PART FOUR
Chapter One

Proposals for Reparation

1. INTRODUCTION
   
   Previous chapters have enabled readers to come to an understanding of the truth about the grave human rights violations that have taken place and the injury borne by the victims' relatives. Following our mandate, we will present in this chapter the measures we regard as just for reparation and the restoration of the good name of the victims.
   
   Obviously, there can be no correlation between the pain, frustration, and hopes of the victims' families and the measures to be suggested here. The disappearance or death of a loved one is an irreparable loss. Nevertheless, moral and material reparation seem to be utterly essential to the transition toward a fuller democracy. Thus we understand reparation to mean a series of actions that express acknowledgement and acceptance of the responsibility that falls to the state due to the actions and situations presented in this report. The task of reparation requires conscious and deliberate action on the part of the state.
   
   Furthermore, the whole of Chilean society must respond to the challenge of reparation. Such a process must move toward acknowledging the truth of what has happened, restoring the moral dignity of the victims, and achieving a better quality of life for those families most directly affected. Only in this fashion will we be able to develop a more just form of common life that will enable us to look with hope toward the future.
   
   
   • Although the specific measures of reparation adopted must be designed to be effective, they will obviously be unable to accomplish anything by themselves. The great ideals-truth, justice, forgiveness, reconciliation-must come first.
     
     
   • Measures of reparation must aim to bring society together and move toward creating conditions for true reconciliation; they should never cause division.
     
     
   • Only within an atmosphere that encourages respect for human rights will reparation take on vital meaning and shed any accusatory trait that might reopen the wounds of the past. The reparation process means having the courage to face the truth and achieve justice: it requires the generosity to acknowledge one's faults and a forgiving spirit so that Chileans may draw together.
     
     
2. RECOMMENDATIONS FOR RESTORING THE GOOD NAME OF PEOPLE AND MAKING SYMBOLIC REPARATION
   
   
   1. PUBLICLY REPAIRING THE DIGNITY OF THE VICTIMS
      
      For some people the very fact that this Commission was created by the president and exists may constitute an initial gesture of reparation. Out of our own experience we can attest that many of the victims' relatives who attended sessions throughout Chile saw it as such a gesture.
      
      Moreover, there are already a number of spontaneous initiatives and gestures of reparation throughout the country. Each of them is valuable in itself for what it expresses. Such initiatives need not spring from a law. Indeed it would be beneficial if initiatives for reparation were to multiply throughout the country and in every segment of society. Our hope would be that the creativity of such gestures might add to the artistic and moral endowment of our nation. Thus some day we may have symbols of reparation that are national and others that are regional or local in nature.
      
      However, it would seem that these things are not enough: the country needs to publicly restore the good name of those who perished and to keep alive the memory of what happened so that it may never happen again. Hence the state can take the lead in making gestures and creating symbols that can give a national impetus to the reparation process. Today more than ever our country needs gestures and symbols of reparation so as to cultivate new values that may draw us together and unveil to us common perspectives on democracy and development. If we know how to be attentive to details and observe the formalities, we will also know how to overcome the obstacles still dividing us.
      
      It is to be hoped that as soon as it is prudently possible, the government will see fit to provide the means and resources necessary to set in motion cultural and symbolic projects aimed at reclaiming the memory of the victims both individually and collectively. Such projects would lay down new foundations for our common life and for a culture that may show more respect and care for human rights, and so provide us with the assurance that violations so threatening to life will never again be committed.
      
      
   2. SOME SUGGESTIONS FOR RESTORING THE GOOD NAME OF PEOPLE AND MAKING SYMBOLIC REPARATION
      
      This Commission has decided to offer some criteria or suggestions to aid government officials in taking a position on the kind of gesture or creative expression that could best serve the proposed aims of restoring the good name of people and making reparation. We have received many interesting contributions and note that they have certain common features:
      
      
      1. People are looking for expressions of reparation that will be public and national in scope. At the same time there is a concern that regional and even local aspects be expressed forcefully and independently.
         
         
      2. People are aspiring to have each victim's good name and dignity restored: future generations should know and perpetuate their full name so that it may serve to teach and reaffirm the value of life.
         
         
      3. People are longing to see such expressions reflect a consensus and not be a sign of division exalting some and disparaging others. Such expressions could make a contribution to greater unity and social cohesion.
         
         
      4. People are especially aware of the role played by the mass media in symbolic acts of reparation in view of their impact in creating culture.
         
         
      Simply by way of example we can report that we have received many suggestions for symbolic reparation. Most frequently they are along the lines of:
      
      
      • setting up a commemorative monument that would list all the victims of human rights abuses from both sides;
        
        
      • building a public park in memory of those who lost their lives, to serve as a place of commemoration and a lesson, as well as a place for recreation and for bolstering a life-affirming culture.
        
        
      • giving the recently created "National Human Rights Day" the importance it deserves so that each December 10 will be observed throughout the country with public observances and ceremonies in the schools and other gestures aimed at symbolic reparation;
        
        
      • organizing campaigns, cultural celebrations, and the like, so that we may continue to move toward creating a climate of national reconciliation.
        
        
      With regard to how to implement these and other possible proposals, this Commission can only urge government officials to invite the most representative social sectors to design projects that both have artistic value and are intended to help make social reparation. In particular, we would like to suggest that those who work in art and culture be invited to make their own specific contribution. Likewise family members could be consulted in the design phase of the project.
      
      
   3. SOLEMNLY RESTORING THE GOOD NAME OF THE VICTIMS
      
      Before ending this section we would like to offer a suggestion we regard as extremely important. This Commission takes the liberty of suggesting that the state-whether represented by his excellency the president of the republic, or by the Congress, or by a law-solemnly and expressly restore the good name of the victims who were accused of crimes which were never proven and who were never given the opportunity or adequate means to defend themselves. It is our hope that such a gesture may initiate an era in our common life as a nation in which a reaffirmation of life may serve to guide us toward the future.
      
      
3. LEGAL AND ADMINISTRATIVE RECOMMENDATIONS
   
   
   1. UNRESOLVED LEGAL ISSUES
      
      The Commission has found that the immediate family members of the victims of the most serious human rights violations are burdened by a whole series of legal and administrative problems. Some of these problems deserve particular attention. We are referring to those problems arising directly from the state of legal uncertainty of people who have disappeared after arrest, due to the lack of proof of what has happened to them.
      
      In addition to the uncertainty and anguish of this situation, family members confront a long list of problems in connection with their civil status, inheritance, ownership of the disappeared person's property, school tuition for the children, wives' legal interest in marital property, and a host of situations that harm the family estate.
      
      There have been two possible approaches to this problem, one provisional and the other more permanent. One is the judicial appointment of a legal caretaker for the missing person's property. The disadvantage of this approach is that it grants only provisional power to administer the victim's property. The other possibility is to ask that the person be declared to be presumed dead in accordance with Article 81ff. of the Civil Code. The problem with this approach has been that the family members have often preferred not to utilize this procedure because it seems to imply that they are somehow giving up their efforts to discover the truth or to find the person alive, or for some other reason. These reasons should be respected.
      
      We think both of these approaches were designed in another context and for other purposes, and they are not adequate for resolving the present problem. Hence we would like to propose that consideration be given to a special procedure for declaring dead those persons in whose cases we arrived at the conviction that government agents were responsible for their arrest and disappearance.
      
      
   2. SPECIAL PROCEDURE FOR DECLARING PERSONS ARRESTED AND DISAPPEARED TO BE DEAD
      
      Here we will merely state some criteria for the consideration of those persons authorized to enact laws.
      
      
      1. Criteria
         
         We propose that a new criterion for declaring a person to be presumed dead be added to those which the law already stipulates. We are referring to those people who have undergone arrest and disappearance at the hands of government agents and are therefore victims of human rights violations and who are listed as such in this report. Since for lack of evidence, this Commission did not come to any conviction in some cases, we suggest that the possibility of applying this criterion to such cases be studied. It would have to be established before the relevant agency designated in the law and within the time limit set by the law that such persons were victims of human rights violations.
         
         
      2. Proof
         
         We would recommend that the conviction of this Commission should constitute sufficient proof for such a court decision and be the only evidence required. In other words, the only proof needed would be that the person's name appear on the list of victims in this report; no other procedure would be required. Accordingly, we would like to propose that any other kind of evidence in this procedure, such as issuing a public summons for the missing person, be eliminated.
         
         
      3. Procedure
         
         We believe that this procedure would have to be governed by the general rules of law. Those formulating the law should study changes to make it more accessible, simpler, and free of charge for persons requesting it. To that end we propose:
         
         
         • that the petitioner be permitted to present the request for a declaration of presumed death to the judge with jurisdiction over the last domicile of the disappeared person or the judge with jurisdiction over the petitioner's domicile;
           
           
         • that the presumed date of death be determined to be that of the last information indicating that the person was still alive (this would constitute a clear exception to normal procedure);
           
           
         • that final possession of property be granted without, passing through a prior provisional possession, in view of the circumstances peculiar to disappearance, which make it more likely that the disappeared person is indeed dead.
           
           
         In view of the documentation the Commission has obtained, we would recommend that the lawmaking authority consider the possibility that this procedure and legal assistance be free of charge to petitioners.
         
         It has been our intention to recommend a special procedure for clarifying the legal dimension of the problem. We hope that such a procedure might to some degree help alleviate the plight of the relatives of those persons who disappeared after arrest. We hope that measures such as these will enable those affected to have available a legal instrument adapted to the special requirements of such cases, and that the petitioners themselves will be able to use it when they so choose. The social, symbolic, and ethical dimensions of the problem of those persons whom government agents arrested and subjected to forced disappearance leads us to maintain profound respect for the different choices that their relatives may have made or be led to make in the future.
         
         
4. RECOMMENDATIONS IN THE AREA OF SOCIAL WELFARE
   
   
   1. ANTECEDENTS
      
      The aim of our recommendations in the area of social welfare is to repair the moral and material harm that the immediate relatives of the victims have suffered. Their plans and hopes have been altered radically by the violations that this Commission has examined.
      
      We believe that by its very nature the state is obligated to undertake measures which support the efforts the affected families have made to seek a better quality of life. Hence we now propose a series of social welfare measures specifically in the areas of social security, health care, education, and housing, as well as other needs and rights. All these areas have been affected and all need mending in order to restore our common life.
      
      
      • The support provided should not only help people deal with particular problems concerning their welfare; it should also encourage the participation of the relatives themselves, since it is they who can best determine which of their needs are most urgent and how they may be satisfied.
        
        
      • We would also suggest that the measures finally adopted aim at providing a quick and effective solution, since these problems have been mounting up over the years and they hinder efforts to reintegrate these families into Chilean society.
        
        
      • Although there are social and economic as well as cultural differences between the victims' family members, we think it would be wise that there be a single set of welfare measures applicable to all so that the reparation made will be permanent rather than momentary. In other words, such measures should support a process in which their quality of life is enhanced. These welfare measures should take into account the irreparable loss of a family member as well as what many years of searching does to a family and its fortunes.
        
        
   2. RECOMMENDATIONS IN THE AREA OF PENSIONS
      
      A number of the statements we have received lead us to think that the right of the victims' relatives to social security should be reestablished. This is one of the tasks of reparation that the state should assume.
      
      
      1. Countless problems and the complexity of solutions
         
         There are countless problems related to pensions, owing to the death, or arrest and disappearance of the victims of human rights violations. Solutions would be very complex, especially due to the changes in the social security system in recent years. The people who were killed or who disappeared after arrest may be regarded as the source of rights to an array of pension benefits that their relatives have never received or have collected only in part. Thus many are owed benefits as survivors (widows, or orphans), from life insurance, and so forth. Remedying this situation would require the removal of legal and administrative obstacles, such as extending the time limits for receiving benefits, certifying or presuming the death of the person who is the source of such a right, bringing the amounts of payments owed in line with increases in the cost of living, and retroactively paying the monthly allotments due.
         
         
      2. Proposal for a single reparation pension
         
         In accordance with these antecedents and the interesting suggestions we have received, we think it possible to propose a single reparation pension for the immediate relatives of the victims. The only condition is that the name of the person who is the source of the right must appear on the list in this report. That is, the relatives of those who have disappeared after arrest need not go through the procedure of having the person declared to be presumed dead.
         
         The reason for proposing a single reparation pension is that it would be difficult to resolve quickly and satisfactorily the pension problems we have noted by following the established procedures for providing survivors' pensions. In many of these cases the circumstances of the person's death are not established, and in others their situation vis-á-vis pensions is quite abnormal.
         
         On the basis of our own judgement and many opinions we have received, we would like to recommend that special legislation be drawn up to create a single reparation pension. To that end we would like to present some ideas on the kinds of issues on which the lawmaker or lawmaking body will have to come to a decision.
         
         
         • There is a convergence of opinion that the single pension should apply to all cases starting on a single date. That date should be at least twelve months prior to the day on which the law goes into effect, and the first payment should be accumulative. The victims' relatives would thus be able to receive a lump sum of money that could serve in part to cover the costs incurred thus far.
           
           
         • In view of the documentation provided by specialized agencies and taking into account the needs of most of those affected, we suggest that the monthly sum given to each family be not lower than the average income of a family in Chile.
           
           
         • There is good reason to propose that the people in whose name the single reparation is to be paid be those persons who suffered human rights violations in all the categories laid down in Chapter Three of this report and those who were killed as a result of political violence, as defined there. Their names are listed alphabetically in the final volume of this report [not translated into English].
           
           
         We suggest that after this Commission is dissolved, those persons over whom it could not come to a conviction may be able to be defined as victims by an agency designated for that purpose, within a time frame to be established by the lawmaking body.
         
         
         • Laws should be enacted to determine who the beneficiaries are to be, in what order of priority and in which proportion they are to share in any single pension like the one being proposed. We trust that the lawmaker will give due consideration to the most up-to-date standards for social security and will also take into account special cases that may present themselves.
           
           
         • We would also like to pass on the suggestions that we have received that this pension be for life. We hope that the lawmaker will take this aspect into account and will also define to whom such lifelong benefits are to accrue.
           
           
         • The observations we have received indicate that receiving a single reparation pension should be incompatible with any other pension arising from the same cause and provided by the existing social security systems in the country. However, should the beneficiaries have a right to more than one pension, they should be able to choose the one that is most advantageous to them.
           
           
         • The Commission believes that it is the role of the lawmaker to define whether this pension is compatible with any other legal claim the relatives may make on the basis of the victims' death or disappearance after arrest.
           
           
         • We believe that in view of the reason for the reparation it would be fitting that the pension be granted quickly, easily, and in a manner that makes it accessible to the victims' relatives; the time period for payment should be established by the lawmaker.
           
           
         • The expenditures required by the single pension are to come from the general funds of the national budget, although the lawmaker may make it possible that funds be received from other sources, especially those donated or collected for that purpose.
           
           
   3. RECOMMENDATIONS IN THE AREA OF HEALTH CARE
      
      
      1. Consequences from the standpoint of people's health
         
         We have received significant and helpful opinions concerning health care. In general, they focus on the health of the family members of the victims and recommend that these people be provided special attention in view of the effects human rights violations have had on their health.
         
         
         • Specialized agencies have declared that the victims and their relatives have particular problems in both physical and mental health. They add that these problems are different from the way illnesses affect that portion of the Chilean population that has been less exposed to such violations.
           
           
         • The permanent stress to which these people have been subjected has made them more vulnerable. They manifest grave symptoms in the area of mental health. They have had traumatic experiences so intense and so strong that their psychic structure has not been able to process them. All their subsequent efforts at reorganizing their lives will be marked by the damage done unless they receive specialized help.
           
           
         • In terms of bodily health, although the pathology is not notably different, these people have been observed to differ from others treated in hospitals in being more precocious and in their level of commitment. Many of these persons and families are from the popular sectors and have little money or have gradually become poorer from the time they were victims of human rights violations. In some instances serious nutritional problems have been observed. We are especially concerned for senior citizens and children. All indications are that they are going to be exposed to a biological, psychological, and social deterioration that must be treated directly.
           
           
         • Such disruption of health is not limited to the immediate family circle of those who were killed or who disappeared after arrest, or the survivors of serious torture or acts of violence committed for political purposes. They also affect social relations, work situations, the neighborhood, and indeed the whole community. The health of individuals, families, and society has been harmed.
           
           
         • Moreover, such harm is both manifest and still latent in the population. Specialists say it will be difficult to overcome such damage in the short run, since it may extend even to the third generation.
           
           
         No matter how extensive it may be, the specialists who offered their opinions to this Commission believe that this problem is very serious from a qualitative standpoint and that it involves an extreme degree of trauma. The situation is complex because these illnesses have themselves become injustices, or may have taken the form of a mute or stigmatizing pain. Some people have experienced their health problems in the form of an obscure or confused punishment, or as a comforting explanation for why they are powerless to express their truth. Sometimes the passage of time has made certain illness chronic and renders a comprehensive solution difficult or impossible. In such cases regaining health is more complex since it also requires that the person revise what he or she expects to achieve in life.
         
         
      2. Need for specialized health care
         
         These brief observations suggest the need for specialized health care for an unspecified number of families who have suffered very serious violations of their rights. The Commission believes that it is primarily the task of the state to respond to this situation. The Ministry of Health will be best able to develop a program or a number of programs aimed at the most directly affected population.
         
         In accordance with our observations here and with suggestions we have received, we propose that the direct beneficiaries of such health programs be all those persons who have been subjected to extreme physical or mental trauma as the result of a grave violation of their human rights committed by government agents or by private citizens who used violence for obvious political reasons. We have in mind the immediate family members of all the persons listed in this report. We would also like to explicitly recommend that those persons who have been the victims of severe physical and mental torture also be included, along with those who have been seriously injured as a result of politically motivated terrorist actions committed by private citizens.
         
         In the context of social reparation, we want to point to the need to serve the health needs of those persons who have been involved in practicing torture in detention sites and to those who have acknowledged their participation in actions whose grave results we have investigated, as well as to those who may require such care in the future for the same reasons. It would seem that both humanitarian and technical reasons converge to urge that this population be furnished with comprehensive health care. Starting with their recovery and physical and mental rehabilitation, such care should go on to encompass levels of prevention and positive action that may extend to broader sectors of society.
         
         
      3. Suggestions for organizing health activities
         
         We have received numerous suggestions on how to organize health activities on behalf of this sector of the population that is most in need. We would like to single out some of the more interesting suggestions concerning the manner in which health care is provided:
         
         
         • Such activities should incorporate the experience people had to undergo. Insofar as necessary, people should be allowed to express the personal and family experience that have given rise to their need for treatment.
           
           
         • The approach to each person seeking attention should be comprehensive (biological, psychological, and social). Hence it is desirable that the teams be interdisciplinary and be familiar with the various reasons leading them to seek care. Insofar as possible, they should be alert to the needs of the family as a whole, and kindness and understanding should be part of the treatment.
           
           
         • Activities should be planned so as to involve not only persons affected by human rights violations, but groups of such people, when the representational character and experience of such groups make it appropriate.
           
           
         • The projected time period for such health care activities should not be too short. However, such activities should ultimately be aimed at integrating those in most need into ordinary health programs.
           
           
         • Necessary services should be provided with no regard for the ability to pay of those most directly affected by human rights violations.
           
           
         Responsibilities of the health care system
         
         Beyond making some suggestions, it is not the role of this Commission to take a position on the most adequate ways to organize and carry out health activities. Health officials will have to devise a special program, and the funding and coordination will have to come from the Ministry of Health. Such a program should seek technical cooperation from non-governmental health organizations, particularly those that have provided health care to this population and have accumulated valuable experience over all these years. It is suggested that the private health care sector be allowed access to these programs and their funding so as to allow the clientele a variety of alternatives from which to choose.
         
         We think it will be the task of health care providers to determine the existing needs and resources. We are certain that carrying out programs of this nature will require substantial amounts of economic and human resources. The government will have to redouble its efforts to provide the funding and to attain the national coverage that the problem demands. We likewise assume that the contributions that the armed forces and police could make to the overall health care system should not be overlooked. Some of their beneficiaries or potential beneficiaries belong to the population affected by the kinds of problems considered here.
         
         In the spirit of uniting the various segments of our nation, all institutions and care providers in the health care system should be concerned about satisfying the basic needs of such persons.
         
         
   4. RECOMMENDATIONS IN THE AREA OF EDUCATION
      
      
      1. Need for a vast creative effort to devise ways to make reparation in the realm of education
         
         At first glance it might seem that the educational problems of the immediate relatives of human rights victims have to do with younger children, but that is not the case. Most of the children are adolescents or even adults whose opportunities for attending school or the university can now hardly be recovered. The events that so radically altered people's future plans usually took place years ago. The situation of people who lost their opportunity to receive an education is of special concern to us.
         
         The cases we have examined have shown us how the chances of entering and remaining in the various levels of the educational system were disrupted for children and adolescents who were not especially predisposed to take such a risk. Here again poverty and declining living conditions have aggravated the problem of education for many of these families. In addition such children and young people have had to bear with emotional upheaval and learning problems during their elementary and high school years.
         
         As a result of all these factors combined it has not been easy for them to enter universities and institutes for advanced technical training. Our country needs the contribution of all its youth and particularly these young people who have been excluded from formal education by the facts and circumstances presented in the earlier chapters of this report. There is no need for a lengthy diagnosis. It is obvious that we need a vast creative and perhaps unprecedented effort in our country to find ways to make reparation in the realm of education before it is too late and the situation is irremediable. At the same time, the tasks of making reparation in the realm of education must be coordinated with the efforts to prevent human rights abuses and forge a culture respectful of human rights that we propose below.
         
         
      2. Measures to take as quickly as possible
         
         In accordance with the nature of the problem and the opinions we have gathered on this issue, it would be desirable to implement measures on behalf of the children of persons whose names are listed in this report in any of its categories as soon as possible. Our recommendations in this regard are directed to the Ministry of Education so that it may study the possibility of devising a program of reparation. The starting point for the program should be a diagnosis of the problem and should involve the participation of those who have suffered, human rights organizations, professional associations, the National Teachers Association, and other relevant bodies.
         
         Among the measures we regard as most interesting we suggest the following:
         
         
         • A portion of scholarships for higher education should be reserved for the children of human rights victims who are ready for such studies.
           
           
         • Study should be given to the possibility of canceling debts that the children, spouses, or other immediate relatives of such victims have incurred with the state or universities, provided the proper authority approves.
           
           
         • Young people and adults who did not complete their studies and do not have a trade should be regarded as having a right to enroll in certain institutes and centers for technical training.
           
           
         • Similar opportunities and incentives should be provided for surviving spouses or partners, or other immediate family members, should they request it.
           
           
         • We urge that educational measures be organized in the framework of our recommendations for social reparation so that they may make it as easy as possible for people to acquire a profession or trade, complete their training, or retrain for that purpose. We also urge that the government assume the costs within certain limits and time frames, once the scope of the demand has been assessed. Finally we urge that the aim must always be to reincorporate the relatives of human rights victims into society and that the stigma and risks of isolation that might derive from granting special aid be avoided.
           
           
      3. Appreciation for the efforts of those teaching outside the government system
         
         Finally, we have come to an appreciation of the various efforts made by nongovernmental agents to aid in the education of the victims' family members. We hope that their contribution will continue to complement the initiatives that the government may undertake in this area and that new study and training opportunities may open up for young people and even older adults who also need them.
         
         
   5. RECOMMENDATIONS IN THE AREA OF HOUSING
      
      
      1. Different problems
         
         Housing issues might seem minor when compared to the serious consequences already described. There is no point in debating the issue, however, since housing is a basic need, and the ability of those affected by human rights violations to satisfy that need has been seriously impaired. Insofar as possible, reparation for that impairment should be made in a social manner.
         
         In many instances the events we have investigated have forced families to move to a different area, leaving their home and even losing it. In other instances, the family did not have a house of their own when these events occurred. Had they not taken place, however, it is quite possible that the now missing head of the house would have been able to obtain a house for his family as the fruit of his work.
         
         This Commission has also learned of land and goods being confiscated, of houses damaged by violence, of debts owed for housing payments, of situations in which insurance policies that should have paid off the mortgage when the person was killed or disappeared did not do so, problems with deeds, and so forth.
         
         
      2. Special treatment
         
         In view of these factors, we think it would be just for the government to offer special treatment for the housing problems of the relatives of victims of the most serious human rights violations whose names are listed in this report. In connection with the reparation that the state should make, we offer two suggestions by way of example:
         
         
         • We urge the Ministry of Housing and Urban Planning to give priority to those immediate family members of the victims of human rights violations to participate in social programs, should they apply. The very fact that they can prove they are such family members should entitle them to participate. We have in mind people who have no house of their own, who want to apply for a subsidy, and who fulfill the other requirements. How they can do so is to be established by the proper authorities.
           
           
         • We likewise urge the ministry to study the possibility of setting aside a certain number of places within special housing programs for the victims' immediate family members who desire to apply for them and who fulfill the other requisites.
           
           
         As was the case in other areas, it would be interesting to encourage specialized non-governmental agencies, building contractors, and professional associations to become involved and work together with those affected and their organizations to devise new and concrete solutions that may quickly remedy the housing needs of this portion of the population which is spread throughout the cities and rural areas of the whole country.
         
         
   6. FURTHER RECOMMENDATIONS IN THE REALM OF SOCIAL WELFARE
      
      
      1. Recommendations for canceling debts
         
         In the general area of reparation, we suggest that study be given to the possibility of canceling some outstanding debts to the government owed by people who were killed or who disappeared after arrest and who are listed in this report. Such debts would include those related to social security, education, housing, taxes, or others that may still exist with government agencies because requirements were not met within prescribed time periods. The aim is to alleviate the burden that the families have had to bear. We are also assuming that the state has a responsibility in the area of reparation.
         
         
      2. Recommendations concerning obligatory military service
         
         In view of the evidence the Commission has in hand, and following suggestions from eminent moral authorities, we suggest that within the climate of reparation needed if the various sectors of the nation are to come together, the competent authority should study the possibility of allowing the children of those who suffered the most serious human rights violations the option to accept or reject military service without suffering discrimination in other opportunities for study or employment. The only basis for making this recommendation is the understandable problem of sensitive feelings aroused by this matter. In no way are we motivated by any lack of esteem for military service, which deserves our wholehearted respect.
         
         
      3. Recommendations concerning most vulnerable groups
         
         We could not end this chapter without noting a concern shared with other agencies with whom we consulted. That concern is the priority that should be given to serving the needs of certain groups in the population due to their vulnerability and what they represent to society. In this regard we single out older people who have been left alone as a result of the events we have been considering. The children who have also suffered from these events deserve a very special priority, as do a group of Mapuche families who have likewise been significantly affected. We would like to recommend that along with the efforts it organizes on behalf of these more vulnerable groups, the state take into account the experiences of reparation in this area already existing in our country and in other countries as well.
         
         We believe that the obligation to make reparation to future generations falls on the whole society. However, it also benefits the whole society because insofar as we truly become concerned for these people we are doing something to prevent such grave human rights violations from ever recurring in Chile.
         
         
5. THE MOST URGENT RECOMMENDATIONS
   
   In concluding this chapter the Commission would like to note that the information it has gathered and a body of suggestions that it has received would seem to indicate that certain reparation measures deserve more urgent attention from government authorities. These measures have to do primarily with symbols, law and administration, and social welfare.
   
   
   • There seems to be a need for a symbolic gesture that will meet the requirements outlined above for restoring the good name of the victims and so that Chile may never again endure the kinds of events we have had to bring to light.
     
     
   • In the area of law and administration, a special procedure for declaring dead those persons who disappeared after arrest would help reestablish the necessary quality of life for their families.
     
     
   • The social welfare of those families demands that lost or diminished pension rights be reestablished. The Single Reparation Pension would seem to be the most desirable means for doing so.
     
     
   In pointing to the urgency of these three measures, it has not been our intention to simplify a situation that is inherently complex for the government. Our aim has been to convey the needs of those affected in order to set in motion the process of social reparation that his excellency, the president, announced when he created this Truth and Reconciliation Commission.
   
   

[ Back to top ]

Posted by USIP Library on: October 4 2002
Source: Report of the Chilean National Commission on Truth and Reconciliation
(Notre Dame, Indiana: University of Notre Dame Press, 1993), vol. II/II, Part Four, Chapter One, 837-851.
Note: Digitized and posted by permission of the University of Notre Dame Press, February 22, 2000.