On 30 March, the United States Government issued a report on the situation of human rights (DD.HH) in Chile which includes events that occurred in the social outburst, as well as targeting cases of discrimination against children, women, sexual minorities and indigenous people.
The report emphasizes police action during the social outburst. “More than 200 civilians suffered eye trauma due to carabineros’ use of shotguns loaded with non-lethal pellets, according to the INDH,” says the report, says Radio Bío Bío.
“Human rights groups reported impunity as a problem in security forces, especially in Carabineros. The INDH, investigating police and public prosecutors investigated many of the abuses and filed criminal charges, but court closures and delays due to the covid-19 pandemic delayed investigations,” they add.
“The slowness and low number of prosecutions in relation to the number of accusations arising from social unrest created the perception that those accused of abuse did not face effective responsibility,” they continue in the document.
However, the text states that there are no political prisoners in the country. “There are no reports of political prisoners or detainees,” they say.
Children, women, sexual and indigenous minorities
On acts of discrimination, the report points, in the case of children, to the Sename and acts of systematic violence, highlighting the closure of the Nido residence in Hualpén for allegations of sexual abuse in the enclosure.
With regard to the situation of women, they point out that while allegations of domestic violence have declined, they believe that it is due to difficulties in reporting channels, deepened by health restrictions under the pandemic.
In relation to sexual minorities, they collect a report from the Movilh. “The most common discriminatory acts reported to MOVILH were verbal abuse and discrimination in public services, such as police operations, public education and health services,” they said.
The situation of indigenous peoples proved to be one of the most critical, according to the report. “Indigenous people experienced social discrimination, including in employment; there were reports of incidents in which they were attacked and harassed. There were numerous reports of police abuses against Mapuche people and communities, including children.”
To that, they add that the Constitution does not give them special protection. In addition, laws defined for your rights encounter obstacles to their ideal execution.
