El Respeto a los Derechos fundamentales reconocidos en Tratados Internacionales: Los niños de la calle

A decision dated May 26th, 2001 from the Inter-American Human Rights Court condemned Guatemal to make reparation for damages caused at both the pecuniary and the non-pecuniary level to a group of children by policemen and by the State itself, at violating their rights through severe harsh treatments and loss of their lives. This decision is particularly important since Chile has recently been condemned in a human rights case for a denial of justice. This decision also compels us to solve the question of how it is possible to make the respect of such rights come true, since they are recognized in international treaties, and how to comply with International Law. The following commentary focuses on the "street children" topic from three points of view: from the person as a subject of the International Law; from the principle of full restitution of the damages; and, finally, from the difference between a right and a guarantee as a system of protection that allows the enforcement of the duty of Guatemala to protect fundamental rights, which are guaranteed by international treaties. This is a critical topic if we consider that this State has suscribed the Convention, whose article 2 established that all States Parties undertake "to adopt, in accordance with their constitutional processes and the provisions of the Convention, such legislative or other measures as may be necessary to give effect to those rights and freedoms"