Chile's Ethical Commission Against Torture: A Public Statement

Given the serious human rights violations suffered by Chilean students who demand their legitimate right to education in order to adequately develop their human potentials, the Ethical Commission  Against Torture (CECT-Chile) states:

1. The government must stop repression against young and underage children, and implement its responsibility for maintaining social peace based on justice.

2. It is imperative that Chile's authorities open the door to dialogue in order to overcome social conflict, since dogmatic ideological positions do not help to solve the problems. They rather build them up.
 

3. We want to express our heartfelt repudiation of the torture practices established as institutional policy by Chile's militarized police on the streets, in First Nations, Mapuche territories and in public educational establishments controlled by municipal agencies.
 

4 The State of Chile made the commitment to respect international protection of human rights, including the International Convention Against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Acts, as well as those in the Convention on the Rights of the Child, among others. The world has seen the violation of these principles during evictions of schools: children beaten and injured, sexually harassed in vans, buses and police stations, being forced to strip, as well as being victims of "illegal express disappearances", keeping these detainees for long periods and refusing to surrender the information required by family and friends.

5. The measures of Non-Repetition of the crimes of state terrorism inflicted on the people of Chile during the military dictatorship, are part of the Core Principles issued by the United Nations Organization to establish truth, justice and to redress all crimes against humanity, such as those reported here, once more. For  example, today people are mentioning again the murder of Manuel Gutiérrez (16 years, killed one year ago); the detention and disappearance of José Huenante (16 years in 2005); the repression against children of the Mapuche people, etc ... 

Therefore, the State must ensure the end of torture, must investigate all complaints from the affected people, put them to civil justice trials and to condemn those found responsible.
 

6. All international bodies dedicated to  the defense of human rights must monitor these events and Demand from the Chilean government to implement the National Mechanism for the Prevention of Torture, in order to ensure that its National Committee will be directly constituted in the centers suspected of inflicting such offenses and to initiate the relevant investigations.


ETHICAL COMMISSION AGAINST TORTURE (CECT-Chile).

Santiago de Chile, August 23, 2012.

For Spanish original version visit: 

• http://notascect.wordpress.com/2012/08/23/alto-a-la-represion/