Through a letter, the conventional Ruth Hurtado, Martin Arrau, Harry Jürgensen, Rocío Cantuarias, Eduardo Cretton and Margarita Letelier asked the UN resident coordinator in Chile, Miguel Barreto, to visit the southern macrozone to highlight the growing acts of violence in the province of Arauco -Biobío region- and in La Araucanía, mainly.
In the document, the convention explained that in the “absence of the rule of law, we are aware of the need for you, and the organization that you lead in Chile, to be able to visit the victims of terrorism in Araucanía and Arauco, and we remain at your disposal to coordinate this visit.”
In the argument, they indicated that – according to police sources – in La Araucanía and Arauco (Biobío) there is a “growing wave of terrorism”, with a 173% increase in arson attacks, an increase of almost six times in the number of attacks with the use of firearms compared to 2020, in addition to 134 land encroachments this year alone.
They also mentioned the nearly 30 Chileans (including police and civilians) who have died amid the violence.
Faced with this, Ruth Hurtado said that “we can’t wait any longer. It is no secret that La Araucanía and the southern macrozone in general is abandoned by the state. The governments of the day have not been able to take a hard line. Why talk about the judiciary. Congress has not been up to the task either, and the citizens are crying out for peace.”
“You can no longer drive on Route 5 South, the country’s main connecting artery. So what else should happen?. There is no answer, there is no action and that is why we turn to a body other than the State to see in first person and hear from them the difficult and distressed situation experienced in these almost 24 years,” he added.
Meanwhile, Martin Arrau said that “I met with Miguel Barreto, the UN resident coordinator in Chile, to consult him on the organization’s various approaches to the Convention.”
“Given his willingness and after talking with other constituents, today we invite him and the organization he represents to visit the Region of La Araucanía, offering all our help and coordination in this visit, to know in first person the wave of terrorism that thousands of Chileans live there, to listen to their testimonies and to see the lack of rule of law that is worsening day after day,” Said.
Finally, the conventional Rocío Cantuarias, confirmed that “we have invited the Coordinator of the System of Nations Units to visit our regions so that he can check on the ground, the violation of the fundamental rights that many families, farmers and workers victims of violence live, every day. This is in the context of the UN’s seeking to promote respect for the law and the protection of human rights.”
