Situation of human rights in Chile.

1986/63. Situation of human rights in Chile[1]171

1. Commends the efforts of the Special Rapporteur during his stay in Chile and appreciates his report on the situation of human rights in Chile, prepared in accordance with Commission resolution 1985/47 ;

2. Recognizes as a positive development the fact that the Government of Chile permitted the Special Rapporteur to enter the country and provided the co-operation and freedom of access to persons of all social, political and economic interests necessary for his investigation;

3. Expresses its concern, nevertheless, at the persistence of serious violations of human rights in Chile, as described in the report of the Special Rapporteur, which refers to such violations as disappearances and torture and abuses by security forces, the climate of insecurity, the prohibition preventing several thousand Chilean exiles from returning to their country, and the suppression of fundamental rights and freedoms through the maintenance of arbitrary executive powers during the prolonged period in which states of exception have been in effect;

4. Expresses its conviction that a legal and political structure, based on the consent of the governed, emerging from a civilized and constructive national dialogue, representative of the will of the people as expressed in free elections, and respecting the full exercise of legal rights is essential to the full observance of human rights in Chile, as in any other nation;

5. Once again appeals to the Government of Chile to respect human rights and to re-establish democratic institutions and the principle of legality in conformity with the Universal Declaration of Human Rights which are essential to the effective enjoyment and exercise of human rights and fundamental freedoms and are in the best democratic tradition of Chile;

6. Notes with particular dismay the ineffectiveness of government and judicial authorities in preventing the recurrence of abuses by security forces, and expresses special concern over the failure of the authoritative institutions to ensure the thorough investigation and prosecution of the many recent unsolved cases of murder, kidnapping and torture as well as the many cases of disappearances;

7. Strongly urges that the Government of Chile take at least the following steps, in conformity with the specifically labelled recommendations at the end of the report of the Special Rapporteur and those set forth elsewhere in that document, and adopt the measures necessary and conducive thereto:

(a) Immediately put an end to all forms of physical and psychological torture by the security and police forces and reiterate and make public the order of 30 July 1985 by the Ministers of Defence and the Interior which calls for an end to these abuses;

(b) Proceed vigorously through judicial and administrative action to investigate all reports of torture, killings, kidnappings or other human rights violations by the security forces and take appropriate action against all persons found guilty of such violations;

(c) Effect such reorganization of the security forces and of the police as may be necessary to end persistent problems of human rights violations, including organizations such as the National Information Agency and the corps of Carabineros, and establish a permanent system to monitor the conduct of these security and police forces;

(d) Co-operate fully and effectively with investigations of human rights violations, assuring in all such investigations the independence of the Judiciary and the maximum effectiveness of judicial remedies, particularly amparo and habeas corpus;

(e) Proceed vigorously to end the activities of groups and bands, whether private or connected with security forces, which have been reported to be responsible for kidnappings, interrogations, intimidation and beatings of ordinary citizens, and punish those responsible, especially the leaders of these groups;

(f) Amend legislation, including the laws authorizing states of emergency, states of danger of disturbance of law and order and states of siege, so as to bring it into conformity with guarantees of basic human rights as defined in applicable international agreements;

(g) Provide for the protection of public order against acts of violence by punishing persons found to have been guilty of such acts, through the exercise of due process of law and respect for the rights of the accused, without using terrorism as a justification for any abuse of authority;

(h) End the practice of ordering internal banishment without recourse to the judicial system;

(i) Allow the return of all Chilean citizens now living abroad who wish to return, and recognize their continuing right to enter and leave freely;

(j) Re-establish the full enjoyment and exercise of labour rights, and take into account the legitimate cultural and socio-economic interests of the population;

(k) Respect activities related to the defence and promotion of human rights;

8. Requests that the Government of Chile continue and increase its co-operation with the Special Rapporteur and fully implement his recommendations, and invites the Government to submit any comments it may have to the Commission on Human Rights at its forty-third session;

9. Decides to extend the mandate of the Special Rapporteur for one year and to request him to report on the situation of human rights in Chile to the General Assembly at its forty-first session and the Commission on Human Rights at its forty-third session;

10. Recommends to the Economic and Social Council that it make appropriate arrangements to ensure that the necessary financial resources and sufficient staff are provided to implement the present resolution;

11. Decides to consider at its forty-third session, as a matter of high priority, the human rights situation in Chile.