International Human Rights Law and Practice in Latin America

International Human Rights Law and Practice in Latin America (DOI: 10.1162/002081800551235) was written by Ellen Lutz and Kathryn Sikkink, and published in International Organization volume 54 (2000).

The authors discuss the causal link between international law and domestic law.

Torture

There is a substantial legal regime surrounding torture.

• Several international treaties offer precise legal definitions of torture; several international courts will prosecute alleged torture.

• In 1980, a U.S. federal court recognized customary international law on torture.

• In 1998, the British House of Lords recognized international jurisdiction of torture law by allowing the extradition of Pinochet.

There's also a substantial amount of torture ongoing.

• In 1975 Amnesty International claimed credible evidence of torture in 15 Latin American countries:

  1. Argentina

  2. Bolivia

  3. Brazil

  4. Chile

  5. Colombia

  6. El Salvador

  7. Guatemala

  8. Guyana

  9. Haiti

  10. Honduras

  11. Mexico

  12. Paraguay

  13. Peru

  14. Suriname

  15. Uruguay

• In 1999 they claimed 4 had widespread or frequent torture:
  1. Brazil
  2. Colombia
  3. Mexico
  4. Venezuela

Forced Disappearance

There is less legalization surrounding forced disappearance.

• Practically emerged as a response to the 1970s governments in Chile, Guatemala, and Argentina.

• In 1992, the UN produced the Declaration on the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance.

• The OAS produced the Inter-American Convention on Forced Disappearance of Persons in 1994.

  • Only came into force in 1996.
  • Only 7 signatory states by 1999.
  • Still only 15 signatory states in 2024.

The use of forced disappearance was a recent phenomena.

• UN Working Group on Disappearance claimed evidence of 11,000 to 13,000 disappearances in 15 countries, and 10 in Latin America:
  1. Argentina

  2. Bolivia

  3. Brazil

  4. Chile

  5. El Salvador

  6. Guatemala

  7. Mexico

  8. Nicaragua

  9. Peru

  10. Uruguay

• By 1996, the working group claimed that forced disappearances had practically ended. In 1998, they and Amnesty International claimed to have evidence only from:

  1. Colombia

  2. Mexico

Democratic Government

There is little legalization for the right to democratic government.

• Santiago Declaration, adopted by OAS in 1991.
• 1997 amendment to OAS charter, the Protocol of Washington, allows for suspension of OAS members that experience an overthrow of a democratically-elected government.

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