Rettig Report

Supreme Decree No. 355, creating the National Truth and Reconciliation Commission.

The Rettig Report, officially The National Commission for Truth and Reconciliation Report, is a 1991 report by a commission designated by then-President Patricio Aylwin (from the Concertación) encompassing human rights abuses resulting in death or disappearance that occurred in Chile during the years of military dictatorship under Augusto Pinochet, which began on September 11, 1973 and ended on March 11, 1990. They found that over 2,000 people had been killed for political reasons, and dozens of military personnel have been convicted of human rights abuses.

Members

The commissioners had diverse affiliations. Three commissioners were associated with the Pinochet government, two were exiles under Pinochet, and Raúl Rettig was an ambassador under President Salvador Allende.[1] The eight-member commission, including Jaime Castillo Velasco, José Luis Cea Egaña, Mónica Jiménez, Laura Novoa Vásquez, José Zalaquett Daher, Ricardo Martin Díaz, and Gonzalo Vial Correa (minister of Education 1978-79), released its report in February 1991.

Goals

In the presidential decree in which President Patricio Aylwin created the Rettig Commission was a set of goals:

  • To create as complete a picture as possible of the most serious human rights violations
  • To gather evidence to allow the creation of a list that identifies the victims' name, fate, and whereabouts
  • To recommend reparations for the families of victims
  • To recommend legal and administrative measures to prevent future violations[2]

Figures

The report determined that 2,279 persons were killed for political reasons. This figure included 957 disappeared after arrest and 164 "victims of political violence", a figure that included police officers and others killed by left-wing extremists.[3](p1122)

In 641 cases, the commission could not conclusively determine that the person was killed for political reasons. It found 508 cases that were beyond its mandate, and that in 449 cases, no information beyond the name of a disappeared person could be determined.[3](p1122)

Judgment

As of May 2012, 76 agents had been condemned for violations of human rights and 67 were convicted: 36 of the Army, 27 Carabineros, 2 of the Air Force, one of the Navy and one of the PDI. Three condemned agents died and six agents got conditional sentences. 350 cases, pertaining to disappeared persons, illegal detainees and torture, remain open. There are 700 military and civilian persons involved in these cases.[4]

Recommendations

The report included recommendations to prevent future human rights violations in Chile:

  • Ratification of international human rights treaties
  • Modifying the national laws to match international standards of human rights law
  • Assuring the independence of the judiciary
  • Creating a society in which the armed forces, the police, and the security forces respect human rights
  • Creating a permanent office to work to protect citizens from future human rights violations[1]

Implications

The Rettig Report's listing of a disappeared person as deceased and the victim of a human rights violation created a legal determination of the victim's situation. That would allow the surviving family members with benefits such as making it possible for them to resolve property and inheritance claims, apply for social security and any reparation benefits, as well as impacting the marital status of spouses.[2]

The human rights violations have been looked at again in the Valech Report.

See also

References

  1. 1 2 Weissbrodt, David; Fraser, Paul (1992). "Report of the Chilean National Commission on Truth and Reconciliation". Human Rights Quarterly. 14 (4): 601–622. JSTOR 762329.
  2. 1 2 Ensalaco, Mark (1994). "Truth Commissions for Chile and El Salvador: A Report and Assessment". Human Rights Quarterly. 16 (4): 656–675. JSTOR 762563.
  3. 1 2 Report of the Chilean National Commission on Truth and Reconciliation
  4. ↑ Agence France Presse (6 July 2012). "Estudio revela que 76 son los agentes de la dictadura condenados por violaciones a DDHH". Chiliean newspaper La Tercera. Retrieved 4 March 2015.

Bibliography

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