The 50th anniversary of the coup d’état that took place on 11 September 1973 is for Chileans a moment of deep reflection and national soul-searching. The brutal dictatorship that ensued the ousting of a democratically elected leader lasted for 17 years. As a result, the entire political-economic design of the country underwent a radical overhaul to implement fierce neoliberal policies in what has been dubbed the “shock doctrine”. Thousands who resisted or thought differently were persecuted, falsely imprisoned, tortured, and killed in pursuance of what has been called the “Jakarta Method” to quell political opposition within the broader context of the Cold War.
Chile has since been studied as an important case of transitional justice. After reinstating a democratic government without need to resort to the force of arms, it was one of the first countries that constituted a Truth and Reconciliation Commission in the 1990s to address a legacy of atrocities and massive human rights violations. Dictator Augusto Pinochet was even detained in London in 1998, the first time a former head of state was arrested on charges of genocide and crimes against humanity while traveling abroad, a judicial saga that can be traced back to the Nuremberg standards and which fueled a global movement in the 21st century to implement universal jurisdiction and other forms of international justice.
Although some progress has been made with regards to reparations to victims of these brutal crimes, there is much more to be done for Chile to fulfill its international commitments. For one, the self-amnesty law enacted by Pinochet in 1978 to exempt the military from criminal liability regarding politically motivated acts committed after the coup is still a part of the Chilean legal system, which is considered incompatible with the American Convention of Human Rights according to the Inter-American Court of Human Rights. The search for the truth as to the fate of thousands of missing political dissidents is still an unfinished task. To this end, President Gabriel Boric recently announced a new national search plan to locate the remains of over a thousand people taken by Pinochet’s security forces in the 1970s and 1980s, thus complying with longstanding recommendations by international organisations such as the UN.
But human rights obligations for states do not only focus on the past – what has been done and is in need of redress. They also look into the future, as states are also obligated to prevent the perpetration of new crimes and rights violations as part of their duty to ensure respect for human rights. Further, they are also under a legal duty to disseminate humanitarian contents among their populations and armed forces, such as the Geneva Conventions. And since it is usually, although not exclusively, through their own security forces that states violate the rights of people, it becomes crucial to properly train and educate said forces such that they develop a healthy respect for democratic institutions and value human rights and human dignity as part of their professional ethos.
It is guided by these ideals, and inspired by a laudable tradition of respect for the law and the constitution that has for a long time been part of the professional identity of the Chilean soldier, that the Education and Doctrine Command of the Chilean Army issued in 2018 a manual titled “Ethos del Ejército de Chile”. Drawing on many sources including its indigenous legacy as well as Hispanic, French, Prussian, and American influences, the Ethos codifies a military doctrine that shows full support for democratic institutions and is firmly committed to respecting and protecting human integrity or dignity (Ch. III).
Thus, the Chilean Army joins the ranks of other militaries across the world that have recently issued similar state-of-the-art doctrinal publications containing commitments to the law, democracy, human rights and human dignity, such as the 2021 Australian Defence Forces “Philosophical Doctrine – Military Ethics” or the 2022 Canadian Armed Forces “Ethos – Trusted to Serve”. Enacting such standards is, of course, only a first step in the right direction. Constant training, education, implementation, and assessment of the respect for said standards is just as important. Every institution claiming to respect human dignity must remain ever vigilant lest its commitment become merely performative.
On such an occasion when Chileans remember one of their darkest hours, it is most encouraging to see that the principles and values to which a young South American democracy once committed two centuries ago under the motto “Post Tenebras Lux” (“After the Darkness comes the Light”) can still light the path ahead for the heirs of such a proud tradition.