The Inter-American Court of Human Rights: The Ambassador of Universalism 65 wives in polygamous communities, 23 the rights of the child include the concepts of personal development and “ life projects”, 24 and so on. Based on these categories, the Court interprets the Inter-American law by following the lines of the sub-groups’ characteristics, identifying, for example, the interests, vulnerabilities and rights of street children, the particular history or culture of indigenous tribes, the rights of detained women25 and so on. The wheel of Inter-American human rights law is composed of many spokes corresponding to specific needs.

B. The criminalization of Inter-American law

The Inter-American Court is inclined to “ criminalize” Inter-American law. This is revealed not only by the Court’s frequent use of concepts of international criminal law, such as those that can be found in the international criminal tribunals’ jurisprudence, 26 but also by the “ criminal tone” of the Inter-American procedure itself. According to the Convention and the Court''s jurisprudence, the State is held responsible for violations committed either by its agents or by private actors wherever it can be shown that the State “ lacked diligence in its preventative role of the violation or in the handling of such violation”. 27 Having had to deal primarily with grave and systematic human rights violations concerning forced disappearances, acts of torture, and summary executions, the Court has highlighted the States’ duty to investigate and sanction the State being responsible for identifying the perpetrators of such crimes and for criminally punishing them. The Court controls the effectiveness of the investigations and supervises the States’ criminal procedure, placing criminal law in a key position in its judgments. Above all, the Court has established a duty to put an end to impunity. 28 The Court binds human rights to criminal law and forces the State

(Dominican Republic) (2005), Inter-Am. Ct. H. R. (Ser. C) No. 130, Annual Report of the Inter-American Court of Human Rights : 2005, at 35 online : Inter-Am. Ct. H. R. < http :// www. corteidh. or. cr/ docs/ informes/ Inf% 20anua% 202005% 20diag% 20ingles. indd. pdf>. See also the comments made by A. A. Cançado Trindade, Separate opinion annexed to Indigenous Yakye Axa Community Case.

23Aloeboetoe et al. Case (Suriname) (1991) Inter-Am. Ct. H. R. (Ser. C) No. 11, at para. 59, Annual Report of the Inter-American Court of Human Rights : 1991, OEA/ Ser. L/ III. 25/ doc. 7 (1992) [ Aloeboetoe et al. Case].

24“ Street Children” (Villagrán-Morales et al.) Case (Guatemala) (1999), Inter-Am. Ct. H. R. (Ser. C) No. 63, at para. 59, 79, Annual Report of the Inter-American Court of Human Rights : 1999,

OEA/ Ser. L/ V/ III. 47/ doc. 6 (2000) 31 [ Street Children Case No. 63].

25Miguel Castro-Castro Prison Case (Peru) (2006), Inter-Am. Ct. H. R. (Ser. C) No. 160, at para. 313,

Annual Report of the Inter-American Court of Human Rights : 2006, at 18 online : Inter-Am. Ct. H. R. < http :// www. corteidh. or. cr/ docs/ informes/ 20063. pdf> [ Miguel Castro-Castro Prison Case].

26To mention only one example, in the Miguel Castro-Castro Prison Case, ibid. at para. 313, the Inter-American Court uses the definition of “ rape” as determined by international criminal tribunal jurisprudence to interpret the American Convention and to qualify sexual violence experienced by detainees’ wives at the hands of their wardens.

27Velásquez-Rodriguez Case (Honduras) (1988), Inter-Am. Ct. H. R. (Ser. C) No. 4, at para. 170, Annual Report of the Inter-American Court of Human Rights : 1988, OEA/ Ser. L/ V/ III. 19/ doc. 13 (1988) 35 [ Velásquez-Rodríguez Case].

28On the issue of the duty to fight impunity, see W. A. Schabas, “ Sentencing by International Tribunals : A Human Rights Approach” (1997) 7 Duke J. Comp. & Int''l L. 461. See also “ White Van” Case (Paniagua-Morales et al.) (Guatemala) (1998), Inter-Am. Ct. H. R. (Ser. C) No. 37, at para. 173,