Human Rights in Chile

When the military junta in Chile seized power 13 months ago, its most outstanding characteristic was the complete repression of human rights. Arbitrary arrest, systematic brutality, and execution without trial were commonplace. Constitutional law became a mockery as democratic process was replaced by totalitarian control.

The most convincing evidence at that time of the systematic violation of human rights and lives came from a three-man international commission on human rights. After interviewing eyewitnesses, released prisoners, and Chilean clergy, they reported to the United Nations that “we send 30 to 40 missions around the world yearly and we have not seen in recent years a situation so grave as that in Chile.”

During the past year, world pressure has forced the junta to allow more international investigation teams (including Amnesty International, The Chicago Commission of Inquiry into the Status of Human Rights in Chile and the World Council of Churches Emergency Task Force on the Chilean Situation) to scrutinize the conditions in Chile. Their reports testified to the fact of continued systematic repression.