Thousands march in Santiago to support Palestinian people

Introduction

Deadly fires expose environmental crisis

Chile recently experienced one of its most devastating fire disasters, as forest fires between 1st and 5th February 2024 claimed at least 131 lives, with many more injured or suffering trauma. The fires were fuelled by high temperatures, drought, and strong winds—conditions likely influenced by El Niño and human-induced climate change.

The lack of preparedness, from inadequate urban planning and public awareness to failures in the early warning system, exacerbated the crisis. However, the fires also offered important lessons, such as the success of Villa Botania, where a community-led fire prevention strategy protected the village.

Peaceful Assembly

Pro-Palestine March in Santiago

As the Monitor has documented, since the onset of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict in October 2023, Chile has seen several peaceful demonstrations in support of the Palestinian people. On 14th February, Pro-Palestine protesters blocked Providence Avenue in Santiago, Chile, calling for a ceasefire in Gaza and urging the Chilean government to cut ties with Israel.

One of the largest occurred on 17th March, when around 20,000 people took to the streets to express solidarity with the thousands of Palestinians in Gaza. The demonstration started at the Gabriel Mistral Cultural Centre, moved through Santa Lucía, passed La Moneda and concluded with a cultural event at Los Héroes.

“The solidarity of the Chilean people with the Palestinian people endures in the present, past, and future. This country respects the rights of the Palestinian people,” said Mauricio Khamis, President of the Palestinian Community in Chile

Expression

IACHR and Special Rapporteur visit Chile to review human rights progress

Between 18th and 21st March 2024, the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) and the Office of the Special Rapporteur for Freedom of Expression (RFOE) visited Chile as part of the Joint Follow-Up Mechanism in Chile (MESECH). The visit aimed to assess progress on recommendations made in the Report on the Human Rights Situation in Chile, issued on 24th January 2022.

The delegation held discussions with officials and engaged with representatives of social uprising victims, civil society groups and the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights.

Following these meetings, the IACHR underscored the urgent need to identify all victims of the social uprising and called for comprehensive reparation measures. The IACHR committed to monitoring ongoing legislative initiatives on citizen security, including those relating to the use of force, the right to peaceful assembly and police reform.

The RFOE highlighted the symbolic significance of the Memorandum of Understanding signed in the Radio Estrella de Mar Melinka case. This case exposed discriminatory actions when, in September 1999 and throughout 2000, the Municipality of Melinka arbitrarily cut off the electricity supply. As a result, the radio station’s operations were disrupted and access to information was lost for its listeners. At the time, Radio Estrella del Mar was the only non-state media outlet on the island, providing essential news and information to the community of Melinka. This small island in the Guaitecas archipelago had limited infrastructure and communication links with the rest of the country.

“The petition submitted by the communicators of Radio Estrella del Mar set an important precedent for our region, highlighting how the isolation and precarious conditions in which community media and citizen broadcasting projects operate are both the cause and the consequence of the lack of democratisation in communication,” said Mariángeles Misuraca, Co-Director of the Programme for Brazil and the Southern Cone at CEJIL.

The Chilean State has committed to implementing a series of redress measures, including issuing experimental broadcasting permits, initiating a training, education and certification programme for community radio stations, and establishing a permanent working group between the State and the petitioners. This group will assess issues such as the removal of prison sentences for unauthorised broadcasting and the expansion of the FM frequency band.

Association

Environmental defenders face rising threats

According to findings by the Escazú Now Foundation, a Chilean organisation that monitors and promotes the implementation of the Escazu Agreement, 35 human rights violation cases against environmental defenders in Chile were documented between January and December 2023, affecting 20 people. Of these, 65 per cent were women.

The ages of those targeted range from 20 to 78, with the largest concentration (50 per cent) being people aged 70 to 78, all involved in defending the area surrounding La Campana National Park in Valparaíso. This region accounts for 60 per cent of the threats, correlating with its status as a hotspot for socio-environmental conflicts.

The threats reported include verbal and psychological abuse (17.6 per cent), physical violence and attempted murder (14.7 per cent) and digital harassment via email and text (14.7 per cent). Further, 8 per cent of cases involved property invasions and surveillance, while 5.9 per cent of threats targeted defenders’ animals, such as pet beatings and poisoning. Written threats, stalking, and misinformation remain impactful, though less frequent (2.9 per cent).