Human Rights Organizations under military dictatorships in Chile, Uruguay and Argentina
The tables below are cited as “Available from author upon request” in:
Loveman, Mara. “High Risk Collective Action: Defending Human Rights in Chile, Uruguay, and Argentina” American Journal of Sociology 104[2] (1998): 477-525.
Please cite this article if you use these tables in your research. Thanks!
Chilean Human Rights Organizations 1973-1978*
Organization
|
Date of Origin
|
Principal participants
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Objectives/Activities
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National Committee for Aid to Refugees (CONAR)
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September, 1973
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Ecumenical leaders, representatives of United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR), representative of World Council of Churches, volunteers.
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A temporary organization created to facilitate safe exit of political refugees residing in Chile.
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Comité de Cooperación para la Paz en Chile (COPACHI)
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October, 1973
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Formed by representatives of Catholic, Lutheran, Methodist, Pentecostal, Orthodox, and Jewish faiths. Volunteer lawyers, social workers, psychologists, doctors, clerical assistants.
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Provide material, legal, medical and spiritual assistance to victims of persecution and their families.
|
Fundación de Ayuda Social de las Iglesias Cristianas (FASIC)
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1 April, 1975
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Religious coalition: Catholic, Lutheran Evangelist, Methodist, Pentecostal. Membership of about 50. including doctors, psychologists, lawyers.
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Assistance for political prisoners and their families; later expanded with a program of medical-psychiatric assistance for torture victims, ex-politics prisoners and their families; helped reunite refugees with families; support social research.
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Vicaría de la Solidaridad Arzobispado de Santiago
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January, 1976
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Organism of the Catholic Church; the continuation of the Comité de Cooperación para la Paz en Chile.
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To assist victims of human rights abuse, their families, and exiles through legal and humanitarian aid. Medical and psychological assistance for victims of repression; Documentation of human rights violations; Programs for children, technical assistance for cooperatives, education of community leaders in human rights issues; publications.
|
Servicio Paz y Justicia (SERPAJ)
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November, 1977
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Chilean branch of Latin American Christian-Humanist organization.
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Various education programs aimed at promoting peace and democracy; solidarity work, humanitarian aid to victims of repression; Assistance to popular organizations and cooperatives; participation in denunciation campaigns
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Comisión Nacional Pro Derechos Juveniles (CODEJU)
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1978
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Youth leaders of various political, ideological and religious positions.
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To denounce violations of children’s rights; To assist organization of community youth groups.
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Comisión Chilena de Derechos Humanos (CCHDH)
|
10 December, 1978
|
Lawyers, academics, artists, political activists; Estimated membership of 3500.
|
Denounce human rights violations; Legal assistance; Popular education; Maintain connections with international human rights organizations.
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*Sources: Frühling et al. 1989. Organizaciones de Derechos Humanos de America Del Sur. Instituto Interamericano de Derechos Humanos; Orellana, Patricio and Elizabeth Hutchison, 1991. El Movimiento de Derechos Humanos en Chile 1973-1990. Centro de Estudios Políticos Latinoamericanos Simón Bolivar (CEPLA). Santiago. Lowden, Patricia, 1996. Moral Opposition to Authoritarian Rule in Chile, 1973-90. St. Antony’s College.
Human Rights Organizations in Uruguay Prior to Democratic Transition*
Organization
|
Date of Origin
|
Principal participants
|
Objectives/activities
|
Servicio Paz y Justicia (SERPAJ)
|
1981 (declared illegal in 1983 and activities continued under name of Comisión Nacional de Derechos Humanos)
|
Christian-humanists, ecumenical leaders; chapter of SERPAJ Latin America
|
Only human rights organization operating as such under dictatorship. Raise consciousness about human rights abuses (grass-roots education programs); documentation of human rights abuses committed by military govt.; economic assistance for medical treatment for victims; assistance for returned exiles; denunciation of abuses; support of groups of relatives of detained-disappeared in Argentina, imprisoned, and exiled.
|
Movimiento de Madres y Familiares de Procesados por la Justicia Militar
|
1982
|
Family members of political prisoners; organized under SERPAJ
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Denounce inhumane prison conditions and unjust prison sentences
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Madres y Familiares de Desaparecidos en Uruguay
|
1983
|
Family members of disappeared; created under auspices of SERPAJ
|
Denounce disappearances and demand return of desaparecidos “con vida” (alive).
|
Servicio Ecumenico de Reintegración (SER)
|
July, 1984
|
Members of various Christian churches including: Methodist-Evangelical; Evangelical; the Archbishopry of Montevideo; Servicio Paz y Justicia, Association of Christian youth.
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Assist ex-political prisoners and returned exiles (food, shelter, health); support creation of work opportunities to help process of “reintegration.”
|
Instituto de Estudios Legales y Sociales del Uruguay (IELSUR)
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August 15, 1984
|
Lawyers (salaried); voluntary collaborators (psychiatrists)
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Legal assistance for victims of human rights abuses; assistance for mentally ill; research and promotion of human rights issues in Uruguay
|
Servicio Rehabilitación Social (SERSOC-URUGUAY)
|
October, 1984
|
Medical professionals (14), psychologists and psychiatrists (42), social workers and lawyers (6). Salaried administrative staff.
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Assistance and reintegration of ex-prisoners, families of disappeared, and returned exiles; denunciation of human rights abuses; publications and participation in conferences, etc.
|
*Sources: Frülhing, Hugo, et.al, 1989. Organizaciones de Derechos Humanos de America del Sur. Instituto Interamericano de Derechos Humanos; Maria del Huerto Amarillo and Antonio Serrentino Sabella “El Movimiento de Derechos Humanos en el Uruguay” in La Defensa de los Derechos Humanos en la Transición Democratica Uruguaya. Cuadernos Paz y Justicia No. 4.
Argentine Human Rights Organizations Prior to Democratic Transition*
Organization
|
Date of Origin
|
Principal participants
|
objectives/activities
|
Liga Argentina por los Derechos del Hombre (LADH)
|
December 20, 1937
|
Radicals, socialists, communists. Reputation linked to the Communist Party
|
Provide legal/material aid to political prisoners and victims of state abuse; during Proceso, help refugees from other Latin American countries; campaign for liberation of political prisoners; round table discussions to debate issues of military accountability.
|
Servicio Paz y Justicia (SERPAJ)
|
1974 (Argentine section formally established in 1980)
|
Ecumenical leaders; lay activists (lead by Nobel Peace-Prize Winner Adolfo Perez-Esquivel)
|
Provide assistance and popular education to grass-roots sectors suffering effects of repression. SERPAJ Latin America facilitated formation of APDH and MEDH
|
Asamblea Permanente por los Derechos Humanos (APDH)
|
December, 1975
|
Lawyers, politicians, academics, and other professionals; Raul Alfonsin among founders.
|
Principal organization that collected denunciations of disappearance/human rights abuses; legal assistance for victims (presentation of writs of habeus corpus); public denunciations; campaigns for release of political prisoners.
|
Movimiento Ecumenico por los Derechos Humanos (MEDH)
|
February, 1976
(became most active after 1980)
|
Formed by several Protestant leaders and dissident Catholic clergy; close ties with World Council of Churches
|
In early years, direct aid to victims of repression; Educational programs and materials on human rights; legal assistance to victims of human rights abuses and cases of disappeared children; facilitate familial visits to political prisoners and assistance for ex-prisoners.
|
Familiares de Desaparecidos y Detenidos por Razones Politicas
|
September 1976
|
family members of those detained or “disappeared”
|
To find out what happened to each “disappeared”; provide assistance for family members; Demand freedom for political prisoners; demand justice and punishment for human rights violators.
|
Madres de Plaza de Mayo
|
begin marching in 1977 (about 14 women); official Association in August, 1979 (numbers increased to hundreds)
|
Mothers of disappeared; eventually included permanent staff of lawyers, sociologists, psychiatrists and doctors.
|
Public manifestations, most notably, Thursday reunions in the Plaza de Mayo; keep records of dates of detained-disappeared; present writs of habeaus corpus; petitions and mobilization; international publicity.
|
Abuelas de Plaza de Mayo
|
1977
|
Grandmothers of children kidnapped with their parents or born in prison assistance of lawyers, medical/psychiatric professionals.
|
To identify and return missing children to their authentic families. To research and denounce cases of missing children, nationally and internationally (especially to the UN)
|
Centro de Estudios Legales y Sociales (CELS)
|
May 14, 1980
(began informally in 1979 in assistance to APDH
|
formed by lawyers; includes other professionals, paid administrators, and volunteers..
|
Splinter group of APDH, taking more aggressive stance towards state repression; Legal and administrative assistance for victims of human rights abuses (writs of habeus corpus); documentation of human rights abuses. Data analysis of human rights abuse statistics; denunciations, publications.
|
*Sources: Frühling, Hugo. Gloria Alberti and Felipe Portales, 1989. Organizaciones de Derechos Humanos de America del Sur. Instituto Interamericano de Derechos Humanos; Brysk, Alison, 1994. The Politics of Human Rights in Argentina. Stanford University Press (45-51); Gauding, Anna-Karen, 1991. Es mejor encender una luz que maldecir la oscuridad: sobre el trabajo de Diakonia por los derechos humanos en America Latina. Diokonia. (p102); Raúl Veiga, 1985. Las organizaciones de derechos humanos. Centro Editor de America Latina. |