“The proposal for a new Constitution for Chile means a great advance for the consecration of human rights and that its approval will translate into a new impetus for the global movement for its validity. In Chile, a country that experienced firsthand the most painful violations to human rights, an opportunity now arises to reaffirm their importance and inspire the nations of the world. Thus begins the declaration of 192 people linked to the defense of human rights at the international level, in favor of the proposal for a new Constitution that will be plebiscited in Chile on September 4.
Among the signatories are Estela de Carlotto, president of the Grandmothers of Plaza de Mayo in Argentina; José Ruiz Rodríguez, head of the Spanish Government 2004-2011; and the former Spanish judge, Baltasar Garzón. They assure that “it is particularly relevant that this constitutional proposal has emanated from a democratic, participatory and inclusive process, in a joint assembly and with special integration of representatives of the original peoples, safeguarding the rights of all the inhabitants of the country”.
The signatories highlight “the centrality that the constitutional proposal gives to economic, social and cultural human rights. These rights, which have often been relegated to the background, are recognized as guiding principles of the role of the Social and Democratic State of Law , taking Chile to the highest international standards in this matter”. And they state that “the proposed new Constitution for Chile rigorously guarantees the key principle of the universality of human rights, which implies that everyone enjoys the same right to enjoy human rights.”
From the perspective of the authors, the text “comes to overcome the darkest period of Chilean history, which carries open wounds and whose society still cries out for truth and justice. The fact that it is precisely a country that has experienced so much suffering that present this healing and libertarian constitutional proposal that will be a great contribution to human dignity, makes us hope that its approval will assure future generations that such barbarism will never be repeated in Chile”.
“When human rights advance in a country, they advance in the region and the world. Therefore, the undersigned invite the sovereign people of Chile to approve this new Constitution of dignity, with the certainty that it will become a benchmark for the world”, they conclude.
Among the signatories are Erika Guevara, director for the Americas of Amnesty International; Jurema Wernec, executive director of Amnesty International in Brazil, among others.
The letter is entitled “Declaration of International Support for the Chilean Constitutional Proposal: A New Era for Human Rights.”
Declaration of International Support for the Chilean Constitutional Proposal by The counter on Scribd
