translated from Spanish: IACHR expressed “serious concern” over allegations of human rights violations in Chile

The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) issued a statement on Friday’s day, inwhich it condened the “excessive use of force in the context of social protests in Chile”. In doing so, he referred to the dismants in the course of some demonstrations and expressed “serious concern at the high number of allegations of human rights violations received by State bodies since the start of the demonstrations”. In this regard, they claimed to have received information noting “acts of sexual violence, torture and cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment in the context of the detensions. In response to these serious events, the IACHR decided to set up a Situation room for Coordination and Timely and Integrated Response (SACROI) in order to monitor and respond to the human rights situation in Chile.” In doing so, they added that since the beginning of the social protests on 18 October, “the death toll has risen to 26, of which at least 5 would have been by direct action by state agents and 2 in state custody in Carabineros police stations.” They add that according to information from the Ministry of Health, “the country’s medical emergency departments treated 12,652 people injured in connection with the demonstrations and the INDH found directly in hospitals 2,808 injured in the context of the demonstrations.” They also refer to the Medical College and the number of people with eye trauma as a result of the impact of Carabineros tear pellets or tear bombs, in addition to 20 thousand 20,645 stoppages. “The IACHR urges the Chilean authorities to properly investigate the above-mentioned acts of violence, identify and punish those responsible and properly report the results to the public,” they add, referring to allegations of violations of human rights. And in this regard, they add their “serious concern at the high number of allegations of serious human rights violations by various international bodies as well as by the State bodies themselves. It also expresses concern about the characteristics of such violations, which would point to the existence of repetitive conduct of violence against demonstrators in the context of recent social protests.” POBLATION LO HERMIDAOn the other hand, the IACHR also addressed the information they have received about the population of Lo Hermida, in Peñalolén, “561 protest participants claim to have been violently suppressed by the Carabineros, including a pregnant woman. They have reported tresing and destroying 12 homes; he ran over a man and a teenager on their motorcycles; indiscriminate use of tear gas pumps to homes, first aid points and the vicinity of a school and day care.” In this line they claim to have been informed of “illegal arrests, obstruction of justice, as well as beatings of people arrested inside the carabineros police station located in Lo Hermida. The IACHR warns that the National Prosecutor’s Office will formalize two carabinieri for alleged offences of illegitimate constraints in The Hermida.” CRITICAL INFRASTRUCTURERegarding the national contingency, the agency confirmed that it had noted the statement made by the President of the Republic, Sebastián Piñera, on 24 November for the submission of a bill for the Armed Forces to have mandate to control public infrastructure without having to decree a state of emergency. “In this context, the IACHR recalls that in accordance with inter-American standards, the maintenance of public order and citizen security must be primarily reserved for civilian police forces. However, when the armed forces are involved in security tasks, it must be extraordinary, subordinate and complementary, regulated and audited,” they argue. In this way, in addition to addressing a number of matters, he concludes his statement by also describing as “serious”, the dismantling, where blunt objects have been thrown at law enforcement forces, destroying public equipment such as schools, buses, trains and subway stations, starring in soreness and other types of aggression, including firefighters. “In this regard, the IACHR received information on attacks on spaces of Catholic, evangelical and Jewish worship. The IACHR strongly condemns any act of violence, and recalls that social protest is legitimate as long as it takes place peacefully. In turn, the IACHR reminds the State that the security forces have an obligation to allow demonstrations and protests to take place and to isolate demonstrators who resort to violence,” they said.

Original source in Spanish