PART FOUR
Chapter Two (C)

Prevention of Human Rights Violations (continued)

3. SUGGESTIONS AIMED AT CONSOLIDATING A CULTURE TRULY RESPECTFUL OF HUMAN RIGHTS
   
   
   1. CREATING A CULTURAL ENVIRONMENT CAPABLE OF RESPECTING HUMAN RIGHTS
      
      The legal and institutional reforms proposed in the previous section do not in themselves offer sufficient assurance that either government officials or politically motivated private citizens will actually respect human rights. Such an assurance can only be achieved in a society whose culture is truly inspired by unrestricted acknowledgement of the essential rights of the human being. Respect for such rights flows naturally out of such a culture as a part of everyday life and is manifested throughout the whole range of the nation's activity, political and otherwise.
      
      Hence the aim is that each member of our society internalize this principle so that behavior in the home, schools, and work, as well as in partisan political activity, in all exercise of authority, and very broadly in all activity, may be an application of that guiding principle. The exercise of public authority deserves special attention, for it requires respect not only for the human rights of one's political adversary but also the rights of the common citizen. When values clash and require conciliation, a prudent balance must always be sought.
      
      It should likewise be noted that it is absolutely necessary that private citizens involved in partisan political activity respect the rules of peaceful coexistence, that is, that they accept that the legitimate differences that may exist in these areas should not serve as an excuse for attacking the essential rights of those who have authority or who hold different positions. Education, which takes various forms, is called to play a key role in making respect for human life a part of our national culture. Indeed, that is what is required by Article 26, No. 2, of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, issued by the United Nations General Assembly December 10, 1948, which states that education is to strengthen respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms.
      
      In order to fulfill this responsibility, society will have to call on all the actors and institutions within it, so that the state and society as a whole will accept the challenge with a commitment that will provide the necessary impetus. To the government falls the task of providing the opportunities for training and education required in order to communicate an idea of human rights that will be shared by people of all conditions. Society should require that the education system add to its traditional functions that of providing values and moral formation in human rights. Society should also open the necessary space so as to allow education to make its real and necessary contribution on the matter.
      
      Hence this endeavor will involve the system of formal education in its various levels and modalities (pre-school, grammar school, high school, higher education; scholarly, scientific and humanistic, as well as technical and professional education; training institutions for professions in civilian life and those training professionals in the military, and so forth) as well as the system of non-formal education connected to community organizations and groups (adult education, popular education, women, labor unions, and so forth); and informal education, whose primary expression is found in the media (television, press, radio, and so forth). As is the case with any other kind of cultural progress, incorporating these various actors and bodies into this endeavor will require a long and consistent effort. We must accordingly strive to assure that the effort to introduce respect for human rights into our culture can function over the long run.
      
      
   2. DESIRABILITY THAT THE INSTITUTION WHOSE CREATION IS SUGGESTED IN THE NEXT CHAPTER ("OTHER RECOMMENDATIONS") ISSUE PROPOSALS FOR ASSURING A CULTURE SOLID IN THE AREA OF HUMAN RIGHTS
      
      This Commission recommends that the body proposed in the next chapter ("Other Recommendations") take on the task of urging those who work in the various areas of education (formal, non-formal, and informal) to undertake approaches that may help advance our culture by truly integrating a sense of respect for human rights. Care should be taken, however, to assure that such proposals be made by persons who have a reputation for moral integrity and who may provide assurances that they will treat human rights questions objectively and unaffected by partisan politics, and that such figures represent all sectors of the nation so as to assure that their recommendations will enjoy a high degree of acceptance from those for whom they are intended.
      
      The policies or measures that such a body might formulate or propose should have nothing binding or obligatory about them. In their activity they should not usurp areas proper to existing bodies or agencies, such as the Ministry of Education, the General Secretariat of the Government, the National Television Council, and others. In addition, the right to freedom to teach guaranteed by Article 19, No. 11 of the Constitution must also be safeguarded.
      
      Hence the power of their proposals will depend exclusively on the moral authority of those making the proposals and on their inherent suitability. This body should be particularly concerned to assure that the issue of human rights be introduced into the various areas of education from a perspective that is above politics-that is, one that regards human rights as the common inheritance of all persons by the very fact of being persons, without regard for race, gender, political position, religion, or any other consideration, as acknowledged in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights adopted by the United Nations General Assembly on December 10, 1948.
      
      
   3. SOME SUGGESTIONS OF A CONCEPTUAL NATURE THAT MAY SERVE AS A FRAMEWORK FOR TEACHING HUMAN RIGHTS
      
      It is commonly accepted that teaching human rights affects three interrelated areas of learning: information and conceptualization, formation of attitudes and values, behavior and actions. We will approach the matter from this angle, without thereby intending to deny the possibility of other approaches.
      
      In the teaching of human rights it is vitally important to prepare a code that of its very nature develops respect for those rights. In this respect it is important that people know, understand, and be able to offer assessments about historical aspects of human rights and on the theories and general observations that have been developed around concepts such as rights, freedom, the human being, civil and political liberties, economic and social freedoms, and so forth.
      
      Second-viewing education as a dynamic relationship that makes possible the development and enhancement of human qualities-we believe that the teaching of human rights entails shaping attitudes of respect and tolerance directly connected to those rights. This area of shaping attitudes and values, however, cannot remain simply a matter of developing benign attitudes toward human rights. It means that and much more. It means developing a consistent overall direction in life in which human rights articulate a kind of ideal aspiration which emerges from a critical posture toward reality; it also means dealing with the contradictions that social and political contexts impose on observing and enforcing such rights. It means not being content to respect human rights oneself, but becoming actively involved in denouncing violations and defending those rights, even when one is not directly the object of a particular violation.
      
      Third, learning behavior and action emerges as the area in which the ideas, attitudes, and values acquired are put in practice, for they would be meaningless unless they led to behavior in keeping with them. It must be stressed, however, that action requires its own kind of learning; we should not think that it occurs automatically and naturally. It must be developed by creating the conditions for practicing the kinds of behavior associated with human rights. Obviously the many kinds of behavior that must be consciously practiced in the realm of human rights goes beyond the possibilities of any education process. Hence that practice must be connected to everyday life and the daily needs that individuals, their families, and their environment must confront there. Consequently everyday life itself is a basic instance for assuring that human rights are observed in actual behavior. In this connection, special attention should be given to teaching proper use of language so as to avoid a tendency toward harsh language, which often tends to create a climate in which rights are likely to be violated.
      
      
   4. SOME SPECIFIC SUGGESTIONS TO SHED LIGHT ON HUMAN RIGHTS EDUCATION
      
      
      1. Suggestions on curriculum
         
         a.1) In formal education
         

         The aim should be to assure that curriculum contents and specific points on human rights are present not only in the manifest curriculum of formal education (plans, programs, and textbooks) but also in the hidden curriculum (school culture and the interaction between teacher and student). Efforts should be made not only to make children and young people knowledgeable about international agreements or statements on human rights but, even more importantly, to develop attitudes of respect and encouragement for those rights. Hence such education should involve participation of students, take into account their life experiences, and through a cognitive, sensory, and emotional approach lead them to become practically committed to human rights.
         
         In bringing human rights education into the school system that system must be respected for what it is in order to avoid repeating the well-known experience of educational innovations which have failed because they did not take into account the real nature of the Chilean school system. Thus incorporating human rights education into schools means making reflection on the issue a part of each subject, but within its own proper thrust. Such an approach will also avoid overloading teachers with work, since they will be able to carry out human rights education in their normal classes. This does not rule out preparing educational materials that will make it possible to incorporate the topic specifically and will make it easier for teachers to bring the issue into their planning, as we will note below.
         
         Specifically, we suggest that in preschool and elementary school, human rights be brought into the whole curriculum and the whole activity of the school, on the basis of the Declaration of the Rights of the Child. Emphasis should be given to bringing the child to internalize values like respect, tolerance, cooperation, proper use of language, being able to express ideas independently, and so forth.
         
         From middle school to the end of high school, human rights should be integrated into all subjects and should be expressed in the problems that arise in the subject matter, as well as in the psychological and social development of young people, and in their confrontation with the historic and social reality in which they find themselves. In this regard education must go beyond Chile's recent experience to incorporate all those elements of learning that shape the individual for civic life and to assure that the rights enshrined in the United Nations Charter are fully in effect.
         
         In higher education, all training for professional careers should create appropriate spaces in which students can be imbued with the duties and rights proper to all persons. To that end we suggest that there be a chair or that there be seminars, workshops, or other forms of academic activity devoted to this area.
         
         On the graduate level, we think it is essential to create a body of knowledge around human rights by encouraging dissertations, papers, and so forth, on the issue.
         

         a.2) In non-formal education
         

         Since efforts at non-formal education are connected to the overall development of grassroots organizations, we suggest that human rights education be linked to meeting the needs that individuals and groups are confronting. Thus they may be able to become aware of those rights, demand their compliance on the part of those responsible, and work together toward solving their problems.
         

         a.3) In informal education
         

         It is the task of the mass media to bring human rights into their message, both by presenting the formal content that is proclaimed in the Constitution and by promoting the values, attitudes, and kinds of behavior that are conducive to true respect for those rights. This latter point entails examining the negative values that the mass media are continually communicating.
         

      2. Suggestions for training personnel
         
         In view of the complexity of human rights issues, it is essential that those who are devoted specifically to educating in and about human rights be motivated to teach human rights in their specific areas, and that they have access to the training that such an endeavor requires. The starting point for such training is to become aware that knowledge of human rights is all-encompassing, complex, and dynamic. That does not mean turning human rights into an elite field but rather that at each level of education there must be people trained to teach about it.
         
         b.1) Formal education
         

         The primary agent of education in the school system is the teacher. Human rights education must be based on the work he or she does in the classroom. If human rights education in the school is to be effective, the teacher must, first, have a profound conviction and, second, be adequately trained. No decree, reform, or regulation will work if the teacher is not convinced. Hence human rights education must begin by motivating teachers to take up the task themselves by incorporating it into their usual work without overloading them.
         
         There is an urgent need that those institutions that train teachers assume the responsibility for providing training in human rights to all teachers. They should suit the teaching to the particular features of each field. For those who are already teachers and administrators, the relevant agencies (such as the Center for In-Service Training, Experimentation, and Educational Research, municipal governments, regional offices of government ministries, non-governmental organizations) should organize courses, training workshops, and study days that will enable the participants to learn the theoretical foundations of human rights and how they relate to education, and to develop teaching methods that will enable them to bring human rights issues into the school.
         

         b.2) Non-formal education
         

         In non-formal education we suggest that occasions for training be developed so as to allow other professional people (doctors, police and military, lawyers, midwives, social workers, psychologists, civil engineers, and so forth) as well as other social actors (parents, leaders of organizations, business people, and so forth) to make the exercise of their profession or their work an occasion for human rights education. Formal education is thus not the only avenue for this kind of work. Likewise community educators should be trained to help communities organize around defending their rights and meeting their needs.
         

         b.3) Informal education
         

         With regard to informal education, those who work in the media by the very nature of their work have a great deal of influence on people and groups. Hence we suggest that such professionals be trained so that they will become conscious of their educational task. The starting point should be university training imparted in courses on professional ethics and should continue to develop throughout one's professional career.
         

      3. Suggestions on preparing and providing educational materials
         
         We believe that there should be no delay in preparing a wide variety of educational resources as a first step toward implementing new ways of educating. The preparation of textbooks, teaching guides, visual aids, videos, and so forth is essential. Rather than being rigid formulas, these should be aimed at triggering ideas. We would urge that primary emphasis be placed on methodologies which in themselves are bearers of the message of human rights, namely dialogue, identifying problems, participation, working in groups, and so forth.
         
         So as to motivate teachers to become involved in this task we urge efforts to create a Fund for Human Rights Projects, which would award grants to teachers on a competitive basis. Thus it would be possible to finance the elaboration, implementation, evaluation, and spread of innovative approaches. The experience of other countries that have made considerable advances in human rights education should be taken into account. The material they have already prepared should be gathered and stored in a Documentation and Educational Materials Center, which could gather the available national and international material, including the vast accumulation of information, analysis, and studies now held by human rights agencies. The body that we urge be created in the next chapter ("Further Recommendations") could administer the project fund and gather, adapt, and circulate the available human rights material as well as prepare new material.
         
         The media can also make a valuable contribution to human rights education by producing mass circulation audiovisual and written material to be used in the educational system.
         
         
   5. RECOMMENDATION THAT OCCASIONS TO DISCUSS AND ADOPT SYMBOLIC PREVENTIVE MEASURES BE PROVIDED AS SOON AS POSSIBLE
      
      It is absolutely necessary that a space for broad public debate on human rights be opened immediately. Hence all the various branches and agencies of government must promote a wide range of initiatives aimed at making the issue known and prompting discussion. They must also adopt symbolic preventive measures which may at the same time aid in making reparation.
      
      From this standpoint the adoption of some of the following measures could be considered:
      
      
      • Organizing public forums on different levels of civil society and among the armed forces and police;
        
        
      • Carrying out a number of cultural activities on National Human Rights Day emphasizing the values of democracy, tolerance, and respect for human rights, as well as the essential dignity of the human person-all of these aimed at reconciling Chileans and bringing them together;
        
        
      • Establishing a National Human Rights and Peace Prize, just like the other national prizes, which would be awarded to the institution or person whose activity in promoting and defending human rights had been outstanding.
        
        
      • Eliminating symbols that are divisive for Chileans. It is important to take care that they not be replaced by others that have the same kind of effect.
        
        
   6. INCLUSION OF TERRORIST ACTS IN THE CATEGORY OF HUMAN RIGHTS VIOLATIONS
      
      In all areas of recommendations made in this chapter it should be understood that references to human rights violations are expressly intended to encompass those committed for political purposes and especially terrorist actions. Our intention is that the means suggested in the present chapter may serve to arouse energies to reject and overcome such actions and to completely eliminate such practices.
      
      
4. TRUTH, JUSTICE AND RECONCILIATION AS PREVENTIVE MEASURES
   
   
   1. A CULTURE THAT RESPECTS HUMAN RIGHTS CAN DEVELOP ONLY IN AN ATMOSPHERE OF A HEALTHY NATIONAL COMMON LIFE
      
      We have emphasized that respect for human rights demands that a culture take its inspiration from those rights. We must nonetheless acknowledge that such a cultural atmosphere cannot be expected to flourish in a situation in which there are signs of a failure to come together, as is the case in our society.
      
      Hence it is absolutely necessary that we overcome the level of division still present as a result of our experience in recent decades. In other words, creating the cultural climate that we are urging as a preventive measure requires a society that is reconciled. Thus we are led to insist that for the sake of such preventive measures we must attain the truth and justice that are themselves prerequisites for national reconciliation. We now make some observations on truth and justice.
      
      
   2. TRUTH
      
      Establishing the truth is clearly both a preventive measure in itself and is presupposed in any other preventive measure that may ultimately be adopted. In order to fulfill its preventive function, the truth must clearly combine certain minimum requirements. It must be impartial, complete, and objective, so that public awareness may be quite clearly convinced of what the facts are and how the honor and dignity of the victims were wronged.
      
      In this connection we recall that the decree creating the Commission on Truth and Reconciliation indicates that its central purpose is to "clarify in a comprehensive manner the truth about the most serious human rights violations committed in recent years." In order to achieve that purpose we believed we should gather as much evidence as possible about each one of the approximately 3,500 cases on which we received complaints and that insofar as possible we should listen to the family members of each of those killed and to the witnesses that they or the organizations making the complaint brought forward. This Commission trusts that the truth that has been obtained in this fashion may in itself serve the intended purpose of prevention.
      
      
   3. JUSTICE
      
      We have encountered divided opinions over what justice entails. Some argue that for the sake of both reparation and prevention it is absolutely imperative that the guilty be punished. Others, however, believe that given the amount of time that has passed and the manner in which the events took place and their context, it would not be advisable to open or reopen trial procedures, since the results could be the opposite of those sought.
      
      The stand people take concerning justice tends to determine how they view the notions of impunity and amnesty. In particular some agree that it is utterly necessary that the courts of justice issue sentences, at least in some high profile cases. From the standpoint of prevention alone, this Commission believes that for the sake of national reconciliation and preventing the recurrence of such events it is absolutely necessary that the government fully exercise its power to mete out punishment. Full protection for human rights is conceivable only within a state that is truly subject to the rule of law. The rule of law means that all citizens are subject to the law and to the courts, and hence that the sanctions contemplated in criminal law, which should be applied to all alike, should thereby be applied to those who transgress the laws safeguarding human rights. The Commission's founding decree says as much in considerations 4 and 7, which state that justice must be administered through the courts.
      
      We make this observation fully cognizant of the whole range of practical obstacles that may hinder the full realization of such an important aim, such as the fact that many of these cases have been suspended or amnestied with either no judicial investigation or only a partial investigation; the emphatic legal position taken by the Supreme Court in its decisions in the sense of declaring that it is inadmissible to delve into the facts in those cases that have fallen under amnesty; the fact that a large portion of cases are in military courts; and other limiting conditions.
      
      
   4. RECONCILIATION
      
      Truth and justice-insofar as they can be attained through the courts-are the pillars on which a reconciled society must be built, but in themselves they are not enough. The various sectors of society affected must also be brought back together. In this regard it should be noted that this Commission has heard numerous statements from those who suffered indicating their desire that the nation be brought back together and reflecting their spirit of not seeking revenge.
      
      Hence it is to be hoped that those who are in a position to help advance reconciliation with some gesture or specific act will do so. They could, for example, make available the information they may have on the whereabouts of those who disappeared after arrest or the location of the bodies of people who were executed or tortured to death and have not yet been found.
      
      Only by taking such steps will we advance toward the national reconciliation that is an utter necessity and is also the primary condition for avoiding a repetition of past events.
      
      

1. Strictly speaking the suggestions made here are not intended to bring Chilean law into line with international human rights law but rather to improve that legislation. The fact that the two points are closely connected has led us to include these observations on improving the law in this section on making it fit international law.
   
   

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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 Two (C), 878-886.
Note: Digitized and posted by permission of the University of Notre Dame Press, February 22, 2000.