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CHAPTER
IV INFORMATION
PROVIDED BY CERTAIN GOVERNMENTS OF THE MEMBER STATES
OF THE OAS ON THE PROGRESS MADE IN ACHIEVING THE
OBJECTIVES SET FORTH IN THE AMERICAN DECLARATION OF
THE RIGHTS AND DUTIES OF MAN AND IN THE AMERICAN
CONVENTION ON HUMAN RIGHTS
In order to give compliance to the provisions of Article 59(e) of
the Regulations of the Commission, which provides that the annual report
of the IACHR to the General Assembly should include a statement on
progress made in achieving the objectives set forth in the American
Declaration of the Rights and Duties of Man and in the American
Convention on Human Rights, the Commission wrote to the governments of
the member states of the OAS, through the Secretariat, requesting
pertinent information. Responses were received to the Commission’s
request, as follows: from the Government of Brazil, through a note from
the Permanent Mission to the OAS, dated September 19, 1980; from the
Government of Colombia, in a note from the Under Secretary for
International Agencies and Conferences, dated August 29, 1980; the
Government of Chile, in a note from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs,
dated July 1, 1980; from the Government of Ecuador, in a note from the
Ministry of Foreign Affairs, dated July 15, 1980; from the Government of
Guatemala, in a note from the Permanent Mission to the OAS, dated July
11, 1980; from Honduras, through a note from the Permanent Mission to
the OAS, dated September 1980; from the Government of Mexico, in a note
from the Permanent Mission to the OAS, of September 11, 1980;from
Nicaragua, through a note from the Permanent Mission to the OAS, dated
September 5; from the Government of Peru, in a letter dated August 14,
1980, from the Permanent Mission to the OAS, and from the Government of
Uruguay, in a note from the Permanent Mission to the OAS, dated July 14,
1980.
The information received can be summarized as follows:
The Government of Brazil reported that in August 1979, Law Nº
6683 was enacted. By virtue of this law, amnesty is granted to all those
who, during the period between September 2, 1961, and August 15, 1979,
allegedly committed political crimes, common crimes related to political
crimes, and voting offenses. The amnesty also covers those whose
political rights had been suspended, civil servants involved in direct
or indirect administration of functions related to the Public Power,
civil servants of the Legislative and Judicial Powers, military
personnel and union leaders and representatives, convicted on the ground
of the institutional and supplementary acts. Amnesty is also granted to
employees of private businesses who, because of their participation in
strikes or in some movement to recover or reclaim rights governed under
social legislation, had been dismissed from their jobs or stripped of
their positions as union administrators or representatives.
The law states that the benefits of the amnesty do not apply to
those who have been found guilty of the crimes of terrorism, assault,
kidnapping and attempted murder.
The Government of Brazil reported the foregoing and attached the
text of the law and the texts of Law 4329, of March 16, 1964, and of
Decree 63681, of November 22, 1968, which create and regulate,
respectively, the Council for Protection of the Rights of Persons
(CDDPH), an organ that meets periodically to monitor the enforcement of
laws in the area of human rights.
The Government of Colombia reported that following a proposal by
the Government, the Congress adopted an amendment to the Constitution,
in Legislative Act Nº 1 of 1979, to supplement Colombia’s legal
system of protection of human rights. This Act expressly authorizes the
Procurator General of the Nation and his agents to defend human rights.
Thus, Article 40 of the Legislative Act amended Article 143 of the
National Constitution, giving the Procurator General the power to rule
on complaints he may receive on violations of human rights and social
guarantees by public officials or employees, to verify them and
institute legal proceedings, if pertinent, and to present draft
legislation regarding his assignment, and particularly regarding defense
of human rights and social guarantees to Congress for consideration.
Likewise, pursuant to the amended Article 143, the Procurator
General is responsible for seeing that the right to a legal defense is
fully upheld, and that criminal trials are conducted according to law;
to oversee the official conduct of public officials and employees, and
to institute an investigation by the competent authority of acts by such
public officials and employees that might be in violation of the law.
The Procurator General also oversees the conduct of officials and
employees of the Judiciary and may institute proceedings before the
Higher Judiciary Council for appropriate disciplinary action.
The Government of Chile reported that during the period 1978 to
1979, considerable progress was made in the specific areas of: a. labor
law; b. health; c. social security; d. education; e. justice and
protection against arbitrary arrest, and f. property law. a.
Labor Law – Articles XIV and XV of the American Declaration
Decree Law Nº 2200 of June 15, 1978 not only eliminated the
distinction between manual workers (blue-collar workers) and
intellectual workers (white-collar workers) as stated in the 1978
report, but it also established freedom of hiring and selection of jobs,
indicating that the regular work week shall not exceed 48 hours, setting
a maximum work week of 42 hours for radio operators and telephone
line-men, and 33 hours per week maximum for operators, key punchers and
supervisors of automated accounting or statistics systems. The workday
can be adjusted so that the working week is either five days or
five-and-a-half days long.
There is a break during each working day of no more than two
hours and not less than one, except when there is authorization for a
single workday, in which case the break will be only half an hour long.
The legislation calls for weekends and holidays with full pay.
Workers with more than one year of service have the right to 15 working
days’ vacation on full pay, while workers in the extreme north and
south of the country are entitled to 25 days. In addition, after 10
years of work, whether continuous or not, whether or not with the same
employer, the worker is entitled to one day for each additional three
years of work, although the maximum may not be more than 35 days.
Decree Law Nº 2200 also establishes equal pay for equal work,
and requires that the monthly wage not be less than the minimum monthly
wage. No discrimination of any kind is allowed regarding the rights to
this minimum wage per month, which is adjusted periodically.
Also in the labor field, as regards trade unions, collective
bargaining and the right to strike, the Government of Chile underscores
that Decree-Laws Nos. 2755 to 2761, which form the “Labor Plan”,
were promulgated on July 3, 1979. b.
Health and
Welfare – Article XI of the American Declaration
In this field, the Chilean Government reported that
Constitutional Act Nº 3, Article 1, Nº 19, established the right to
health. The State assumes the responsibility of guaranteeing free access
to health promotion, protection and recovery and to rehabilitation, on
an equal basis for all individuals. The State is also responsible for
coordination and control of integrated health action. Regulations have
been established for the social security system which extends benefits
originally given to intellectual workers, i.e., private employees or
semi-public or public officials, to the working class sectors, i.e., to
all the country’s workers, who now have access to the same health
services, either directly, or by optional payments by the beneficiary
himself. c.
Social Security – Article XVI of the American Declaration
The Government stated in this regard that Nº 21 of the same
Article 1 of Constitutional Act Nº 3 establishes the right to social
security, and adds that improvements have been made to the existing
provisional legislation, in the expectation that the process of reform
will be completed in 1980, and will set up a social security system that
meets individual and family needs in a uniform and adequate manner. It
will take care of any needy situation arising for whatever reason, but
particularly will look to maternity, old age, death, accidents, illness,
disability, family problems and unemployment, by delivering preventive
and curative health services.
The Chilean Government added that it is also important in this
field to note that Decree Law 2448 of February 9, 1979 amended the
pension systems, setting general, common standards that ended certain
privileges for particular groups, such as the so-called early pensions
granted after ten or somewhat more years of service that were draining
the pension system of funds. The right to an old-age pension at 65 for
men and 60 for women was recognized, and a transitional system was
established for people anticipating the right to a seniority pension
after 30 or 35 years service, on the basis of a combined age-seniority
table.
The Ministry of Lands and Colonization set regulations in Decree
Nº 2695 aimed at regularizing small land-holdings and constituting land
ownership.
The Government of Ecuador reported that the new Political
Constitution approved in a national referendum on January 15, 1978,
which entered into force on August 10, 1979, upholds the following
rights in Title II: personal rights (life, personal security, etc.)
(Section I); family (Section II); education and culture (Section III);
social security and popular promotion (Section IV); work (Section V);
political rights (Section VI), while Title III upholds economic and
property rights.
The Government of Ecuador reported that the new Political
Constitution approved in a national referendum of January 15, 1978,
which entered into force on August 10, 1979, upholds the following
rights in Title II: personal rights (life, personal security, etc.)
(Section I); family (Section II); education and culture (Section III);
social security and popular promotion (Section IV); work (Section V);
political rights (Section VI), while Title III upholds economic and
property rights.
The Government also reported that in a spirit of full universal
protection of human rights, the penal code was amended by decree Nº
3194 published in Official Gazette 769 of February 8, 1979. It included
the provisions necessary to prevent and punish any type of racism or
racial discrimination, even though the court records of Ecuador, which
finally abolished slavery in 1845 do not show a single suit brought for
racial reasons. The report of the Ecuadorian Government adds that on the
basis of its working philosophy summarized in the “21 Program
Points” set forth by the President of the Republic, it has put into
practice its ideal of protecting the fundamental rights of man by
various domestic and international actions. Domestically, it stresses
the low-cost housing programs, the social security and health benefits
provided through the Ecuadorian Social Security Institute, or through
the preventive and curative health program conducted throughout the
country, within the guidelines of the 1980-1984 National Development
Plan. It lays particular stress, domestically, on the creation of the
Ministry of Social Welfare and Popular Promotion, which is responsible
for coordinating all social advancement programs for the
underprivileged.
Internationally, the Government of Ecuador makes particular
mention of the proposal approved by the Ministers of Foreign Affairs of
the Andean countries on May 15, 1970 of a Code of Conduct containing
various proposals on protection of human rights in the countries of the
Andean Group.
In its reply, the Government of Guatemala stated that “all
Guatemalan legislation is perfectly adapted to the American Declaration
of the Rights and Duties of Man, to the Universal Declaration of Human
Rights and to the American Convention on Human Rights, and hence there
is no need in our country to amend domestic legislation to bring it into
line with those international instruments.”
The note from the Government of Honduras states that it has
traditionally respected human rights and has been conducting activities
to make those rights more effective and, as a consequence, strengthen
political and representative institutions. Among such actions, mention
is made of the following: in accordance with provisions of the Election
and Political Organizations Law, an electoral census was conducted in
1979 to register the citizenry. On April 20, 1980, elections were held
to form a Constitutional Assembly, which was assigned the tasks of
drafting and approving a new Constitution and of fully reestablishing
the constitutional system in Honduras. The electoral process in general
and the elections in particular were conducted in a climate of broad
guarantees and free participation on the part of the citizenry, a fact
recognized both nationally and internationally.
On July 20, 1980, the new Constitutional National Assembly was
installed. It has undertaken discussion of the new Constitution. Later
it will call presidential elections and elections for a Regular
Congress. These elections must be held within an estimated period of
from 12 to 18 months. A Provisional Government was formed with the
participation of the political parties; that Provisional Government will
rule until the next Constitutional Government is elected and takes
office. Immediately after its installment, the Constitutional National
Assembly enacted a decree of general amnesty and pardon, which benefited
a considerable number of citizens who had been detained for a variety of
reasons.
The Christian Democratic Party was registered by the National
Elections Court, thereby qualifying it for full participation in the
political life of Honduras.
The Constitution now being discussed will include specific
provisions for protection of the individual and social rights and
guarantees that are the basis of the existence and functioning of a
democratic and representative system.
In its reply, the Government of Mexico states that in general
terms, it may be said that Mexican legislation has undergone significant
reform in the period of reference.
A third paragraph was added to Article 4 of the Constitution,
addressed particularly to minors, who because of their minority status,
must be considered as being entitled to everything they need for their
development, and physical and mental health, and that there is an
obligation to meet all their needs. (The third paragraph of the Article
in reference was added in a decree of March 14, 1980, published in the
Official Gazette of March 18, 1980).
During the period in reference, other laws were issued, amended
and added to within the ambit of Mexican sovereignty. Such was the case
with the “Law on Liabilities of Federal, Federal District and State
Officials and Employees” (Decree published in the Official Gazette of
January 4, 1980), involving measures related to the Rights and Duties of
Man.
Important measures in support of the major issue of
constitutional review were passed, and can be found in the amendments to
the law regulating Articles 103 and 107 of the Political Constitution of
the United States of Mexico, according to the Decree of December 31,
1979, published in the Official Gazette of January 7, 1980.
The Mexican Government’s report also notes the promulgation of
“Regulations for Prisoners” (Decree of August 14, 1979, published in
the Official Gazette of August 24, 1979). Article 9 of these Regulations
states: “All forms of physical or mental violence and acts or
procedures that violate the dignity of prisoners are hereby prohibited;
as a result, authorities shall not in any case commit acts that
constitute inhumane, denigrating or cruel treatment, torture or economic
extortion.”
A number of secondary laws were amended to conform to this: the
amendments to the Penal Code are found in the Decrees of December 27,
1979 published in the Official Gazette of January 3 and 7, 1980; the
Decree of November 23, 1979, published in the Official Gazette of
December 5, 1979; the Decree of December 30, 1979, published in the
Official Gazette of January 7, 1980, and there particularly, the
amendments to the “Organic Law of the Judiciary” in the same
Official Gazette of January 7, 1980.
The amendments to the “Internal Regulations of the Government
Secretariat,” which makes it responsible for a number of functions
regarding the protection and implementation of measures on human rights
(Decree of February 19, 1980, published in the Official Gazette of
February 21, 1980).
The decree promulgating the “Convention on the Nationality of
Married Women,” published in the Official Gazette of October 25, 1979.
These were the most prominent items of legislation. The case law
can be found in the reports of the Supreme Court during the period in
question.
The Government of National Reconstruction of Nicaragua reported
the legislation adopted in the area of human rights since it came to
power in July 1979. It emphasized enactment of the following: the
Fundamental Statutes, the Statutes on Rights and Guarantees, the Law on
Creation and Organic Structure of the Special Government Attorney’s
Office, the Law to Protect Freedom and Personal Security, the Law of
Protection, the General Statutes of the State Council, repeal of the
National Emergency Law (Decree 383, of April 21, 1980), the law that
approved and ratifies the Convention on Human Rights, concluded in San
José, Costa Rica, adherence to the International Convention on the
Suppression and punishment of the crime of apartheid, adherence to the
Convention relating to the Status of Refugees, approval and ratification
of the Convention on the Protection of the Archeological, Historic and
Artistic Heritage of the American Nations, the Nicaraguan Government’s
approval of and adherence to the International Covenant on Civil and
Political Rights, its Optional Protocol, and the International Covenant
on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, approval of the Convention for
the Protection of World Cultural and Natural Heritage, the Special Law
on Social Security Benefits for Minors.
The Nicaraguan Government also reported that a National
Commission for the Promotion and Protection of Human Rights was created
through Decree 438 of June 1, 1980.
According to the note from the Government, the Commission was
established bearing in mind resolutions 23 (XXXIV) and 24 (XXXV),
adopted by the United Nations Commission on Human Rights on March 8,
1978, and December 14, 1978, respectively, which promote and endorse the
guidelines on the structure and functioning of national institutions to
promote human rights, which appear in the Report of the Seminar held in
Geneva from September 18 through 29, 1978.
The New Government of Peru reported on the measures it had taken
since it was installed on July 28, 1980, in relation to the observance
and promotion of human rights in the country. These measures are:
a.
Promulgation of two laws adopted by the Legislature: Law Nº
23215, which granted a general amnesty to all those who, on the date of
promulgation, stood accused, were being tried or had been sentenced
under common or private law, for acts of a political or social nature or
related accessory acts, and it was established that the rights and
property that had been taken away by virtue of the acts or crimes for
which amnesty was being granted would be restored to the persons covered
by the amnesty; and Law Nº 23216, which instructed the Executive to
reinstate or give indemnity to public servants fired during the previous
regime, in violation of the Constitution or the law.
b.
A decision of the Council of Ministers of July 28, 1980, which
adopted the draft legislation reestablishing freedom of speech,
information, opinion and circulation in the country, and another similar
bill was passed “delegating to the Executive the authority to
legislate, by legislative decrees, repeal of decree laws and other
provisions regarding seizure of national newspapers, and ordering
restitution of the tangible and intangible assets of newspaper, printing
and distribution businesses seized, including third party goods, to
their owners, and within no more than 120 working days, to take
pertinent measures to resolve the legal, economic, financial,
administrative and labor problems created as a consequence of such acts,
including all reorganization measures considered necessary.
This decision also instructed the President of the Republic to
exercise his right to send this draft legislation adopted by the Council
of Ministers to Congress as an urgent priority.
c.
Supreme Resolution Nº 034-80-OCI of July 28, 1980, which
reinstated the editors or managers of a number of national newspapers to
the posts they held at the time of the decree expropriating newspapers,
by decrees laws Nos. 18169, 20681, and their amendments, additions,
restatements, and related regulations.
The Government of Uruguay reported progress as regards: a) the
system of conditional and early release; b) the right of association; c)
government relaxation authorizing the visit by the International Red
Cross. a.
New system of conditional and early release
Law Nº 14997 adopted by the Council of State on March 25, 1980
established the new system of conditional and early release under the
military courts. The law, which went into effect immediately, also
permits review of a case before final sentencing in the event security
measures had been imposed. b.
Right of association
In application of Decree Nº 477 of 1973, the Minister of the
Interior announced on July 9, 1980’ that he would permit meetings of a
political nature throughout the country, provided authorization was
requested from the corresponding authorities. Only citizens who are not
proscribed may participate in such meetings. c.
Visit by the International Red Cross
The Government authorized a visit by the International Red Cross
in the broadest terms, i.e., the international model for visits by that
organization was fully applied. All prisoners, without exception, were
visited. The teams of experts and doctors visited and talked with each
prisoner, interviewing them without witnesses, in total privacy.
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