Chile
In the Americas, a region which has been affected by serious human rights violations, government support for the ICC has been high, with many States actively advocating for the ICC prior to and after the adoption of the Rome Statute. With the exception of Chile, all countries in South America are States Parties to the Court and out of 19 States in Latin America only four are yet to ratify the ICC’s founding treaty: Chile, El Salvador, Guatemala and Nicaragua. Particularly now that the Court is in its operational phase and has initiated its first cases, it remains vital that support to the universality of the Statute continues to consolidate.
The CICC strongly believes that Chile plays an important role in the region and shares the view that this new system of international justice is a key tool that will ensure that the most serious violations of human rights will no longer go unpunished. Chile’s participation as a State Party to the treaty would serve as an additional demonstration to the international community of the country’s commitment to the strengthening of the rule of law and judicial accountability.
Take Action Now!
Urge the President of the Senate, the President of the Constitutional, Legislative, Justice and Regulation Commission of the Senate, and the leaders of the different political parties represented in Congress to resume discussions on the constitutional amendment required for Chile’s ratification of the Rome Statute. For your convenience we have also included a model letter in Spanish.
Send your letter to:
President of the Senate
Eduardo Frei Ruiz-Tagle
Fax: 011 56 32 234350
E-mail:
[email protected]
President of the Constitutional, Legislative, Justice and Regulations Commission of the Senate
Senator José Antonio Gómez Urrutia
Fax: 011 56 32 25 04176
Email:
[email protected]
E-mail:
[email protected]
Leaders of the political parties represented at the Senate
Partido Demócrata Cristiano (DC):
Hosain Sabag Castillo
Fax: 56-32-504489
E-mail:
[email protected]
Jorge Pizarro Soto
Fax: 56-32-236152
E-mail:
[email protected]
Partido Unión Demócrata Independiente (UDI):
Jovino Nova Vásquez
Fax: 56-32-504522
E-mail:
[email protected]
Víctor Pérez Varela
E-mail:
[email protected]
Partido Renovación Nacional e Independiente (RN):
José García Ruminot
Fax. 56-32-234349
E-mail:
[email protected]
Antonio Horvath Kiss
Fax. 56-32-251979
E-mail:
[email protected]
Partido Socialista (PS):
Alejandro Navarro Brain
Fax: 56-32-2504631
E-mail:
[email protected]
Pedro Muñoz Aburto
Fax : 56-32-232658
E-mail:
[email protected]
Partido por la Democracia (PPD):
Roberto Muñoz Barra
Fax: 56-32-232658
E-mail:
[email protected]
Guido Girardi Lavín
E-mail:
[email protected]
Partido Radical Social Demócrata (PRSD):
Nelson Ávila Contreras
E-mail:
[email protected]
Guillermo Vásquez Úbeda
E-mail:
[email protected]
H.E. The Honorable Senator Frei:
I am writing to urge you to take appropriate measures so as to ensure that the Senate resumes discussions on the constitutional amendment that would allow Chile to become a State Party to the International Criminal Court (ICC). As you are aware the Rome Statute entered into force in 2002, and to date 104 States have become Parties to the treaty.
I have followed developments in your country closely over the last years and am therefore aware of the Chilean Constitutional Court’s ruling which established that a constitutional amendment was necessary in order to move forward with ratification of this important international instrument.
Particularly now that the Court is in its operational phase and has initiated its first cases, it remains vital that support to the universality of the Statute continues to consolidate. Chile’s entry into the Rome Statute is considered to be of great importance to the international community and I remain convinced that in order for the ICC to become a truly universal criminal justice mechanism, every region in the world must be represented in this new system. To date Chile, El Salvador, Guatemala and Nicaragua are the only countries in Latin America that have yet to join the ICC.
For these reasons, I urge you once again to continue with the necessary efforts that will allow the Senate’s Constitutional, Legislative, Justice and Regulations Commission to resume discussions on the approval of the constitutional amendment, as well as to take further legislative steps toward Chile’s effective entry into the Rome Statute.
Sincerely,
Distinguido Senador Frei:
En esta ocasión me dirijo a usted en relación al proceso de ratificación del Estatuto de Roma que se adelanta ante el Senado con la intención de instarlo para que, a través de sus buenos oficios, se retome la discusión sobre la enmienda constitucional que le permitiría a Chile convertirse en Estado Parte de la Corte.
He seguido de cerca el procedimiento de ratificación en su país desde sus inicios, y tengo pleno conocimiento del contenido del fallo del Tribunal Constitucional en relación al Estatuto de Roma que reconoce que la inclusión de la enmienda constitucional resulta indispensable para proceder con la ratificación de este instrumento internacional por su país.
Estoy convencido que para que la CPI se convierta en un verdadero mecanismo universal de justicia penal, todas las regiones del mundo deben estar representadas en este nuevo sistema; por ello la incorporación de Chile es considerada de especial importancia por la comunidad internacional. Actualmente, sólo Chile, El Salvador, Guatemala y Nicaragua son los únicos países de América Latina que todavía no se unen a la CPI.
Por todo lo anterior, me permito instarlo para que se continúe con los esfuerzos necesarios que permitan a la Comisión de Constitución, Legislación, Justicia y Reglamento del Senado a retomar la discusiones sobre la aprobación de la enmienda constitucional y continuar así con los demás trámites legislativos en pos de la efectiva incorporación de Chile a la CPI.
Sin más por el momento, aprovecho esta oportunidad para reiterarle las más altas muestras de mi consideración y estima.
Atentamente,
