Presentation of the report on the Solidarity and Denunciation Mission carried out in Chile

[16:54, 17/1/2020] Lu Prensa Gobern: The report, prepared as part of the mission led by Rigoberta Menchú Tum and Guillermo Whpei, details the current situation in Chile and the systematic violation of citizens' human rights by the State. It was presented at the Palacio de La Moneda, the seat of the former National Congress in Santiago, and to various international organizations.

From the beginning of November to date, the Solidarity and Denunciation Mission led by Nobel Peace Prize laureate Rigoberta Menchú Tum and our Foundation's president, Guillermo Whpei, has maintained close communication in Chile with various organizations and entities working on human rights. As a result of these meetings, and of accompanying citizens on the ground during the demonstrations, they prepared a report detailing the critical situation Chile is currently experiencing.

The document was presented this week at the Palacio de La Moneda, addressed to President Sebastián Piñera, and at the seat of the former National Congress in Santiago. The report was also delivered to Mapuche-Huilliche congresswoman Emilia Ancapichún and to Haroldo Brito Cruz, president of the Supreme Court of Chile. Finally, it reached the National Human Rights Institute, after a tense meeting with its authorities.

The report confirms that "in the various forms of public demonstration, citizens display a peaceful attitude, and the peaceful conduct of the majority prevails over the actions of violent groups and provocateurs." At the same time, the mission directly verified "the disproportionate, widespread, systematic and indiscriminate nature of the human rights violations being committed by the State security forces, which shows the abundant resources available for repression."

The report further demonstrates the preexistence of methodical policies and practices of repression, as shown by the number of people killed and injured at the hands of state agents, the number of victims of torture and rape, and the more than 350 cases of people who have suffered serious eye injuries (many of them irreversible) as a result of pellets and tear gas canisters being fired directly at them.

Given the evidence of the serious harm that the State security forces have caused to hundreds of people through the use of shotguns that fire pellets, the mission demands in its report the immediate and total ban on the use of these firearms. It is not enough to regulate or set rules for their use, since it has been shown that this does not limit the criminal use of such weaponry. In addition, it has launched a campaign on the online platform change.org/armasletales, promoting a petition addressed to the Secretary-General of the United Nations to achieve the ban.

Finally, given the widespread and systematic nature of the human rights violations being carried out by the State security forces, the mission verifies and details in its report that "fundamental norms of international law are being violated in Chile in an intentional, planned and consistent manner." The document notes that, according to the Statute of the International Criminal Court adopted in July 1998, a crime against humanity is understood as any of various types of serious inhumane acts when committed as part of a widespread or systematic attack directed against a civilian population, with knowledge of the attack. In view of the irrefutable evidence that the elements detailed by the Court are present in the government repression carried out in Chile against peaceful demonstrators, the mission concludes that crimes against humanity have been committed by the State.