Claudio Grossman: We Need to Re-Establish the Consensus Around Human Rights and Rule of Law in Chilean Politics
On Saturday, Nov. 30, the Chilean newspaper El Mercurio published an interview with Dean Emeritus and Professor Claudio Grossman —R. Geraldson Scholar for International Humanitarian Law, member of the UN International Law Commission, and associate member of the Institut de Droit International —about the situation in Chile. The article prompted a quick response from various Chilean lawmakers and former cabinet members from a broad political spectrum representing both the government and the opposition who agree with Grossman that the defense of human rights and the rule of law has to stand above any political partisanship.
In his full-page interview, Professor Grossman discussed the threat to democracy and rule of law generated by the recent violent protests in Chile. He condemned those who attempted to distort, resorting to violence, the legitimate social protests in Chile by vast sectors of the population asking for fairness, decent pensions, access to quality education and health. The freedom of expression or assembly cannot justify destruction of public spaces or churches, nor the looting of shops and the obstruction of people wanting to go to their workplace, nor the blocking of supply routes for the population. In these situations of civil unrest, the government has the obligation to adequately respond respecting the rule of law. He condemned disproportionate use of force and violations of human rights that had taken place, and welcomed the impending reports that would follow from the visits of the Inter-American Commission of Human Rights, the UN as well as international NGO’s. It is essential for the government to implement their recommendations.
Professor Grossman expressed his worries that not all sectors of society were equally firm in condemning the outburst of violence in Chile during the past months of October and November. All political parties in Chile that participate in the democratic political system should coalesce around the notion of the defense of human rights and rule of law. There cannot be any chiaroscuro in the rejection of violence. In historical perspective, Grossman observed a contrast with the 1990s—when Chile had just emerged from the Pinochet dictatorship— when the rejection of violence was universal and unequivocal.
The responses to Grossman’s interview were immediate. The following day, the same newspaper published the comments of five members of the Chilean parliament, Andres Allamand (Renovacion Nacional, RN), Issa Kort (Union Democratica Independiente, UDI), Sergio Bitar (Partido por la Democracia, PPD), Genaro Arriagada (Partido Democrata Cristiano, DC) and Jose Antonio Viera-Gallo (Partido Socialista). They all agreed that Professor Grossman was right with his criticism and that it is urgent to re-establish the consensus around these fundamental notions of protection and respect of human rights and the defense of the rule of law. Only by respecting these principles will it be possible to tackle the enormous social, economic, and political challenges that Chile is currently facing.