Could the Interamerican Human Rights System have Prevented the Existence of False Victims in the Mapiripan Case?

Abstract

Although the Inter-American system on Human Rights, enjoy a fair deal of legitimacy among its members and the international community, the Inter-American Commission and Court on Human Rights have experienced certain criticism. Mostly, member States have hinted on the fact that the Court has a strong reticence in deploying fact-finding missions even when dealing with sensitive cases that require a high level of fact analysis. On the other hand, the Commission has been placed under the inquisitor eye and has lost credibility amongst States. The above critiques have recently become stronger with the scandal of the false victims in Mapiripán. Accordingly, it has been argued that the existence of false victims responds partly to a lack of conscious assessment by the Commission and the Court. Several declarations of the Colombian government have hinted on this aspect and consequently Colombia has requested the Court to revise its judgment. Despite the fact that the Court has never agreed to revise its judgments, the impact that this case has on the credibility of the system has compelled the Court to do so. Thus, the main objective of this article is to analyze if the existence of false victims could have been prevented if both organs would have engaged more actively in fact-finding activities.