María Eugenia Morales Aceña de Sierra (Case 11.625), Status of Compliance
Inter-American Commission on Human Rights
Annual Report, Chapter 3, Section D (2009)

- Written by Whitney Waldenberg, JD
Facts
[Ed.’s note: This excerpt in the casebook is not a case. It is a report on Guatemala’s compliance with certain directives set forth in a companion case, decided eight years earlier: María Eugenia Morales Aceña de Sierra v. Guatemala, Case No. 11.625, Report No. 4/01, OEA/Ser. L/V/II.98 (2001).] In a previous case before the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (the commission), this commission concluded that Guatemala (defendant) was responsible for violating the rights of María Eugenia Morales Aceña de Sierra (plaintiff) to equal protection, respect for her family life, and respect for her private life. The commission ordered that the Guatemalan Civil Code be revised to conform with the requirements of equal rights established in the American Convention on Human Rights and the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women. The commission also ordered that Guatemala compensate Morales Aceña de Sierra for violation of her rights. The purpose of this report is to evaluate Guatemala’s compliance with the commission’s directives. Morales Aceña de Sierra waived her right to compensation in exchange for an agreement by Guatemala to provide state support for a women’s-rights foundation and to publish 1,000 copies of the textbook Word Vision of the Mayas and Women: Contributions from the Perspective of Ajq’ij. However, Guatemala had still not repealed or revised Article 317 of the Guatemalan Civil Code, which had been identified as discriminatory and violative of women’s rights.
Rule of Law
Issue
Holding and Reasoning (Per curiam)
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