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TITLE: CHILE HUMAN RIGHTS PRACTICES, 1993
DATE: JANUARY 31, 1994
AUTHOR: U.S. DEPARTMENT OF STATE
CHILE
Chilean democracy follows a Constitution written under the
former military government and approved by referendum in 1980,
which places limits on popular rule. Chile held its second
presidential and parliamentary elections under this
Constitution on December 11, and Eduardo Frei will assume the
presidency on March 11, 1994. Congress approved an amendment
to the Constitution to limit presidential terms to 6 years--
the period he is expected to serve. The Congress is comprised
of 120 Deputies and 18 Senators elected in December 1993, 20
Senators elected in 1989, and 8 Senators appointed in 1990.
While the governing coalition again won a majority in the
Chamber of Deputies, the eight senators appointed in 1990 by
the former military government for 8-year terms continue to
deprive the Government of a majority in the Senate. The
constitutionally independent judicial branch remained largely
dominated by appointees of the former military regime.
The Constitution requires the armed forces to be subordinate to
the President, with the Minister of Defense, a civilian
appointed by the President, responsible for oversight of the
military. In practice the armed forces remain largely
autonomous institutions, and the civilian Government lacks
independent authority to remove their commanders. The army
deployed a small number of troops around its headquarters in
Santiago on May 28, and its officers appeared in combat dress
for several days to express displeasure with civilian
authorities over several issues, including judicial processing
of past human rights violations. General Pinochet, the
78-year-old leader and only member of the 1973 military junta
still on active duty, remains as Commander in Chief of the
army, a position he may by law hold until March 1998.
The Carabineros, Chile's uniformed national police, have
primary responsibility for public order and safety, crime
control, and border security. The Investigations Police are
responsible for controlling and investigating serious crime.
Both police organizations, although formally under the
administrative jurisdiction of the Ministry of Defense, fall
under the operational control of the Ministry of Interior.
Elements of the police forces were again responsible for human
rights abuses. The Government asked for independent judicial
investigations when police were accused of human rights
violations, including the use of excessive force to control
violent demonstrations and of torture to extract confessions.
Chile's free market economy enjoyed its tenth consecutive year
of expansion in 1993. Economic growth, though slowed by lower
world prices for Chile's principal exports, was estimated at
over 5 percent. Unemployment remained less than 5 percent,
near 20-year lows, while inflation was 12 percent, slightly
less than the rate in 1992. Copper remains Chile's most
important source of foreign exchange, followed by fresh fruit
and fish meal.
Four years after the transition to democracy, the principal
human rights issues still involved redress for human rights
abuses that occurred during the former military government's
rule. Efforts to redress the abuses were shaped by often
conflicting requirements for justice and national
reconciliation. The Supreme Court has been reluctant to
confront the military over human rights, and one justice was
impeached by Congress and removed from office for "gross
neglect of duties" for his handling of a human rights case.
Another Supreme Court justice sentenced commanders of the
former National Intelligence Directorate (DINA) as intellectual
authors of the 1976 assassination in Washington, DC, of Orlando
Letelier and Ronni Moffitt. Disputes continue over the
interpretation of the 1978 amnesty law and prosecution of
military personnel and their collaborators for abuses not
covered by the amnesty. Other human rights abuses include
torture and excessive use of force by the police, arbitrary
arrests, instances of prior restraint of the press,
discrimination against ethnic minorities and indigenous people,
and violence against women and children.
RESPECT FOR HUMAN RIGHTS
Section 1 Respect for the Integrity of the Person, Including
Freedom from:
a. Political and Other Extrajudicial Killing
The Government was not responsible for political killings in
1993. In an important step toward ending the impunity of
military officers involved in the Letelier case, Adolfo
Banados, a Supreme Court justice appointed by the current
Aylwin Government, sentenced retired General Manuel Contreras
and Colonel Pedro Espinoza to 7- and 6-year prison terms,
respectively, as intellectual authors of the 1976 murder in
Washington, DC, of former Chilean Foreign Minister Orlando
Letelier and his American assistant Ronni Moffitt. The Supreme
Court is expected to rule early in 1994 on appeals of the
sentences by all parties. This is the only case involving the
now dissolved DINA--the Pinochet-era secret police--that the
1978 amnesty law specifically excluded.
Chilean police were responsible for some extrajudicial killings.
In January Juan Acevedo, a 23-year-old forestry professional
died in the southern port city of Constitucion after
interrogation by the Investigations Police. A local judge
found evidence of torture, and the Supreme Court appointed a
special judge to continue the investigation. In February Luis
Alberto Caniulaf died after being arrested by Carabineros for
rape. The investigating judge ordered the arrest of three
civilians and four Carabineros who were family members of the
victim. The Carabineros were subsequently discharged from the
police force. Both cases remained active in the courts at the
end of the year.
Police were also responsible for two deaths when demonstrations
in Santiago sponsored by leftist and human rights groups on
September 11, the 20th anniversary of the 1973 coup, turned
violent. Demonstrators threw rocks at police, erected
barricades, overturned cars, and set fires. When police
responded, a 66-year-old government worker died when he was run
over by a police vehicle carrying a water cannon, and Jose
Araya Ortiz, an 18-year-old member of the Communist Youth, died
of gunshot wounds probably the result of Carabinero fire. At
the Government's request, the Supreme Court appointed Appeals
Court Judge Humberto Espejo to investigate the incidents, but
at year's end his report had not been made public.
Two terrorist groups, the dissident wing of the Manuel Rodriguez
Patriotic Front (FPMR/D) and the Lautaro Youth Movement, were
responsible for most political violence. Police made important
arrests among the top leaders of these organizations in 1993,
but terrorists continued to conduct violent, well-armed
operations. Chilean terrorists killed one policeman and one
maintenance worker, and according to press reports six
terrorists died in confrontations with the police through
December 1. On March 25, the Investigations Police captured
Lautaro's number two leader, Delfin Diaz, who reportedly
masterminded a 1992 attack on the police. On August 5,
Investigations Police captured Mauricio Hernandez Norambuena,
number two leader of the FPMR/D, who was accused of
participating in the April 1991 murder of Senator Jaime Guzman
and three attacks on American government representatives in
Chile.
The former military government enacted an amnesty law in 1978,
the prime beneficiaries of which were those responsible for
human rights abuses committed during the first 5 years of the
military government's rule. The Aylwin administration
interpreted the amnesty law to mean that the courts should
first determine the authors of human rights abuses before
applying the amnesty. Legal reforms in 1991 remanded most
human rights cases from military to civilian jurisdiction.
However, when the investigation showed that a crime was
committed on a military base or military personnel were accused
of the crime, military tribunals reclaimed jurisdiction, and
the military courts applied the amnesty law to close the cases
without determining the facts or criminal responsibility.
These decisions led critics to charge that Chile's Supreme
Court impeded justice for victims of human rights abuses
committed by the military forces.
For example, the extradition of Osvaldo Romo Mena, who fled to
Brazil in 1975, was sought by Appeals Court Judge Gloria
Olivares to testify about the 1974 disappearance of Movement of
the Revolutionary Left (MIR) leader Alfonso Chanfreau, in whose
apprehension Romo allegedly participated. The Brazilian
Government expelled Romo to Chile in November 1992, but before
he could testify, a chamber of the Supreme Court, with Justice
Hernan Cereceda presiding, granted the military courts
jurisdiction over the investigation. The military court closed
the case (and later reopened it to apply the amnesty). In
response, the Chamber of Deputies voted along strict party
lines to impeach the three Supreme Court justices and the
Auditor General of the army who voted to transfer the Chanfreau
case to military tribunals. The Deputies found that they had
committed a "gross neglect of duties" for having applied
procedural technicalities in the Chanfreau case and ignoring
constitutional reforms intended to give the tenets of the
American Convention on Human Rights precedence over domestic
law. The opposition-controlled Senate was expected to reject
the charges, but on January 25 three opposition National
Renewal Senators joined the governing coalition to vote on one
count to remove Cereceda, the second-ranking member of the
Supreme Court, from office.
Criticism of the Supreme Court's handling of human rights
issues continued. The Court failed to reverse a military
appeals court ruling against a serious injury finding by a
lower court in the case involving Carmen Gloria Quintana, who
was seriously burned in a confrontation with a military patrol
in 1986, and Rodrigo Rojas, who died of burns. This case was
the first in which a military court had ruled in favor of human
rights victims, and human rights groups pointed to considerable
evidence demonstrating the responsibility of military personnel
in the crime.
The Supreme Court also unanimously rejected a request from the
Chamber of Deputies to assist the Argentine judge investigating
the 1976 murder of former Army Commander General Carlos Prats
and initially, by a narrow majority, refused the Foreign
Ministry's request that it appoint a member of the Supreme
Court to investigate the 1976 death of Carmelo Soria, a Spanish
citizen employed by the United Nations. Soria's death in 1976
was attributed to a traffic accident, but Michael Townley, a
key witness in the Letelier case, admitted that Soria had been
tortured and killed at Townley's home. In 1991 the Foreign
Ministry requested that the case be reopened, and the Supreme
Court appointed Appeals Court Judge Violeta Guzman to
investigate. She found evidence that two active duty colonels
and four other former army officials who worked in the DINA had
participated in Soria's murder. When she called them to
testify as possible suspects, the military courts requested
jurisdiction over the investigation, and on November 18 the
third chamber of the Supreme Court granted jurisdiction to
military courts.
The Spanish Government informed Chile that the case had
affected relations between the two countries, and recalled its
ambassador in December. The Foreign Ministry asked the courts
to use procedures envisioned in the 1991 judicial reforms to
have a Supreme Court justice investigate the crime. On
December 2, by a narrow majority, the Supreme Court rejected
the Government's request on the basis that relations with Spain
would not be affected. The case led some on the left to
explore the possibility of impeaching some or all of the
Supreme Court justices who voted against the Government's
request. The Government submitted more evidence of the damage
the case had caused its relations with Spain, and the Supreme
Court reversed its decision, voting 10 to 2 to appoint 1 of its
members to investigate the case. Since the 1978 amnesty would
apply to the case, it is unlikely that those responsible for
the Soria murder will be convicted or punished.
Special Judge Milton Juica on September 28 formally accused
five former Carabineros and a civilian, Miguel Estay Reyno, of
the 1985 throat slashing of three Communist Party leaders.
Twelve other former Carabineros from the disbanded Directorate
of Intelligence (Dicomcar) were accused of being accessories in
the murder. The Supreme Court dropped charges against former
junta member and Carabinero Commander General Mendoza, saying
he was not involved in the crime.
Little progress was made on resolving the 1982 murder of
Tucapel Jimenez. A chief suspect in the case, a former
military officer, was in jail in Argentina pending extradition.
Retired army Major Alvaro Corbalan, the commander of an
intelligence unit accused of murdering a carpenter to cover up
the Jimenez murder, was under house arrest on a military base,
and another accomplice was still in jail. Corbalan is the only
former military officer under detention in Chile.
The National Reparation and Conciliation Corporation began
operating in 1992 to compensate families of human rights
victims. On September 30, 1993, it was paying pensions to
4,600 family members of victims who died of human rights
violations committed before 1990. The Chilean State has paid
$26.5 million to the victims' families, including college
tuition for offspring up to the age of 35 who wish to study.
Wives, children, and parents of victims are eligible for
pensions, and the amount for each family member is more than
double that paid under the old social security system. The
Corporation also continued the work of the Rettig Commission,
investigating reports of human rights abuses where victims died.
The President, Alejandro Gonzalez, expects the Corporation to
reach conclusions on deaths or disappearances of the more than
3,200 victims by the time it finishes its work in 1994.
b. Disappearance
The Government was not responsible for disappearances during
1993. Disappearance cases from before 1978 cannot be closed
and the alleged perpetrator amnestied until a court determines
that the victim is dead. Since the bodies of many of the
disappeared have never been found, the cases were an ongoing
irritant in civil-military (particularly civil-army) relations
because judicial processes against officers--who would
inevitably be covered by the amnesty--were both disruptive to
army operations and embarrassing to the institution. An Aylwin
administration proposal to permit confidential testimony in
order to close the cases expeditiously was not pursued owing to
the concern of some members of the governing coalition that it
would result in impunity for human rights violators. It did
not guarantee that civilian courts would undertake the
investigations nor that the military would cooperate.
In 1993 a court convicted five FPMR/D militants of the
September 1991 kidnaping of Cristian Edwards, son of the owner
of Santiago's prestigious El Mercurio newspaper. An FPMR
leader captured in August is believed to be the intellectual
author of the kidnaping, but police were not able to find any
trace of the million-dollar ransom the family paid.
c. Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading
Treatment or Punishment
Although the "use of illegal pressure" is forbidden, there
continued to be mistreatment and torture by some Carabinero and
Investigations Police units in 1993. The Defense Committee of
the Peoples' Rights (CODEPU) had received 17 reports of torture
or cruel treatment by Carabineros and 6 by the Investigations
Police through November 15, and filed 25 complaints with the
courts. The abuses were mostly associated with interrogations,
and included sleep, food, and water deprivation, threats,
beatings, and forced standing for long periods of time.
Allegations of the use of electrical shock were rare.
The Government, which includes many human rights leaders and
victims in important positions, asked for independent judicial
investigations of credible complaints. Investigations of
torture seldom resulted in arrests, in part because members of
the judiciary, many of them appointed by the military regime,
are reluctant to pursue the issue vigorously.
In one highly publicized case, a Brazilian woman, Tania Maria
Cordeiro, was arrested and allegedly tortured after her boarder
was detained for possession of arms used by members of the
Lautaro Youth Movement in bank robberies. The Brazilian consul
tried for months to call the Government's attention to the case
before her lawyer, a respected human rights defender,
publicized the case in August. Soon thereafter, the Supreme
Court designated Appeals Court Judge Alejandro Solis to
investigate the complaint. In November he charged eight
policemen with administrative violations for psychological
pressure to extract a confession and for illegal detention of
Cordeiro and her 13-year-old daughter, but he did not find
proof of torture.
Chilean prisons are strapped for funds and antiquated, but
conditions are not life threatening. Food is provided to meet
minimal nutritional needs, and prisoners may supplement their
diet by buying food. Those with sufficient funds can rent
space in a better wing of the prison. Although prison guards
have been accused by some human rights groups of using
excessive force to stop attempted prison breaks, the guards
generally act professionally and do not mistreat prisoners.
The Government permits monitoring of prison conditions, and the
Minister of Justice who supervises the guards visits prisoners
to hear their complaints. The International Committee of the
Red Cross, which formerly visited political prisoners, closed
its office in Chile because it felt there was no longer a need
for a full-time presence.
d. Arbitrary Arrest, Detention, or Exile
The Constitution allows civilian and military courts to order
detention for up to 5 days without arraignment and extend the
detention for up to 10 days for suspected terrorist acts. By
law, detainees are to be provided 30 minutes of immediate and
daily access to a lawyer (although not in private) and to a
doctor to verify their physical condition. The law does not
permit a judge to deny such access. With few exceptions, this
practice appeared to be observed by police authorities. It is
quite common for the police to make "arrests for suspicion,"
particularly of youth in high-crime areas late at night. The
Chilean Human Rights Commission reported that many of those
detained were never charged and were released after a few days.
There were no cases of forced exile in 1993, but some Chileans
convicted of politically motivated crimes during the military
regime agreed to go abroad as a condition of their release from
jail.
e. Denial of Fair Public Trial
Although the Constitution calls for a judicial system
independent of the other branches of government, the judiciary,
and particularly the Supreme Court, is dominated by appointees
of the former military regime. Their rulings are often partial
to the military and the police. Ten of the 17 Supreme Court
judges were appointed by General Pinochet, 7 of them after he
lost the 1988 plebiscite. The court system is widely
criticized for being antiquated and inefficient. Trial is not
by jury. Reliance is on the written record rather than oral
testimony, and the judge renders a verdict after directing the
investigation. The investigative phase is considered secret,
with limited access for the accused or his attorney to evidence
or testimony which has been accumulated by the judge. There is
a well-developed, multistage appeal process leading ultimately
to the Supreme Court. This lengthy process results in very
slow final decisions; it is not uncommon for cases to linger in
the court system for several years. In 1993, for example, the
Supreme Court ruled in favor of heirs of the plaintiff in a
case involving a 1967 land confiscation.
Under the military government, a broad interpretation of state
security laws greatly expanded the jurisdiction of military
courts over the prosecution of proscribed political activities.
A 1991 legal reform package (the "cumplido" laws) limited the
jurisdiction of military tribunals and transferred most cases
to the civilian courts. The Auditor General of the army may
sit as a visiting justice in Supreme Court chambers that hear
cases involving army officials.
The court is often partial in decisions involving military
personnel (see Section 1.a.). For example, on May 28, after a
delay of more than a year, the Supreme Court upheld a lower
court's order to detain active duty army Lieutenant Colonel
Fernando Laureani, who had been a DINA squad leader when two
MIR members disappeared in 1974. Laureani failed to appear in
court and spent several months as a fugitive. In July as
President Aylwin was proposing a change in judicial procedures,
the fourth chamber of the Supreme Court voted unanimously to
grant a military court jurisdiction, confirming the precedent
that the military will take jurisdiction if an active duty
officer is indicted for a human rights violation covered by the
amnesty. The military court applied the amnesty to Laureani
and closed the case.
President Aylwin commuted the sentences in 1993 of 11 persons
convicted for politically motivated crimes committed during the
military regime, including the only woman in that group. Eight
of the former prisoners were sent to live outside Chile for the
remainder of their sentences as a condition of their release.
At year's end, the number of persons remaining in jail charged
with violating state security laws before March 11, 1990, had
dropped to 10. (There had been 335 when Aylwin took office.)
Those prisoners suffered extended periods of pretrial detention
and torture, and were colloquially known as "political
prisoners." However, they were involved in Chile's more
notorious terrorist incidents such as the death of five
bodyguards in the 1986 assassination attempt of then President
Pinochet. The judicial system has sentenced six of them,
including three for the assassination attempt. They applied
for presidential pardons, and President Aylwin may commute
their sentences as he has done in other cases. For the first
time, a beneficiary of an Aylwin pardon was rearrested in 1993
for criminal activities committed after his release.
f. Arbitrary Interference with Privacy, Family, Home, or
Correspondence
Searches of the home and interception of private communications
are prohibited by the Constitution, unless either a civilian or
military court issues a search warrant for specific locations.
The 1984 antiterrorist law provides for surveillance of those
suspected of terrorist crimes, and for the interception,
opening, or recording of private communications and documents
in such cases.
There were further developments in a 1992 political espionage
case involving a cellular telephone conversation recorded and
subsequently played on a national television program,
destroying two candidates' presidential campaigns. The army
acknowledged that an army captain had "misused" its espionage
equipment to record a private conversation and leak it to the
media. The Supreme Court ruled that the law on telephone
intercepts only covered conversations carried on wire, not on
cellular telephones, and ordered the defendants freed of all
charges. The military courts punished the army captain only
for neglect of duty, but he was discharged from the army in
November.
Section 2 Respect for Civil Liberties, Including:
a. Freedom of Speech and Press
The Constitution provides for freedom of speech and the press,
and these rights are generally respected in practice. The
press generally maintains its independence and exercises
responsible, professional judgment, including in its criticism
of the Government. Issues sensitive to the military, including
human rights abuses, are widely covered in the media. During
1993, military courts heard no new cases against journalists,
but several cases were still pending from prior years. A
military court confiscated one edition of a newspaper for
reporting on the Soria case while a "gag order" was in effect,
but it did not call the editors to court. Several attempts by
Congress to transfer jurisdiction in such cases from military
to civilian courts were not successful.
Press debate focused on censorship on several occasions in
1993. In March the navy seized and prohibited circulation of a
publication by a retired navy captain entitled "Ethics and the
Intelligence Service." In April a Santiago court of appeals
prohibited the sale or distribution of a book by Francisco
Martorell entitled "Diplomatic Impunity."
In August President Aylwin reignited the censorship controversy
when he requested that the national television station delay
the broadcast of an interview with Michael Townley in which the
former DINA agent detailed how and why he put a bomb under the
car of Orlando Letelier. The President asserted that showing
the interview on the government-owned station at that time was
needlessly inflammatory. The program aired 10 days later, but
the program's director was dismissed for adding to the debate
about presidential influence over the state-owned television
station and for allegedly asserting excessive independence from
the board of directors.
b. Freedom of Peaceful Assembly and Association
Citizens have the right to peaceful assembly and association.
Permission to hold rallies and demonstrations on streets and
public plazas is issued according to police guidelines.
Permission must be requested 72 hours in advance, and it is
usually granted; however, authorities often suggest an
alternate location to minimize inconvenience to other people.
Prior to September 11, the 20th anniversary of the coup, the
Government asked Santiago authorities not to authorize
demonstrations near La Moneda presidential palace, the site
where most of the fighting took place on the day of the coup
and where former President Allende committed suicide. Anticoup
demonstrators threw rocks at police, erected barricades,
overturned cars, and set fires. When Carabineros responded, a
police vehicle ran over and killed a 66-year-old man, and an
18-year-old member of the Communist Youth died of gunshot
wounds, probably the result of Carabinero fire (see Section
1.a.). Ten days after the incidents, an attorney representing
the injured Carabineros asked the courts to prosecute the
demonstrators who were responsible. Since he asked that the
courts pursue the "instigators" as well as the material authors
of the injuries, human rights groups (some of whom were among
the organizers) claimed he was attempting to restrict freedom
of assembly.
c. Freedom of Religion
The Constitution provides for freedom of religion. Chile is
predominantly Roman Catholic, but other denominations practice
their faiths without restriction.
d. Freedom of Movement Within the Country, Foreign
Travel, Emigration, and Repatriation
Chileans by law are free to move within and to enter and leave
their country. The National Office of Returnees--established
by the Congress in 1990 to facilitate the reincorporation into
Chilean society of more than 26,000 Chileans who have returned
from exile--has assisted more than 13,000 exiles and their
families by providing special access to health care, housing,
and information on job opportunities.
Section 3 Respect for Political Rights: The Right of Citizens
to Change Their Government
Chile is a constitutional democracy, and citizens now have the
right to change their government through periodic elections.
There is universal suffrage for citizens 18 years of age or
over, and more than 95 percent of those eligible are registered
to vote. Voting is compulsory for those who register.
National elections for the President and Congress were held on
December 11, the second since the return to democracy.
President-elect Frei won the biggest majority in modern Chilean
history, capturing 58 percent of the vote in a six-candidate
race, but Chile's unique binomial system allowed the rightist
opposition to pick up strength in both the Senate and the
Chamber of Deputies.
The former military government wrote the 1980 Constitution and
amended it slightly in 1989 after General Pinochet lost a
referendum to stay in office. It provides for a strong
presidency and a legislative branch with more limited powers.
The President has the authority to designate the "urgency" of
bills and to determine time limits for Congress to consider
them. In addition, the Constitution includes provisions
designed to protect the interests of the military and the
political right and, according to its defenders (and even some
critics), to provide stability in the political process and
encourage the formation of large coalitions. The center-left
coalition which governed Chile in 1993 accepted the legitimacy
of the 1980 Constitution but sought to amend elements
characterized as "authoritarian enclaves" left over from the
previous regime. These included limitations on the President's
right to remove chiefs of the armed forces, an electoral system
that gives the political opposition a disproportionate
representation in Congress, and the existence of nonelected
"institutional senators" who deprive the governing coalition of
an elected majority in the Senate.
Women have had the right to vote in municipal elections since
1948 and in national elections since 1952, and they are active
in political life, especially at the grassroots level. Women
make up a majority of the registered voters and of voters who
actually cast ballots, but there are few women in leadership
positions. Although some women lost their bids for reelection,
6 women won new seats in the Chamber of Deputies, increasing
their numbers to 9 of 120 deputies. Chile's indigenous people
are able to participate freely in the political process.
Although relatively few members of Chile's Indian population
are politically active, their participation has increased since
the 1990 democratic transition. Of the nearly 1 million
self-described indigenous people in Chile, there is one
representative of Indian descent in the Congress.
Section 4 Governmental Attitude Regarding International and
Nongovernmental Investigation of Alleged Violations
of Human Rights
The Aylwin Government cooperated with nongovernmental
organizations that seek to investigate continued human rights
violations in Chile. A number of government officials were
formerly active in the Catholic Church's Vicariate of
Solidarity (which closed its offices in 1992). The Vicariate
had taken the lead in defending human rights during the
Pinochet regime and provided legal counsel to families of
victims who were killed or disappeared between 1973 and 1990.
The Social Aid Foundation of the Christian Churches hired many
of the Vicariate's lawyers and assumed the bulk of the
Vicariate's caseload of pre-1990 human rights violations.
Several human rights leaders established the Foundation for
Documentation and Records of the Vicariate of Solidarity to
maintain the case files and assist in documenting human rights
abuses between 1973 and 1990. The Chilean Human Rights
Commission is affiliated with the International League of Human
Rights and continues to gather evidence of police abuses. The
Defense Committee of the Peoples' Rights provides legal counsel
to those currently accused of politically related crimes and to
victims of human rights abuses. The Communist Party and the
Group of Families of the Disappeared Detainees are working for
the repeal of the 1978 amnesty law.
Section 5 Discrimination Based on Race, Sex, Religion,
Disability, Language, or Social Status
Women
Legal distinctions between the sexes still exist, despite a
1989 law which eliminated many restrictions on women. Divorce
is not legal in Chile; those who seek to remarry are required
to seek annulments. The courts are relatively tolerant on
technicalities for dissolving a marriage, but since annulments
imply that the marriage legally never existed, former wives and
children are left without any legal recourse for financial
support. A bill to create conjugal property as an option in a
marriage passed the Chamber of Deputies but has not yet been
voted on in the Senate. Inheritance laws provide strong
protection for wives and protect female offspring, and a 1992
law accords children born out of wedlock the same civil rights
as offspring born in wedlock. Many believe, however, that the
changes in law have not been matched by a change in attitude by
society, police, or the courts.
Abuses such as wife beating continue to be tolerated or
ignored. The National Women's Service (SERNAM), whose director
was the only woman with cabinet rank in the Aylwin Government,
estimated that one in four women had been subject to physical
violence by her husband or partner, but that 75 percent do not
dare to report it. A 1992 survey conducted by SERNAM in
metropolitan Santiago showed the highest level of violence in
the lower economic strata, where 34 percent of women reported
that they had experienced physical abuse. SERNAM conducted
courses on the legal, medical, and psychological aspects of
domestic violence for Carabineros, who are often the first
public officials to intervene in such incidents. More than
5,000 have been trained in new techniques for assisting abused
women. SERNAM also teaches courses (therapy) for wife abusers
and allows free followup when the aggressor needs further
support. SERNAM estimates that authorities are able to prevent
further abuse in 70 percent of the cases that are reported.
Children
The Government is committed to children's rights and welfare,
and strengthening the family was a prominent campaign theme
across the political spectrum. A U.N. Children's Fund study
found that malnutrition among Chilean children was the lowest
in the Western Hemisphere, affecting less than 1 percent. The
National Minors Service (SENAME) found that sexual abuse of
minors, some as young as 6 years of age, occurred but that few
cases are reported. The Carabineros support the creation of a
public defender for children's rights.
Indigenous People
In 1993 Congress passed a law that was drafted by a committee
composed of representatives of the various indigenous groups
recognizing the ethnic diversity of the indigenous populations.
It replaced a law that emphasized assimilation, and it gives
them a greater voice in decisions affecting their lands,
cultures, and traditions. The law allows for eventual
bilingual education in schools with a large indigenous
population. The population which identifies itself as
indigenous (nearly 1 million, according to the 1992 census)
remains separated from the rest of society, largely because of
historical, cultural, educational, and geographical factors.
The Mapuches in southern Chile form the bulk of the indigenous
population (over 90 percent), but there are small Aimara,
Atacameno, Huilliche, Rapa Nui, and Kawaskhar populations in
other parts of Chile.
A young Mapuche leader, Aucan Huilcaman, was convicted of
inciting land takeovers but was free on bail pending the
outcome of his appeal. At the World Human Rights Conference in
Vienna, he advocated indigenous peoples' rights to "possess,
control, administer, and manage a territory" while choosing the
appropriate development strategy to suit each culture. While
the new law honors this principle, some Indian leaders would
prefer more explicit reference to the right for community
ownership of land according to their traditional pattern.
Huilcaman was not able to run for Congress because of his
criminal record, but several other indigenous people were
candidates. They tried to form a united front, urging Indians
to vote their ethnic origins rather than for political
affiliation. However, most of the Indian candidates were on
the leftist ticket that won no seats in the Congress. One,
Francisco Huenchumilla, a Christian Democratic moderate, ran
for reelection and won easily, capturing more than 47 percent
of the vote in a seven-candidate race.
National/Ethnic/Racial Minorities
Chile is a relatively homogeneous and isolated society and
intolerance of small ethnic minority groups is evident. A
Korean immigrant was banned from a local health club because
the owner claimed that her "odor" would keep other customers
from coming to use the sauna. She filed suit, and the Supreme
Court ruled in her favor, but the courts have yet to fix
damages.
Religious Minorities
The number of bombings of Mormon churches declined this year,
with 15 reported, apparently as a result of the success the
police had in arresting leaders of the Lautaro. Two of the
incidents, however, were more violent than those in the past,
with terrorists confronting worshipers in the churches. The
terrorists' motives for attacking the Mormons were not clear
but were apparently more political than religious.
B'nai B'rith International raised concern about the activities
of a small "neo-Nazi" movement; its District 27 issued a report
in July that noted groups of as many as 200 Chileans had held
ceremonies to declare their allegiance to the Third Reich and
their opposition to democracy.
People with Disabilities
Chilean law does not require that public buildings provide
access for people with disabilities, and the Santiago metro,
the pride of Chile's system of public transportation, has no
provisions for wheelchair access. Chile has for many years
conducted a telethon to assist people with disabilities in
obtaining physical therapy. Groups connected with the telethon
are beginning to increase public awareness of people with
disabilities. For example, one group formed a dance company
with several of the performers confined to wheelchairs.
Reserved parking for the disabled is no longer a rarity.
Section 6 Worker Rights
a. The Right of Association
Most workers have the right to form unions without prior
authorization or to join existing unions, and 14.4 percent of
the work force was organized at the end of 1992. Legislation
was introduced to allow government employee associations the
same rights as trade unions. Such associations now participate
in labor centrals, but they do not enjoy the same legal
protection as unions. Only the police and military are not
allowed to form such employee associations.
The Labor Code now permits the formation of nationwide labor
centrals, and the largest and most representative one, the
Unified Workers Central (CUT), legalized its status in April
1992. The Labor Code does not conform in key respects to
International Labor Organization Conventions 87 and 98 on,
respectively, freedom of association and the right to organize
and bargain collectively, which Chile has not ratified.
However, the Government actively encouraged labor to organize.
The number of labor unions increased by more than 40 percent
under the Aylwin Government.
Affiliations with confederations and federations (second-tier
labor groups) continued to increase, and many of them maintain
ties to international labor organizations. The CUT is not now
affiliated with any labor international, but it scheduled an
extraordinary congress in 1994 to reconsider the matter.
Unions are independent of the Government, but most union
leaders are elected from lists based on party affiliation. The
CUT has factions affiliated with the Christian Democratic (the
largest), Socialist, and Communist parties.
Reforms to the Labor Code in 1990 removed significant
restrictions on the right to strike. Labor unions continue to
object to the requirement that workers vote by secret ballot in
the presence of a labor inspector or notary on whether to
accept a company's final offer. Striking workers may no longer
be fired after 60 days on strike without severance benefits.
Employers are required to show cause whenever they fire workers
but can claim "needs of the enterprise" as a sufficient cause.
Observers believe that some employers invoke this clause to
fire employees for attempting to form unions.
b. The Right to Organize and Bargain Collectively
The climate for collective bargaining has improved, and the
number of negotiated contracts has grown steadily; at the end
of 1992, 16.7 percent of the eligible workers had collective
bargaining agreements. The process for collectively
negotiating a formal contract is heavily regulated, and the
Labor Code contains detailed rules for contract negotiations.
Multicompany or sector negotiations require the prior consent
of all affected companies and unions, so most negotiations take
place at the company level. The Labor Code allows multiple
unions and worker committees to engage in parallel negotiations
with the same company. Strikes may be called only if workers
reject a collective bargaining agreement. However, the law
permits (and the Aylwin administration encouraged) informal
union-management discussions to reach collective agreements
("convenios") outside the regulated bargaining process. These
agreements have the same force as formal contracts. Once a
contract has been signed, workers must pursue grievances in the
court system.
The Labor Code specifies what can be "matters for collective
bargaining" and prohibits collective bargaining over any issue
that "can limit or restrict the ability of the employer to
organize or direct the enterprise." Labor leaders say this is
used by some employers to limit discussions of working
conditions. Employers may also include a clause in individual
employment contracts that some employees are supervisory
personnel who are not allowed to participate in collective
bargaining. In the telephone company, for example, most
technical personnel have such contracts.
Temporary workers--defined in the Labor Code as agricultural,
construction, and port workers, as well as entertainers--may
now form unions, but their right to collective bargaining
continues to be restricted. Some 700,000 workers, including
most agricultural workers, are limited to informal
negotiations, meaning they have no protection from unfair
bargaining practices.
The Labor Code provides sanctions for unfair bargaining
practices that protect workers from dismissal during the
bargaining process, but union leaders claim companies invoke
the "needs of the enterprise" clause to fire workers after a
union has signed a new contract. Although the law protects
union officials from such dismissals, second-echelon leaders
who do not hold union offices may lose their jobs. The Labor
Ministry's Director General says this raises questions about
the real cause for dismissals, but his legal authority only
allows inspectors to assure that companies make severance
payments; they do not investigate the causes for a dismissal.
If a worker proves in court that he was fired unfairly, this
will raise his severance payment by 20 percent but not get his
job back.
The Labor Code also applies in Chile's duty-free zones.
c. Prohibition of Forced or Compulsory Labor
Forced or compulsory labor is prohibited in the Constitution
and the Labor Code, and there is no evidence that it is
currently practiced.
d. Minimum Age for Employment of Children
Child labor is regulated by law. Children as young as 14 years
old may legally be employed only with permission of parents or
guardians, after completing their compulsory elementary
schooling and in restricted types of labor. Those aged 15 to
18 may be employed in a larger variety of jobs and at expanded
hours, but only with their parent's or guardian's permission.
Labor inspectors enforce these regulations and voluntary
compliance is good in the formal sector. Economic factors have
forced many children to seek employment in the informal economy
which is more difficult to regulate. Carabineros have
procedures to counsel parents who force their children to work.
e. Acceptable Conditions of Work
Minimum wages, hours of work, and occupational safety and
health standards are regulated by law. The maximum legal
workweek is 48 hours, which must be worked in the course of
either 5 or 6 days. The maximum length of any given workday is
10 hours. Since the Aylwin administration took office, there
have been tripartite negotiations each year in which business
and labor agreed to the minimum wage proposal sent by the
Government to Congress. Since 1990, the minimum wage increased
by more than 30 percent in real terms. Lower paid workers also
receive a family subsidy (which employers deduct from their
taxes) to help raise their earnings to an acceptable level.
The formula for calculating the minimum wage considers
projected future inflation and increases in productivity, and
the minimum monthly wage is now about $115 (46,000 pesos).
The Ministry of Labor has inspectors to enforce laws covering
working conditions. Despite increases in resources,
enforcement is difficult, especially in small enterprises and
the informal sector, but voluntary compliance is fairly good.
Workers who remove themselves from situations that endanger
their health and safety have their employment protected,
provided they have asked a workers' delegate to bring the
problem to the attention of labor inspectors. (###)
[end of document]
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