Hidden violations: Religious freedom and corpse management in war contexts in the Inter-American Court

Religious freedom is protected in both international human rights law (IHRL) and international humanitarian law (IHL), yet the interference with that freedom caused by the mishandling, concealment and improper disposal of human remains in armed conflict has remained largely under-examined in the jurisprudence of the Inter-American Court of Human Rights (IACtHR). This article addresses that gap. It reconstructs the normative framework governing religious freedom in relation to the treatment of the dead under IHL and IHRL, analyzes emblematic IACtHR cases involving human remains in armed conflict settings and proposes a doctrinal path for strengthening protection in this field. The article does not contend that the IACtHR may autonomously apply IHL or declare State responsibility for violations of IHL as such; rather, it argues that, in cases arising from armed conflict, the Court may, and should, interpret American Convention on Human Rights (ACHR)-based obligations in light of IHL in order to specify duties concerning the search, recovery, identification, respectful handling, return and burial of the dead. It further argues that Article 12 of the ACHR can capture the distinct religious and spiritual dimension of the harm when funeral rites are obstructed, denied or rendered impossible.