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had heard hundreds of cases, most of those 

convicted did not serve prison sentences, 

and many victims continued to lack access to 

institutional mechanisms to demand 

reparation.

Congress discussed a bill to make 

information gathered by former truth 

commissions available to prosecutors and 

parties to relevant judicial proceedings.

In May the government filed a bill before 

Congress to establish a National Mechanism 

for the Prevention of Torture.

INDIGENOUS PEOPLES’ RIGHTS

In June the government announced the Plan 

for the Recognition and Development of 

Araucanía to promote Indigenous Peoples’ 

participation, economic development and 

protection of victims of violence.

President Bachelet extended a formal 

apology to the Mapuche People for “errors 

and horrors” perpetrated by the state against 

them. A bill was under discussion to create a 

Ministry of Indigenous Issues.

As part of the process of developing a new 

Constitution, scheduled to be completed in 

2018, a consultation was conducted with 

Indigenous Peoples’ representatives. The 

process was criticized by some 

representatives for excluding some key issues 

brought forth by Indigenous Peoples.

The Attorney General’s Office and the 

government continued to misuse the Anti-

Terrorism Law to prosecute Mapuche people 

in violation of due process guarantees. In 

2014, similar applications of the Anti-

Terrorism Law against Mapuche activists 

were found by the Inter-American Court of 

Human Rights − in Norín Catrimán et al v. 

Chile − to be in violation of the American 

Convention on Human Rights.

In October, 11 Mapuche people, including 

Machi Francisca Linconao, who had been 

charged with “terrorism” for a fire that killed 

landowners Werner Luchsinger and Vivian 

Mackay in January 2013, were acquitted. 

The 11 defendants had been held in pre-trial 

detention or under house arrest for 18 

months. Upon appeal by the Attorney 

General’s Office in December, the trial and 

acquittal were declared null and void. The 

trial was due to be repeated in 2018.

The government and Attorney General’s 

Office also brought “terrorism” charges 

against four Mapuche men for a fire that 

destroyed a church in the city of Padre las 

Casas in June 2016. No one was hurt in the 

fire. The men were arrested, detained and 

indicted on the day of the incident and 

continued to be held in pre-trial detention at 

the end of 2017. After the four accused held 

a prolonged hunger strike, the government 

filed a request for reclassification of the 

crime. However, the prosecution decided to 

continue pursuing terrorism charges.

In September the government implemented 

“Operation Hurricane”, arresting and 

charging eight people with conspiracy to 

commit terrorist acts in connection with 

burning and planning to burn dozens of 

cargo vehicles. No one was hurt in these 

incidents. The eight accused were held in 

pre-trial detention until October when the 

Supreme Court declared their detention 

unlawful and ordered their release, since the 

judge had not sufficiently justified the need 

for pre-trial detention. Investigation of the 

alleged crimes was ongoing.

HUMAN RIGHTS DEFENDERS

In April, Rodrigo Mundaca and other leaders 

of the Movement for the Defence of Water, 

Land and the Environment (MODATIMA) in 

the province of Petorca received death 

threats. An investigation was ongoing into the 

harassment and intimidation that 

MODATIMA’s leaders had been subjected to 

for a number of years.

In May the Temuco Public Prosecutor’s 

Office announced the closure of the 

investigation into the abduction and torture of 

Víctor Queipul Hueiquil, a Mapuche lonko 

(traditional community authority) in the 

Autonomous Community of Temucuicui in 

June 2016. He had been threatened with 

death if he continued his work as a leader 

and supporter of the Mapuche People. The 

Public Prosecutor said that the investigation 

could not proceed because Víctor Queipul 

did not collaborate with the investigation. In 

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May, the National Human Rights Institute 

filed a new lawsuit relating to the torture of 

Víctor Queipul; the investigation for the 

second case was ongoing.

SEXUAL AND REPRODUCTIVE RIGHTS

In September a law entered into force 

decriminalizing abortion in three 

circumstances: when the pregnancy poses a 

risk to the life of the pregnant woman or girl; 

when the foetus is not viable; or when 

pregnancy is a result of rape. It also 

established the right to conscientious 

objection for medical professionals and 

institutions who choose not to perform 

abortions even in those circumstances. 

Guidelines for the implementation of the law 

were approved in December. Abortion 

continued to be criminalized in all other 

circumstances.

RIGHTS OF LESBIAN, GAY, BISEXUAL, 

TRANSGENDER AND INTERSEX PEOPLE

In August a criminal case filed against a 

judge for allowing the change of name and 

gender markers for a transgender girl was 

closed with all charges dropped.

In June the Senate approved the Gender 

Identity Bill, which established the right of 

people over the age of 18 to have their 

gender identity legally recognized by 

changing their name and gender markers on 

official documents through an administrative 

process, without requiring gender 

reassignment surgery or medical certification. 

The bill was pending before Congress at the 

end of the year.

In August the government filed a bill in the 

Senate establishing marriage and adoption 

rights for same-sex couples in equality with 

different-sex couples.

CHINA

People’s Republic of China

Head of state: Xi Jinping

Head of government: Li Keqiang

The government continued to draft and 

enact new laws under the guise of “national 

security” that presented serious threats to 

human rights. Nobel Peace Prize laureate 

Liu Xiaobo died in custody. Activists and 

human rights defenders were detained, 

prosecuted and sentenced on the basis of 

vague and overbroad charges such as 

“subverting state power” and “picking 

quarrels and provoking trouble”. Police 

detained human rights defenders outside 

formal detention facilities, sometimes 

incommunicado, for long periods, which 

posed additional risk of torture and other ill-

treatment to the detainees. Controls on the 

internet were strengthened. Repression of 

religious activities outside state-sanctioned 

churches increased. Repression conducted 

under “anti-separatism” or “counter-

terrorism” campaigns remained particularly 

severe in the Xinjiang Uighur Autonomous 

Region and Tibetan-populated areas. 

Freedom of expression in Hong Kong came 

under attack as the government used vague 

and overbroad charges to prosecute pro-

democracy activists.

LEGAL, CONSTITUTIONAL OR 

INSTITUTIONAL DEVELOPMENTS

Sweeping national security-related laws and 

regulations continued to be drafted and 

enacted, giving greater powers to the 

authorities to silence dissent, censor 

information and harass and prosecute 

human rights defenders.

On 1 January the foreign NGO management 

law, whose provisions impeded independent 

operations of registered NGOs, came into 

effect. Foreign NGOs that had not yet 

registered and continued to operate in China 

could face a freeze on bank accounts, 

sealing of venues, confiscation of assets, 

suspension of activities and detention of staff. 

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