In 2018, 16 Latin American and Caribbean countries signed the legally-binding Escazú Agreement, which sought to counter government and multinational corruption, exploitation of resources and violence against environmental activists in the region. Costa Rica and Chile had pioneered the agreement, the latter under former President Michelle Bachelet, even as, on home terrain, Mapuche activists seeking…
Tag: MICHELLE BACHELET
Delaying publication of the settlement blacklist exposes the UN’s false narratives on human rights
The UN is openly flaunting its priorities and, sadly, human rights are far from a major concern for the international organisation. Since its creation post-World War Two, and having established itself as the platform which determines what constitutes a human rights violation and which countries can be considered as perpetrators, several trends have emerged within…
How relatives of Chile’s disappeared are exposing dictatorship-era torturers
The return of the right wing to power in Chile has come at the expense of those still seeking justice for crimes committed during the 17-year U.S.-backed dictatorship of Augusto Pinochet, which ended in 1990. Former President Michelle Bachelet’s failure to close the luxury five-star prison of Punta Peuco that houses ex-torturers and military agents…
UN’s dubious human rights appointment
As Chile continues to grapple with the struggle between memory and oblivion, the UN’s nomination of former president Michelle Bachelet as Human Rights Commissioner has evoked different opinions. For many victims of Augusto Pinochet’s dictatorship, Bachelet had represented a link between politics and justice, in particular due to her own family’s history as victims of Pinochet’s National…
RAMONA WADI 