1975. 53 Since then, he has been living in the United Kingdom. Subsequently, his wife Elena
García, together with Gloria Klug and Francisca Rocío García Illanes arrived in the United
Kingdom, and María Elena Klug came later. 54
A.2.3) Decree Law No. 2,191 or Amnesty Law
65.
On April 18, 1978, the “Government Junta” presided by General Augusto Pinochet
Ugarte “decide[d] to enact” Decree Law No. 2,191, “grant[ing] amnesty” to all those who,
“as perpetrators, accomplices or accessories after the fact had been involved in criminal acts
[…] between September 11, 1973, and March 10, 1978, provided that [on April 18, 1978,]
they were not being prosecuted or convicted.” 55
A.2.4) National Truth and Reconciliation Commission (Rettig Commission)
66.
The State created the National Truth and Reconciliation Commission, also known as
the “Rettig Commission,” by Supreme Decree No. 355 of April 25, 1990. Its main purpose
was to assist in the overall clarification of the truth about the most gross human rights
violations committed between September 11, 1973, and March 11, 1990. It examined
disappearances, executions, and torture resulting in death, “in which the State’s moral
responsibility was implicated owing to the acts of its agents or of individuals in its service, as
well as kidnappings and attempts on people’s life committed by private individuals for
political reasons.” Its mandate included:
To establish the most complete picture possible of the heinous acts indicated above, their
background and circumstances; to gather background information that allow the victims to be
individualized and to establish their fate or whereabouts; to recommend the measures of reparation
and rehabilitation that would ensure justice, and to recommend the legal and administrative
measures that, in its opinion, should be adopted in order to prevent the perpetration of [such] acts.
Regarding the measures of reparation, the Commission Rettig concluded that these should
be “effective” and “seek social integration” as well as “tend to create conditions for
reconciliation.” It recommended diverse measures, grouped in the following categories:
“symbolic reparation and rehabilitation,” and those “of a legal and administrative nature,”
including measures relating to “social welfare,” “health,” “education,” and “housing.” Some
recommendations for measures of a “symbolic” or a “legal and administrative” nature, and
for social welfare were classified as “more urgent.” 56
53
Cf. Initial petition before the Commission, supra. In their pleadings and motions brief, the representatives
cited as a source the following document published by the Inter-American Commission “Report on the Situation of
Human Rights in Chile, 1985, Chapter VI, para. 13,” but did not present it as evidence. However, the document is
available at: http://www.cidh.org/countryrep/Chile85sp/Indice.htm, and states that, “on November 6, 1973,
Decree Law 81 was published in the Official Gazette. It made the right to live in Chile subject to the discretion of
the administrative authority […] empower[ing] the President to order the expulsion from, or abandonment of, the
country, of individuals, whether aliens or nationals […].” See also the letter dated November 28, 2011, from María
Paz Vergara Low, supra, which states that “Decree No. 637 of May 12, 1975 […] establishe[d] the “compulsory
expulsion of some persons” including Mr. García Lucero (file of annexes to the answering brief, annex 9, f. 336).
54
Letter from María Elena Klug dated January 8, 2011 (file of annexes to the pleadings and motions brief,
tome II, annex VII, fs. 2283 to 2293). Elena García’s daughters, María Elena Klug and Gloria Klug, were the
children of a previous marriage, but have grown up with Mr. García Lucero (supra para. 61).
55
Decree Law No. 2,191 of April 18, 1978, Article 1 (file of annexes to the pleadings and motions brief, tome
I, annex IV, fs. 2247 and 2248).
56
Cf. Report of the National Truth and Reconciliation Commission (Rettig Report), available on the website of
the Human Rights Program of the Ministry of the Interior and Public Security of the Government of Chile:
http://www.ddhh.gov.cl/ddhh_rettig.html (file of annexes to the Merits Report, tome I, annex 5, f. 122). See also
“Tabla leyes y medidas de reparación en Chile 1991–2011,” published by the Human Rights Observatory of the
Universidad Diego Portales (file of annexes to the answering brief, fs. 2744 to 2759), and “Historia del Programa”
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