Human Rights

Universal periodic review - Chile

Questions/Recommendations from New Zealand, Friday 8 May 2009

        

New Zealand welcomes the delegation of Chile to the Council. We value this opportunity to engage with Chile on human rights, in addition to the ongoing bi-lateral dialogue and cooperation shared between our two countries.

New Zealand commends Chile for the progress made since 1990 in restoring democratic government, promoting respect for human rights and reducing poverty. However, as Chile's own national report identifies, challenges remain in fully realising the rights of every member of society.

New Zealand notes the positive steps Chile has taken to recognise the rights of its indigenous populations, including processes to restore some ancestral lands. The stakeholder and UN reports, however, express concern about the extent to which indigenous groups are freely able to express their opinions, based on allegations of excessive use of force by police during demonstrations.

• New Zealand is interested to know what steps have been taken to ensure the right to freedom of expression and assembly, and to address the concerns raised during the demonstrations?

• New Zealand recommends that Chile ensure indigenous groups are able to express their views, have access to relevant political and decision-making processes, and are provided with the support necessary to meaningfully engage on issues that affect them.

New Zealand welcomes the inclusion of a section on the rights of sexual minorities in Chile’s national report, and the inclusion of sexual orientation and gender identity in the National Action Plan to Combat Discrimination. However we note the concerns in the UN and NGO reports about continuing discrimination based on an individual’s sexual orientation

• New Zealand recommends that Chile strengthen measures to counter discriminatory attitudes in society, including through public education and equality initiatives, and legislative measures to prevent discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity.

Chile's national report highlights several pieces of pending legislation that would further strengthen human rights protections in the country.

• New Zealand recommends that Chile commit to enacting legislation referred to in its national report to strengthen human rights protections in the country, including reform of the system of elections, establishing a national human rights institution and gender equality.

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