[SANITIZED]WORLDWIDE DEVELOPMENTS RELATED TO THE US STAND ON HUMAN RIGHTS AUGUST 1977 - 1977/08/01

• Document Type: SPECIALCOLLECTION
• Collection: Argentina Declassification Project - The "Dirty War" (1976-83)
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): 06628056
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: U
• Document Page Count: 8
• Document Creation Date: April 3, 2019
• Document Release Date: April 12, 2019
• Publication Date: August 1, 1977

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Ssr/
WORLDWIDE DEVELOPMENTS RELATED TO THE
US STAND ON HUMAN RIGHTS
AUGUST 1977
3.5(c)
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LATIN AMERICA
Several high-level US officials visited Latin America during August.
State Department Human Rights Coordinator Derian, UN Ambassador Young,
and Assistant Secretary of State Todman discussed the US stand on human
rights with Latin leaders, and there were significant developments in
several countries.
Uruguay became the fourth South American military regime to announce
its intention of holding elections early in the 1980s. Peru, Bolivia,
and Chile had already disclosed similar plans.
Chilean President Pinochet announced the abolition of the National
Intelligence Directorate (DINA) on August 12, during Assistant Secretary
Todman's visit. Considerable Uncertainty remained, however, over the
extent to which the newly created National Information Center would
refrain from the kind of conduct that made DINA:notorious for human
rights abuses. The bulk of DINA's arrest and detention functions have
devolved upon the Carabineros and the Investigaciones, which are highly
regarded professional law enforcement units, but extra-legal activities
could still occur under the new structure. Nevertheless, the security
service reorganization did seem to be a genuine attempt to improve
Chile's human rights performance. Spanish Socialist Party Leader Felipe
Gonzalez, meanwhile, visited Chile in late August and said that the
situation there was "not as black and white" as pictured abroad. Gonzalez
was cordially received by government leaders and he was allowed to speak
freely with whomever he chose, including the two prominent prisoners for
whom he sought pardons.
The Duvalier government in Haiti took some steps to improve its
human rights performance. Haiti was also one of several Latin countries
that appeared during August to be moving toward ratification of the
American Convention on Human Rights. The recent revival of interest in
the convention, which was adopted at San Jose, Costa Rica in 1969, is
clearly related to the US stand on human rights and to President Carter's
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signing of the convention for the US on June 1. The Convention still
lacks the eleven ratifications needed for its entry into force, however,
and it remains a somewhat controversial issue in a number of countries,
including some with relatively good human rights records.
A storm appeared to be brewing in Brazil over widely publicized
charges that some of the students arrested for subversive activities in
Rio de Janeiro in July were tortured while in custody of the First
Army's anti-subversive unit. The Brazilian Bar Association called for
an investigation.
Argentina cancelled its participation in the annual UNITAS joint
Naval exercise with the US. The move probably was meant to signal
Argentine displeasure over human rights-connected cutbacks in US military
aid.- The abduction of the Argentine ambassador to Venezuela remained
unsolved, meanwhile, as did the disappearances earlier of a prominent
labor leader and a number of lawyers. With the winding down of the
antiterrorism campaign in Argentina it is becoming apparent that some of
the continuing political violence in that country is the result of
inter- and intra- service rivalries and of actions by ultra-conservative
elements that the government cannot control.
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