CAT/C/CHL/CO/5
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4.
The Committee welcomes the efforts being made by the State party to amend its legislation
and adapt its legal system to guarantee application of the principles contained in the Convention.
The Committee also welcomes the Government’s commitment to preparing a new criminal code
that will include an improved definition of the offence of torture.
5.
The Committee also takes note with appreciation of the constitutional reforms introduced
in 2005 and welcomes the full application of the new Code of Criminal Procedure throughout the
country.
6.
The Committee also welcomes the efforts made to date by the State party to establish the
truth and secure reparation and access to justice in relation to the serious human rights violations
committed in the country during the dictatorship.
7.
The Committee welcomes the news that the Convention is being invoked directly before
national courts in numerous complaints concerning offences such as the use of torture which
have been lodged by victims of political imprisonment and torture by the dictatorship.
8.
The Committee also welcomes the news that in 2008 the Forensic Medical Service created
a unit within its Human Rights Programme devoted to the implementation of the Manual on
Effective Investigation and Documentation of Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading
Treatment or Punishment (the Istanbul Protocol).
9.
The Committee also welcomes the decision taken by the State party to extradite former
Peruvian President Alberto Fujimori to Peru.
C. Principal subjects of concern and recommendations
Definition, punishment and imprescriptibility of torture
10. Notwithstanding the State party’s assertion that the Chilean Criminal Code punishes all
acts that can be described as torture within the meaning of article 1 of the Convention, the
Committee remains concerned that, despite its previous recommendations, the definition of
torture in the State party is still not fully in line with the provisions of article 1 of the
Convention. The Committee also considers that the Criminal Code fails to encompass all of the
acts defined as punishable in the Convention, such as attempted torture. Furthermore, given the
grave nature of the offence of torture, the Committee is concerned, as already mentioned in its
previous concluding observations, that the 10-year statute of limitations for that offence has not
been extended or abolished. While appreciating the proposal for a bill to provide an
interpretation of article 93 of the Criminal Code, regarding grounds for exemption from criminal
liability, the Committee is concerned that the proposal has not been accepted (arts. 1 and 4).
The State party should take the necessary steps to ensure that all acts of torture
referred to in articles 1 and 4 of the Convention are classified as offences in its
domestic criminal legislation and that appropriate penalties are applied in each case,
taking into account the grave nature of such offences. The Committee also urges the
State party to abolish the statute of limitations currently applicable to the offence of
torture.