII.3).
285
IACHR, Democracy and Human Rights in Venezuela, Ch. VI, para. 851.
286
IACHR, Access to Justice and Social Inclusion: The Road Towards Strengthening Democracy in Bolivia,
Ch. III, para. 176.
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