Missing political prisoners in Chile
Recommendation 868
(1979)
- Author(s):
- Parliamentary Assembly
- Origin
- See Doc. 4322, report of the Committee on Migration, Refugees and Demography. Text adopted by the Standing Committee, acting on behalf of the Assembly, on 28 June 1979.
- Thesaurus
The Assembly,
2. Recalling Written Declaration No. 24 (
Doc. 3347), inviting member states :
a to withhold all economic aid from the military dictatorship in Chile, whether provided by individual governments or through international financial institutions ;
b to use all their influence and encourage the early restoration of democratic and constitutional government in Chile ;
3. Acutely concerned by the violations of human rights which continue to take place in certain Latin American countries, and in particular in Chile ;
4. Noting that, since 11 March 1978, Chile has been under a state of emergency similar to the state of siege which was in force from September 1973 to March 1978, and that the ad hoc Working Group of the United Nations which, in 1978, conducted an enquiry in the country, had seen no reason to justify the state of emergency and the resulting restrictions concerning human rights ;
5. Being informed that most of the powers of the ex-DINA (Direccion Nacionale de Inteligencia) (replaced by CNI - Centrale Nacional de Informaciones) are being exercised by separate bodies, but in a co-ordinated manner ;
6. Pointing out that arrests for political or national security reasons are continuing in Chile ;
7. Alarmed at the dramatic situation of several hundred missing persons, who had no doubt been arrested or detained by security forces of the Chilean regime ;
8. Noting that the Chilean governmental authorities have not given satisfactory explanations of the disappearances, nor ordered serious research into the fate of the missing persons, and regretting that the enquiries conducted by the tribunals have given no satisfactory results ;
9. Sharing the anxiety of families whose members have disappeared in this way, and stressing the right of these families to know the fate of the missing persons ;
10. Noting that the amnesty decreed in April 1978, which permitted the liberation of a large number of detainees, also had the effect of the removal of the criminal responsibility of those who admitted guilt for violations of human rights, such as ill-treatment, torture and acts resulting in the death or disappearance of detainees ;
11. Stressing its adherence to democratic ideals, political pluralism and human rights,
12. Recommends that the Committee of Ministers invite the governments of member states :
12.1 to support the action of the international commission of enquiry to investigate the fate of missing political persons in Chile, which would report to the United Nations Human Rights Commission ;
12.2 to urge the Chilean authorities in the strongest terms to obtain the release of all the political prisoners kept in detention, as well as information on the fate of the missing persons ;
12.3 to contribute to the Voluntary Fund for humanitarian, legal and financial aid to Chilean detainees and refugees and their families, set up by the General Assembly of the United Nations on recommendation of the Economic and Social Council.
