Overview 111th Session – Chile
The Human Rights Committee expressed concerns about gender inequality particularly with regards to employment; violence against women and restrictive abortion legislation. It also raised concerns about the violations to the rights of indigenous peoples, including their land rights and the application of the Anti-terrorism Law to the Mapuche. The Law on Amnesty for acts committed during the military dictatorship was deemed as particularly problematic.
Responding to these concerns, the Chilean government delegation indicated that the Anti-Terrorism Law would not be implemented against indigenous peoples any longer. The current administration is planning to increase substantially the level of employment for women. The delegation also highlighted other steps that the government was taking to address violence against women and to provide remedies for victims. However, it refused to accept the derogation of the law on amnesty.
Additionally, the Committee raised concerns about the abuse of force by the police during peaceful demonstrations, especially those which occurred during the student protests of 2011. Other topics of concern were LGBTI rights, measures to prevent and combat trafficking in persons and the need to adopt a new Constitution.
Finally, it is noteworthy that both the State delegation and the Committee members highlighted the excellent work of the National Human Rights Institution in promoting the respect for human rights in the country.
The Concluding Observations for which the State should provide information on the implementation within one year, concern:
The Sixth Periodic Report on the implementation of the ICCPR in Chile was reviewed by the Human Rights Committee on the 7th and 8th of July 2014. For a comprehensive overview of the discussion, see the proceedings on the OHCHR website or watch the webcast of the session (in Spanish).
The next periodic report should be submitted by the State party on 31st July 2019.
