By Patrick Vanderpool
Impunity Watch Reporter, South America

SANTIAGO, Chile – The Roman Catholic Church recently called on conservative Chilean President Sebastian Piñera to pardon long-serving human rights violators. 

Specifically, The Chilean Bishops’ Conference urged President Piñera to show clemency to prisoners who showed repentance from human rights violations that occurred during the Augusto Pinochet dictatorship.  Many of the longest-serving prisoners are elderly and ill, including ex-military officials who were directly responsible for abuses.  The proposed pardon would have pardoned 60 individuals.  The Church’s actions come while Chile is set to commemorate 200 years of Chilean independence.

The Church set specific parameters for those that they seek to be pardoned: individuals who are over 70 years old, have served at least half of their sentence, and who are ill.

The Pinochet regime, which lasted from 1973-1990, saw more than 3,000 Chileans killed at the military’s hands.  In a letter sent to President Piñera, the Bishops’ Conference stated that not all human rights violators shared equal responsibility.  The letter provoked a great deal of public outcry from family members representing those who were killed and tortured on Pinochet’s watch.  The victims’ families called the request a setback for justice and fairness.

Despite the effort, the Chilean President has refused to offer a pardon stating, “I have reached the conclusion that it would not be prudent or convenient in the current circumstances to promote a new law of general pardon.”

President Piñera was, however, receptive to the Church’s proposal for improving the country’s prison system, according to the President of the Chilean Bishops’ Conference.  The measures include improving facilities and building more jails to curb overpopulation.

While President Piñera closed the door to a broad sweeping pardon, he did leave the option open for the government to consider pardons on an individualized basis.  However, Piñera also said that no pardons would be considered for those who violated serious crimes, including murder and torture.

Mireya Garcia, vice president of the Group of Relatives of the Detainees and Disappeared, expressed concerns over this case-by-case evaluation.  Garcia fears that people who are sentenced under different categories, but who committed human rights violations, might be incorrectly pardoned.

José Miguel Vivanco, Americas Director for Human Rights Watch, applauded President Piñera’s decision.  Vivanco stated that the Church simply did not offer any compelling reason why these human rights abusers should be pardoned.

Merco Press – Piñera Rejects Bishops’ Plea To Pardon Military Involved In Human Rights Abuses – 26 July 2010

NPR – Chile Rejects Pardons Proposed By Catholic Church – 25 July 2010

New York Times – Chile Rejects Church Call To Pardon Officials – 25 July 2010

By Ricardo Zamora
Impunity Watch Reporter, South America

BUENOS AIRES, Argentina – On July 15^th, the Argentinian Senate approved a bill legalizing same-sex marriage.  Gay rights supporters prevailed with a 33-27 majority after 14 hours of debate.  The decision was announced to hundreds of supporters waiting outside the Senate.

The bill became law when President Christina Fernandez de Kirchner, a gay rights supporter, signed it on July 21^st.  “Today we are a society that is a little more egalitarian than last week,” Fernandez said at the signing.

Approximately 70% of Argentinians support same-sex marriage.  However, as in other cultures, Argentina remains divided on the issue.  The Examiner reports that while opponents of the bill proposed a “union bill” as a compromise, it omitted several rights that were provided by the Senate bill.

The Associate Press stated that the “union bill” would have limited rights, including the right to adopt children or pursue in-vitro fertilization.  It added that civil servants could unilaterally object to registering homosexual couples in a same-sex union.

The new bill grants same-sex couples the full legal protections and responsibilities given to heterosexual couples in marriage.  Those rights include the ability to inherit property and to jointly adopt children.

Mexico City was the first region in South America to legalize same-sex marriages. Argentina may be the second, but it is the first country to do so.  Argentina’s first gay marriage is scheduled for August 13 between two partners who have lived together for 34 years.  Mexico City has promised the couple a free honeymoon to Mexico.

The Catholic Church is a major voice of opposition.  ABC reports that Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio called gay marriage in Argentina “a loss for everyone,” saying “children need to have the right to be raised and educated by a father and a mother.

The passing of the bill has worsened the Fernandez administration’s already strained relationship with the Roman Catholic Church.

For more information, please see:

Time – International Gay Marriage – 22 July 2010

Associated Press – Argentina’s Gay Marriage Law Signed by President – 21 July 2010

ABC – Mexico City Promises a Free Honeymoon to Argentina’s First Married Gay Couple –  17 July 2010

The Examiner – Argentina’s Senate Passes Historic Same-Sex Marriage Bill – 16 July 2010

By R. Renee Yaworsky
Impunity Watch Reporter, South America

CARACAS, Venezuela—Public debate in Venezuela is again in jeopardy after the creation of a new governmental office.  The office, formed by controversial President Hugo Chavez, may silence opposition in a country already stifled under censorship.

The Center for Situational Studies of the Nation (Centro de Estudio Situacional de la Nacion) emerged after Chavez issued a presidential decree on June 1 of this year.  The Center was given a high degree of discretion and can limit public dissemination of “information, facts or circumstance[s]” that it determines should be “reserved, classified or of limited release.”

The Center, a part of the Ministry of the Interior and Justice, has been given the power to “compile, process and analyze” information from governmental entities and civil society  “regarding any aspect of national interest.”

Chavez recently launched criminal investigations into human rights organizations working in the country and accused such groups of being funded by the United States.  Any information considered capable of compromising “the security and defense of the nation” will now be subject to criminal prosecution under the Venezuelan National Security Law.

Human Rights Watch, a New York-based group, has been critical of the Center.  The group’s director of the Americas, Jose Miguel Vivanco, called attention to Venezuela’s official efforts to silence critics and human rights defenders.  He said that Chavez “has created a new tool for controlling public debate in Venezuela.  The new decree would allow the president to block the discussion of topics that are inconvenient for his government, blatantly violating the rights of expression and to information, which are at the heart of a democratic society.”

Human Rights Watch believes that the Center may lead to more restrictive legislation.  A broad clause in Chavez’s decree states that laws or other norms determined by the government may grant the Center even more expansive powers to block information sharing.  The American Convention on Human Rights, of which Venezuela is a party, prohibits censorship of this kind.

Chavez has shut down several independent media outlets, and recently took control of the last remaining opposition TV station, Globovision.  He now has plans to disrupt Vale TV, a Catholic channel which the Archdiocese of Caracas has operated since 1998.  “I have ordered a review [into Vale TV] so that we can repossess the channel and put it at the service of the nation,” Chavez said.  Vale TV, a non-profit station, issued a statement saying “editorial independence” and “plurality” is at stake.

For more information, please see:

UPI-Human Rights Watch: Venezuela government office muzzling critics-23 July 2010

CNA-Venezuelan president aims to shut down Catholic television channel-23 July 2010

AP-Rights Group Criticizes New Venezuela Info Office-22 July 2010

The Western Star-Rights group concerned about new Venezuela gov’t agency that will monitor information-21 July 2010

By Patrick Vanderpool
Impunity Watch Reporter, South America

BUENOS AIRES, Argentina – On July 15, Argentina became just the tenth nation in the entire world, and the first in Latin America, to legalize gay marriage.  Legislators, backed by Argentine President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner, passed the same-sex marriage bill by a vote of 33-27 in the Senate after a 14 hour debate.  The Senate’s vote comes about a month after the marriage equality bill was passed by Argentina’s lower legislative house, the Chamber of Deputies.

The bill will allow gay and lesbian couples the same marriage responsibilities and protections that heterosexuals are afforded.  In addition to marriage equality, the bill will also offer homosexual couples the same adoption and social security rights as heterosexual couples.

While on a visit to China, President Fernandez de Kirchner said, “It’s a positive step which defends the rights of minorities in Argentina.”

The Catholic Church was among the most outspoken leaders of the public campaign against the bill, going as far as to sanction clerics who supported the bill.  Buenos Aires’ archbishop described the bill as “a plan to destroy God’s plan” and a move to “deceive the children of God.”  Although 90 percent of people living in Argentina describe themselves as Catholic, the bill was met with public support.

Norma Morandini, a member of President Fernandez de Kirchner’s party, compared Argentina’s discrimination of gays to the cruelty of past dictators, saying “what defines us is our humanity, and what runs against humanity is intolerance.”

News of the bill’s passing has spurred public outcry for other Latin American countries to follow suit and legalize gay marriage.  Ratified in 1999, Venezuela has what many people consider as one of the most progressive constitutions in the world.  Currently, the Venezuelan Government is embroiled in a public war of words with the Catholic Church in an effort to limit the conservative institution’s role in politics.  Many believe that pushing forward with a same-sex marriage bill similar to Argentina’s would challenge the conservative establishment.

Argentina’s first legal gay marriage is set to be held on August 13 between Ernesto Rodriguez Larrese and Alejandro Vanelli.  Maria Rachid, who leads the Argentine Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transexual Federation, said she expected around 100 same-sex couples to wed around the same date.

For more information, please see:

Toward Freedom – Venezuela Should Follow Argentina’s Example on Gay Rights – 20 July 2010

People’s World – In Landmark Vote Argentina Legalizes Same-sex Marriage – 19 July 2010

AFP – First Gay Marriage in Argentina Set for August 13 – 16 July 2010

CNN – Argentina Legalizes Same-sex Marriage – 15 July 2010

By R. Renee Yaworsky
Impunity Watch Reporter, South America

BRASILIA, Brazil—A conference on issues affecting women in Latin America and the Caribbean was held this week in Brazil with hopes of achieving equality between men and women.  Members called on regional governments to ensure women’s autonomy and economic empowerment.

The eleventh session of the Regional Conference on Women in Latin America and the Caribbean was organized by the UN Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC).  Over 800 delegates were present, representing more than 30 nations.  The theme chosen for the conference was “What kind of State?  What kind of equality?”

ECLAC presented a position paper, the Brasilia Consensus, detailing past accomplishments and future challenges in the realm of gender equality.  The document announced that women in Latin America and the Caribbean are burdened by a heavier overall workload than men, much of which is unpaid domestic labor.  Women in the workplace are still discriminated against and receive lower wages than their male counterparts.  The paper proposed a social covenant that would balance workloads more evenly between men and women and facilitate women’s access to paid jobs.

“It will not be possible to achieve equality for women in the workplace until the burden of unpaid and care work, which they have historically shouldered, has been resolved,” said ECLAC’s executive secretary, Alicia Barcena.  “This calls for the establishment of a new virtuous equation that encompasses the State, the market and the family.”

ECLAC’s data from 2008 reports that 31.6% of women over age 15 —but only 10.4% of men– had no income of their own.  8.3% of women were unemployed, while only  5.7% of men were in similar circumstances.

Other goals mentioned in the Brasilia Consensus included women’s increased participation in political processes, access to new technologies, and the elimination of all violence against women.  For women suffering as victims of violence, the Consensus demanded justice and free legal assistance.

Members of the conference promised solidarity with earthquake-ravaged Haiti and Chile, agreeing to aid in reconstruction and work for gender equality in those countries.

A delegation from the conference was received Wednesday by President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva and handed the Brazilian leader a copy of the Brasilia Consensus.  The same day, the new UN Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women was introduced.

For more information, please see:

CRI English-“Brasilia Consensus” Calls for Women’s Rights-17 July 2010

Jamaica Observer-Caribbean women still getting raw deal in labour market-16 July 2010

Unifem-Regional Conference on Women in Latin America and the Caribbean Calls for New Social Covenant to Achieve Equality in the Workplace-16 July 2010