The members of Derechos Human Rights, Equipo Nizkor and Radio Nizkor wish you a very happy 2008, hoping that it will be a year of firm progress in the field of justice, without which there can be no peace.
This year, again, we must face what we call a global state of exception, which restricts the enjoyment of civil liberties and the application of international law, to the point of defending torture or models of denial of justice such as the so-called "transitional justice."
Fortunately, during 2007, there have been significant advances in the dismantling of the models of impunity in Argentina and, recently, Uruguay, due to the application of the criminal characterization of Crimes Against Humanity (CAH) by ordinary domestic courts.
We have defended this doctrinal position and the arguments thereof for more than 12 years and have been gratified by the decision of the National Audience of Spain in the Scilingo Case, recently confirmed by the Spanish Supreme Court. Moreover, during 2006, this doctrine was accepted by the European Court of Human Rights and the Inter-American Court of Human Rights (IACtHR) in the Almonacid (Chile) and La Cantuta (Peru) cases.
We regret that the Chilean judiciary has not complied with the IACtHR judgment in the Almonacid case, despite the fact that the criminal characterization of CAH had been previously upheld by the Argentine Supreme Court in nullifying the impunity laws and, later on in several decisions, and recently, in answering the so-called "theory of the two demons" which aims to justify the crimes committed by the Argentine military. It has also been applied in Uruguay in the case of Uruguay's last military dictator, Gregorio Alvarez.
The application of this doctrine opens the discussion of subjects that had been ignored in Latin America for decades, and that are now beginning to be treated by national courts. An example of this is the July 11, 2007, decision of the Supreme Court of Justice of Colombia on the question of sedition and paramilitarism, which constitutes a step forward against the model of impunity defended by president Uribe, and supported by the United States and Spain.
In December 2007, Spain issued the so-called "Historic Memory Law," which over 80 victim’s and human rights organizations have described as abhorrent. It is a law of impunity that excludes and denies the right to justice for all the victims of the Franco regime.
For the first time, the impunity discourse that was imposed during the so-called Spanish transition, has been implemented into law. This discourse was used in the implementation of impunity models in Chile, Argentina, Uruguay, and also Guatemala and El Salvador after the withdrawal of the Argentine troops in 1982.
Our commitment to the defense of justice, as the path towards the enforcement of human and civil rights, so that they are not merely a democratic dream, is now reaffirmed by these achievements. We offer our support to the organizations that have decided to confront the Spanish impunity model.
As we finish one year and start another, we owe a special mention of those that confronted oppression and were victims of models of social and political control based on extermination.
In the memory of them all, those of us who don't forget, who always remember, must continue defending peace with justice and human rights, so as to eliminate forever the models of impunity and their perverse consequences for civil liberties.
I hope that for one day, at least, torture, extrajudicial killings and forced disappearances could cease - but I'm not holding my breath.
On other news, perhaps fittingly, Pinochet died today.
This is a space for me to write about human rights. A place where I can share human rights news and actions that I find specially significant, where I can ramble about hot or not-so-hot topics, and where I can socialize things that I found interesting when I chanced upon them.
As for me, I'm Margarita Lacabe, director of Derechos Human Rights, coordinator of Project Disappeared and USA Watch and basically, a human rights activist. I'm also the mother of two, and you can find out about my non-human rights views and activities at my personal blog, Vox Publica.
The views expressed here are mine - or those of the invited guest authors - and should not be assumed to be the official position of Derechos HR or any organization anyone is associated with.