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Human Rights Watch on Tuesday called for the Chilean Congress to reject a proposed constitutional amendment addressing national security pushed by President José Antonio Kast, arguing that the measure which is aimed at eradicating organized crime, would undermine due process and human rights protections.
Multiple committees in both houses of Congress will deliberate on the amendments. In the Senate, the Public Security Committee and National Defense Committee have been tasked with reviewing the proposals, while the Chamber of Deputies has referred the bill to its relevant committees for parallel review. Terms of the amendments would allow for a 240 day state of emergency without legislative approval. They also allow the President to suspend the right of assembly and other personal freedoms. Additionally, they also allow for the seizure of property.
HRW has criticized the proposed constitutional amendments as existing in direct contravention of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) and the American Convention on Human Rights (ACHR), both of which Chile is a state party to.
Article 4 of the ICCPR allows for parties to deviate from the convention in certain emergency situations. Article 27 of the ACHR requires “war, public danger, or other emergency that threatens the independence or security of a State Party”, to suspend the rights included. In a speech given by President Kast back in April, he listed organized crime as a national emergency. After reviewing the facts on the ground, HRW determined that the specific factual matrix of the situation did not warrant the strict legal thresholds required under international human rights law, and therefore did not meet the specific criteria outlined in the relevant conventions.
Last year, the US State Department considered Chile a high threat for crime, a sentiment that is reflected in the country’s travel advisory. Furthermore, the advisory found that violent crime had been on the rise in the past ten years and urged American tourists to exercise caution when visiting.
Moreover, Constitutional Law Professor at the University of Chile, Benjamín Alemparte disagreed with Kast’s assessments of the country, specifically in relation to the criminal aspect. He noted that the country was far from an institutional collapse, despite Kast calling the country incapable of maintaining order. While this concerned different legislation, the message warned against using security and administration issues as a pretext for centralizing power.
To amend the Chilean Constitution, both houses of the legislature need to pass the bill with special majorities- either two-thirds or three-fifths depending on the measure. Then they must be signed by the president. If vetoed, Congress may override the veto with a supermajority.
The post Human Rights Watch urges Chilean Congress to reject President Jose Antonio Kast’s constitutional overhaul appeared first on JURIST - News.
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Multiple committees in both houses of Congress will deliberate on the amendments. In the Senate, the Public Security Committee and National Defense Committee have been tasked with reviewing the proposals, while the Chamber of Deputies has referred the bill to its relevant committees for parallel review. Terms of the amendments would allow for a 240 day state of emergency without legislative approval. They also allow the President to suspend the right of assembly and other personal freedoms. Additionally, they also allow for the seizure of property.
HRW has criticized the proposed constitutional amendments as existing in direct contravention of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) and the American Convention on Human Rights (ACHR), both of which Chile is a state party to.
Article 4 of the ICCPR allows for parties to deviate from the convention in certain emergency situations. Article 27 of the ACHR requires “war, public danger, or other emergency that threatens the independence or security of a State Party”, to suspend the rights included. In a speech given by President Kast back in April, he listed organized crime as a national emergency. After reviewing the facts on the ground, HRW determined that the specific factual matrix of the situation did not warrant the strict legal thresholds required under international human rights law, and therefore did not meet the specific criteria outlined in the relevant conventions.
Last year, the US State Department considered Chile a high threat for crime, a sentiment that is reflected in the country’s travel advisory. Furthermore, the advisory found that violent crime had been on the rise in the past ten years and urged American tourists to exercise caution when visiting.
Moreover, Constitutional Law Professor at the University of Chile, Benjamín Alemparte disagreed with Kast’s assessments of the country, specifically in relation to the criminal aspect. He noted that the country was far from an institutional collapse, despite Kast calling the country incapable of maintaining order. While this concerned different legislation, the message warned against using security and administration issues as a pretext for centralizing power.
To amend the Chilean Constitution, both houses of the legislature need to pass the bill with special majorities- either two-thirds or three-fifths depending on the measure. Then they must be signed by the president. If vetoed, Congress may override the veto with a supermajority.
The post Human Rights Watch urges Chilean Congress to reject President Jose Antonio Kast’s constitutional overhaul appeared first on JURIST - News.
Continue reading...
Note: We don't have any responsibilities about this news. Its been posted here by Feed Reader and we had no controls and checking on it. And because News posted here will be deleted automatically after 21 days, threads are closed so that no one spend time to post and discuss here. You can always check the source and discuss in their site.