GI-ESCR invited by the Chilean Government to participate in consultative meetings for the Second National Plan on Human Rights in Chile

Acknowledged as a key actor in the field, GI-ESCR was invited by the Chilean Government to participate in the drafting process of the Second National Plan on Human Rights 2022-2026 last June 2021. The National Plan is a state policy defined by Chilean law, aiming to prioritise a series of measures for the next four years to address the main challenges the country faces in Human Rights.

For this purpose, the Undersecretariat for Human Rights of the Government of Chile convened 14 thematic groups addressing various aspects of human rights.

Valentina Contreras, GI-ESCR’s representative in Chile, participated in the thematic meetings on behalf of GI-ESCR related to economic, social and cultural rights on 24 June and on women's rights on 15 June, together with organisations such as Chile Sustentable, Fundaci?n Gente de la Calle y Asociaci?n Yo Cuido, among others.

Valentina Contreras explained some of the conclusions of these meetings:

“The main challenge of this plan is the true incorporation of the economic, social, cultural and environmental rights framework. This should be expressed in the use of the plan as a tool for the progressive implementation of these rights, for the promotion of a fiscal policy with a human rights approach, the introduction of a gender perspective in all aspects of these rights, with a particular emphasis in marginalised groups like unpaid carer women and those in homelessness. Also, it implies the implementation of actions based on up to date and empirical evidence that help to design services adequate to people needs, not the State needs”.

The first National Plan of Human Rights in Chile was presented in 2018 under Michelle Bachelet’s administration. The document includes more than 600 actions in 15 areas like land justice, women’s rights, business and human rights, dictatorship, and memory. More than 30% of those activities have been completed, while the 57% are under implementation.

The second version of this national plan will exclude references to business’ obligations because they will be addressed by the new Plan of Business and Human Rights in charge of the Undersecretary of Human Rights. GI-ESCR is part of the Chilean civil society platform of Human Rights and Business, whose goal is to influence the drafting of this plan. Ciudadan?a Inteligente, la Comisi?n Chilena de Derechos Humanos, Greenpeace, Chile Sustentable y ONG Fima are some of the organisations participating in this coordination.