IACHR files application before Inter-American Court of Human Rights in case concerning El Salvador involving rape and murder of a young girl

July 23, 2025

Washington, DC—The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) filed on June 6, 2025, an application before the Inter-American Court of Human Rights in Case 13,938, with regard to El Salvador. This case—which was brought to the IACHR's attention in October 1997—concerns the failure to investigate the rape and murder of Katya Natalia Miranda Jiménez and to punish their perpetrators.

The petition reported the sexual violence and murder in 1999 of Miranda Jiménez, aged 9 at the time. The girl was taken out of the tent where she was sleeping with her sister and father during a family trip to Los Blancos Beach. She was later found dead, with various wounds and signs of having been subjected to asphyxiation and sexual violence. Police officers at the site failed to adequately investigate the crime and to preserve the scene. In 2000, a criminal case was brought against the girl's father, grandfather, and two local guards, but that case was later closed for lack of evidence. A second trial in 2011 led to several convictions, but the Salvadoran Supreme Court revoked the ruling in 2014.

In Merits Report 395/22, the IACHR concluded that Miranda Jiménez had been subjected to sexual violence and homicide by asphyxiation. While the IACHR did not find the State of El Salvador guilty of the crime, it noted that El Salvador had an obligation to conduct a timely investigation, with due diligence, into this crime and to punish its perpetrators, in keeping with the American Convention, the Belém do Pará Convention, and the Inter-American Convention to Prevent and Punish Torture.

The IACHR found that the Salvadoran State had failed to act with due diligence to investigate violence against the girl and to take into consideration her age and condition. The IACHR also found that criminal law proceedings in this case had taken unnecessarily long, which had prevented them from reaching adequate results. The IACHR further identified violations of the right to equality, highlighting stereotype-based comments made by various authorities about the victim's mother and the failure to integrate a childhood focus into the relevant investigations.

Finally, the IACHR noted that the inefficiency of the investigation and the discriminatory comments and threats that followed had negatively affected the mother and sister of Miranda Jiménez, who were forced to seek asylum in the United States.

The IACHR concluded that the State was liable for violations of the rights held in Articles 8 (right to a fair trial), 19 (rights of the child), 24 (right to equality before the law), and 25 (right to judicial protection) of the American Convention on Human Rights, relative to Articles 4.1 (right to life), 5.1 (right to personal integrity), and 11 (right to privacy), in keeping with the obligations held in Articles 1 and 2 of the same instrument. The IACHR further concluded that the State was liable for violations of Articles 5 and 22.1 of the American Convention, Article 8 of the Inter-American Convention to Prevent and Punish Torture, and Article 7 of the Belém do Pará Convention, as described in the report.

The IACHR therefore asks the Inter-American Court of Human Rights to demand that the State adopt the following reparation measures:

1. Provide comprehensive reparations—including financial compensation and other measures—for human rights violations
2. Provide physical and mental healthcare for the rehabilitation of the victim's mother and sister
3. Conduct a diligent, effective, and timely criminal investigation and other relevant criminal proceedings, with a gender perspective, to establish what happened and to identify and punish anyone responsible for these events
4. Develop indicators to monitor access to justice for women and girls, with data about judicial practices that end discrimination and take into consideration intersectional factors
5. Evaluate actions, policies, regulations, and other measures concerning violence against women, publicly reporting progress and deficiencies to improve prevention, investigation, and punishment
6. Strengthen the judiciary's institutional capacity with resources and training, to enable it to effectively investigate without revictimizing, to punish perpetrators, and to provide redress to families of victims of violence against women and girls

The IACHR is a principal and autonomous body of the Organization of American States (OAS), whose mandate stems from the OAS Charter and the American Convention on Human Rights. The Inter-American Commission has the mandate to promote the observance and defense of human rights in the region and acts as an advisory body to the OAS on the matter. The IACHR is made up of seven independent members who are elected by the OAS General Assembly in their personal capacity, and do not represent their countries of origin or residence.

No. 145/25

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