Report No. 108 (2012) IACHR. Petition No. 11.561 (Paraguay)

• Year: 2012
• Petition Number: 11.561
• Report Number: 108
• Alleged Victim: Susana Carolina y Pablo Hernán Bianco
• Respondent State: Paraguay
• Court: Inter-American Comission of Human Rights
• Case Type: Archive

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REPORT No. 108/12

DECISION TO ARCHIVE

CASE No. 11.561

PARAGUAY¹

November 8, 2012

ALLEGED VICTIMS Susana Carolina and Pablo Hernán Bianco

PETITIONERS: Estela B. de Carlotto and Alcira E. Ríos (Grandmothers of Plaza de Mayo)

ALLEGED VIOLATIONS: The petitioner refers to the alleged violation of Articles 3, 17.1, 18, 19, 20, 24, 25, in relation to Articles 1.1 and 2 of the American Convention on Human Rights

INITIATION OF PROCESSING: November 7, 1994

I. POSITION OF THE PETITIONERS

1. On September 19, 1994, the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (hereinafter “the Commission” or the "IACHR") received the complaint filed by Estela B. de Carlotto and Alcira E. Ríos (hereinafter "the petitioners"), on behalf of Susana Carolina and Pablo Hernán Bianco (hereinafter "the alleged victims") against the Republic of Paraguay (hereinafter the "State" or "Paraguay"), arguing violation of the alleged victims' right to juridical personality, the right to protection of the family, the right to a name, the rights of the child, the right to nationality, the right to equal protection of the law, and the right to judicial protection. Specifically, they argue that that State of Paraguay did not comply with the order of the Republic of Argentina for the extradition of Mr. Norberto Atilio Bianco and Ms. Nilda Susana Wherli, for the alleged abduction of Susana Carolina and Pablo Hernán Bianco from their biological parents, nor with the requests made to the judicial authorities to perform DNA tests on them.

2. The petitioners stated that in 1985 Norberto Atilio Bianco and his wife, Nilda Susana Wherli, were accused before Lower Federal Criminal and Correctional Court No. 1 of San Isidro (Juzgado Federal de Primera Instancia en lo Criminal y Correcional No. 1), in the Province of Buenos Aires, Argentina of being the perpetrators of a crime against the minors Susana Carolina and Pablo Hernán Bianco, as there was sufficiently clear evidence of them having committed the crimes of falsifying the legal status of minors and forgery of public deeds during the military dictatorship in Argentina.

3. They pointed out that, in 1986, when said court ordered the immunogenetic analysis of Norberto Atilio Bianco and Nilda Susana Wherli, the alleged offenders fled, taking Susana Carolina and Pablo Hernán Bianco with them. They stated that Norberto Atilio Bianco and Nilda Susana Wherli were found in Paraguay and that, on April 28, 1987, the Judiciary of the Republic of Argentina issued a formal request to the Judicial Authorities in Paraguay to extradite the accused and return Susana Carolina and Pablo Hernán Bianco, in order to ascertain their identity and, if applicable, decide on their custody.

4. They pointed out that the Supreme Court of Paraguay ordered the extradition of Norberto Atilio Bianco and Nilda Susana Wherli on April 30, 1989 and that that decision became final on April 16, 1990. The petitioners alleged that, although the Paraguayan judiciary had ordered the extradition of Norberto Atilio Bianco and Nilda Susana Wherli, the Paraguayan State had neither implemented that order nor returned Susana Carolina and Pablo Hernán Bianco to their biological families, thereby violating Articles 3, 17.1, 18, 19, 20, 24, and 25 in conjunction with the obligations set forth in Article 1.1 of the American Convention on Human Rights (hereinafter "the American Convention").

5. However, the petitioners went on to say that, after lengthy procedures before the Executive Branch of the Paraguayan Government and thanks to intercession by the IACHR, on March 7, 1998, Norberto Atilio Bianco and Nilda Susana Wherli were extradited and placed at the disposal of the judicial authorities of the Argentine Republic. The petitioners reported that on May 15, 2000, the Lower Federal Court for Criminal and Correctional Matters No. 2 (el Juzgado Federal de Primera Instancia en lo Criminal y lo Correccional No. 2) of San Martín, of the Argentine Republic...