University of Minnesota




Inter-Am. C.H.R., OEA/Ser.L/V/II.40, Report on the Situation of Human Rights in Chile, Doc. 10 (1977).


 

 

INTRODUCTION

I. Background

1. At its sixth regular session, held in Santiago, Chile, the General Assembly of the Organization of American States adopted the following resolution at the meeting of June 17, 1976:

WHEREAS:

This Assembly, at its fifth regular session adopted resolution AG/RES. 190 (V-0/75) operative paragraph 4 of which requested “the Inter-American Commission to secure, by all appropriate means, additional information, to consider that information, and to submit a report on the status of human rights in Chile” to this session of the General Assembly, “ensuring that the Government of Chile has reasonable time to submit its own observations”;

The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights submitted its “Second Report on the Status of Human Rights in Chile” (AG/doc.666/76) to this session;

The Government of Chile presented its observations of the aforementioned report, with a note dated May 13, 1976 (AG/doc.667/76);

The conclusions reached in the Commission's report demonstrate that although there has been a “quantitative drop in affronts to certain fundamental human rights, some of the legal provisions aimed at preventing violation of those rights did not have appreciable beneficial effects;

Although both the general and specific observations furnished by the Government of Chile concerning the facts charged in some cases nullify the charges, in others they fail to clarify information received by the Commission on affronts to human rights;

Various delegations have made statements on the subject during the sixth regular session of the General Assembly of the Organization;

The protection and safeguarding of human rights is one of the high purposes of the Organization of American States, and the observance of these rights is a source of friendship and solidarity among the member states, guaranteeing respect for human life and the dignity of man; and these rights is a source of friendship and solidarity among the member states, guaranteeing respect for human life and the dignity of man; and

It is the mission of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights to promote the observance and protection of human rights in every country of the Americas,

THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY,

RESOLVES:

1. To make a special appeal to the Government of Chile to continue adopting and implementing the necessary procedures and measures for effectively preserving and ensuring full respect for human rights in Chile.

2. To request the Government of Chile to continue giving the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights all cooperation necessary to carry out its work and, at the same time, provide appropriate guarantees to persons or institutions that may provide information, testimony, or other types of evidence.

3. To express its appreciation to the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights for its “Second Report on the Status of Human Rights in Chile” and request it to continue considering the status of human rights in that country and to report on this subject to the seventh regular session of the General Assembly in the manner it deems advisable.

2. During its 39th session and in compliance with the mandate it received from the General Assembly as found in operative paragraph 3 of the above-cited resolution, the Commission decided to prepare a third report on the situation of human rights in Chile, to cover the period from March 12, 1976, the date on which the previous report was approved, to February 1, 1977, which was set as the deadline for receipt of the information requested from the Government of Chile and other entities. At the same time, it was decided to submit this report to the Government of Chile, sufficiently in advance of the seventh regular session of the General Assembly, so that the government might have adequate time to study it and prepare such observations as it might deem necessary.

3. At that same session (39th), the Commission approved the questionnaires that were sent to the Government of Chile and other entities in that country in order to gather the information needed to draft this report.

4. At its 40th session (special), held in Washington from January 31 to February 11, 1977, the Commission unanimously approved this report. For reasons of health, Dr. Gabino Fraga was unable to attend this session and therefore did not take part in the preparation, discussion and approval thereof.

5. This Third Report has been prepared mainly on the basis of the information provided by the Government of Chile in response to questionnaires of the IACHR, the information received from the Government of Chile in connection with individual cases, and the information sent to the Commission by various individuals, institutions and entities residing or located in Chile. The Commission has also taken note of the pertinent documents prepared by the United Nations Commission on Human Rights and the reports drawn up by the International Labour Organization and other specialized organs of the United Nations.

6. The Government of Chile has at all times been kept informed of the decisions taken by the Commission with regard to the preparation of this Report, both through the questionnaires and the information given to the Permanent Mission of Chile to the OAS.

7. This new report is a continuation of the previous report; therefore the statement made in paragraph 5 of the Introduction to our Second Report still applies: that is, nothing stated in this report implies a pre-judgment with respect to individual cases of presumed violations of human rights that have been denounced and are still under consideration.

II. Method of Word

8. In the preparation of this report, the Commission decided to use the same method of work as in its previous report.

9. We are pleased to state that the Government of Chile has duly replied to the questionnaires the Commission sent to it on November 30, 1976. We cannot state, however, that the responses from that Government have in all instances been as complete and precise as would have been desired. We will comment in detail on these responses in the following chapters.

III. Plan of the Report

10. This report is organized in the same manner as the previous report. It has been divided into separate chapters, following the order in which the various human rights appear in the American Declaration of the Rights and Duties of Man, omitting only those with respect to which there have been no major developments or changes during the period covered by this report.

11. We feel it appropriate to begin this study with the chapter describing the principal changes introduced from March 12, 1976 to February 1, 1977 in the system of governmental standards in effect in Chile, insofar as these relate to the legal effect and protection of human rights, following the format of our previous report.

 



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