## Facts

- In June 1990, five unhoused minors known as “street children” were killed in Guatemala City: Henry Giovanni Contreras, Federico Clemente Figueroa Túnchez, Julio Roberto Caal Sandoval, Jovito Josué Juárez Cifuentes, and Anstraum Aman Villagrán Morales.
- Four of the youths (Contreras, Figueroa Túnchez, Caal Sandoval, and Juárez Cifuentes) were abducted, unlawfully detained, and later found dead; evidence indicated severe beatings and torture before death.
- Villagrán Morales was shot and killed in the street.
- The case arose in a context of repeated abuse against street children in Guatemala, including threats, arbitrary arrests, ill-treatment, and killings attributed to state security forces, particularly the Guatemalan National Police Force.
- In September 1994, the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights received a petition alleging Guatemala’s responsibility for the abduction, torture, and murder of the five youths and for failures to investigate and provide remedies.
- During proceedings, the Court heard testimony from, among others, two mothers of the victims; a director of a support program for unhoused minors who described recurring violence by police and physical signs of torture; a friend who stated she witnessed police abduct some of the youths and described police threats against street children; and a kiosk worker who witnessed one of the killings and identified a police officer as a participant.
- Additional testimony from police investigators and officers implicated members of the National Police in the crimes.
- Domestic criminal proceedings did not result in effective accountability, and the families lacked effective access to truth, justice, and protection.

## Issues

1. Whether Guatemala violated the American Convention on Human Rights by abducting, unlawfully detaining, torturing, and killing the five youths, engaging Articles 4 (life), 5 (humane treatment), and 7 (personal liberty), in relation to Article 1(1) (obligation to respect and ensure).
2. Whether Guatemala violated Articles 8 (judicial guarantees) and 25 (judicial protection), in relation to Article 1(1), by failing to conduct an effective investigation and prosecution and by denying the victims’ families effective recourse.
3. Whether Guatemala violated Article 19 (rights of the child), in relation to Article 1(1), by failing to provide heightened protection owed to children in street situations.
4. Whether Guatemala breached Articles 1, 6, and 8 of the Inter-American Convention to Prevent and Punish Torture by failing to prevent, investigate, and punish torture attributed to state agents.

## Decision

- The Court held Guatemala internationally responsible for violating **Article 4 (right to life)**, in relation to **Article 1(1)**, with respect to **all five victims**, due to their extrajudicial executions.
- The Court held Guatemala responsible for violating **Article 7 (personal liberty)**, in relation to **Article 1(1)**, with respect to **Contreras, Figueroa Túnchez, Caal Sandoval, and Juárez Cifuentes**, based on their abduction and unlawful detention.
- The Court held Guatemala responsible for violating **Article 5(1) and 5(2) (humane treatment)**, in relation to **Article 1(1)**, with respect to **Contreras, Figueroa Túnchez, Caal Sandoval, and Juárez Cifuentes**, based on the physical and psychological abuse inflicted prior to death.
- The Court found a violation of **Article 19 (rights of the child)**, in relation to **Article 1(1)**, because Guatemala failed to provide the special protection owed to the child victims, particularly given their extreme vulnerability as street children.
- The Court found violations of **Articles 8 and 25**, in relation to **Article 1(1)**, due to failures to investigate effectively, prosecute, and punish those responsible, resulting in impunity and denying the families effective judicial guarantees and protection.
- The Court found that Guatemala violated the **Inter-American Convention to Prevent and Punish Torture (Articles 1, 6, and 8)** due to torture attributable to state agents and inadequate investigation and punishment.
- The Court also recognized that the lack of effective clarification and response by state authorities caused suffering to close family members that could amount to inhuman treatment under **Article 5**.

## Legal Principles

- The duty under **Article 1(1)** requires a state not only to refrain from violating rights through its agents, but also to take reasonable steps to prevent violations when authorities know or should know of a real risk to persons under their jurisdiction.
- The **right to life (Article 4)** is foundational and must not be read narrowly; it includes protection against arbitrary killing and requires state action to secure conditions that allow a dignified existence, especially for persons in extreme vulnerability.
- **Incommunicado detention and severe mistreatment** can violate **Article 5**, given the physical harm and intense moral and psychological suffering such practices cause.
- **Article 19 (rights of the child)** imposes heightened duties of protection for children; the content of those duties may be informed by other international child-rights standards, including the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child.
- **Articles 8 and 25** require remedies that work in practice: states must conduct serious, prompt, impartial, and effective investigations capable of identifying perpetrators and enabling punishment; prolonged impunity engages international responsibility.
- Under the **Inter-American Torture Convention**, when torture is alleged and indicia exist, the state must investigate, prosecute, and punish; failure to do so breaches treaty duties even apart from direct participation by agents.
- Close relatives of victims may themselves be treated as victims of **Article 5** when state conduct after the events—such as ineffective investigations and lack of truthful information—causes severe anguish and distress.

## Conclusion

In its November 19, 1999 merits judgment, the Inter-American Court of Human Rights held Guatemala responsible for the abduction, unlawful detention, torture, and killing of five street children and for failing to provide heightened protection to children, as well as failing to investigate, prosecute, and provide effective judicial protection to the victims’ families, also finding breaches of regional anti-torture obligations.


Case of the “Street Children” (Villagran-Morales et al.) v. Guatemala, Inter-Am. Ct. of H.R., Judgment of November 19, 1999 (Merits)