In the midst of the legislative maelstrom after the murder of the second sergeant of the Carabineros, Rita Olivares, the National Institute of Human Rights (INDH), expressed its concern about the recently approved Naín-Retamal Law in the Chamber of Deputies and Deputies, which proposes greater powers for the police. This, they say, increases the risks in terms of human rights.
Specifically, the director of the INDH, Consuelo Contreras, pointed out that since 2017 the organization “has insisted on the urgency of determining by law the Rules for the Use of Force by which the Carabineros, the Investigative Police (PDI), as well as such as the Armed Forces when they are deployed in situations that imply contact with the civilian population”.
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However, Contreras asserted that “the bills now being discussed in Congress not only fail to address the real problems, security operations, but also lean disproportionately towards the Carabineros.”
“By establishing legal presumptions in their favor that make the possibility of proof to the contrary too difficult, what is done in practice is to judge in advance the quality of criminals of their possible victims, something that only the courts of justice can establish. Had Camilo Catrillanca and Fabiola Campillai committed a crime, or were they victims? It seems that in the new proposed regulations they, as well as their human rights, have no relevance,” lamented the director of the agency.
On the other hand, Contreras addressed the “impunity for the police” that the project could trigger, taking into consideration that it has a series of “provisions” that mean setbacks in terms of human rights.
“The new regulations could, in practice, favor the impunity of the police and make it difficult for the investigation to be carried out with the minimum standards of due process. In addition to the rule on privileged legitimate defense, the project contains provisions that constitute setbacks in standards of human rights that also do not solve the operational problems of police work and that can have effects that cannot yet be foreseen,” they add.
In addition to the above, the director of the INDH asserts that “the projects raise doubts about equality before the law, a guarantee of which all those who live in this country are holders. This given that they would not only affect those who are allegedly infringing the law, but of all those who are close and may suffer its effects”.
“Let’s not forget that the Carabineros are practically granted immunity for the damages they cause to third parties or their property during a police operation. The latter also violates the State’s duty to deliver justice to all those affected by their actions,” he said. contreras.
The director of the organization states that the “INDH” cannot but raise its deep concern about the progress, in the current terms, of the bills that seek to provide a ‘privileged legitimate defense’ to the Order and Security Forces. Crime must be confronted from the perspective of democracy and the protection of the human rights of all.”
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