NAME OF MECHANISM

Comisión para la Paz or Peace Commission

YEARS OF OPERATION

2000-2003

MANDATE AND OPERATIONS

Mandate: Created by President Jorge Batlle to fulfil the obligations of the 1986 Amnesty Law, which required the Government to investigate the fates of the disappeared (estimated to number around 200). The Commission's mandate was therefore to receive and analyse information pertaining to the disappearances committed under military rule, between 1973 and 1985, to prepare summaries on the fate of each individual, and to make recommendations to the Government regarding compensation.

Human rights organisations, the families of the disappeared, and political opponents have criticised the mandate, which does not grant the Commission the authority to compel testimony. It therefore has no power to investigate beyond the taking of statements and testimonies from those who voluntarily give them.

Staff: 6 members appointed by the President. Chaired by Nicolas Cotugno, Archbishop of Montevideo.

Final Report

Published 10 April 2003, it included details of the fates of 38 disappeared, 32 Uruguan and 6 Argentinian. Out of these, it claimed that 25 persons had been killed, cremated, and their remains thrown in the River Plate.

The Government is of the opinion that the publishing of the Final Report fulfills its obligations under Article 4 of the Law of Expiration, and has instituted a reparations programme in a bid to appease those victims who are pushing for prosecutions.

Left- wing opponents of the Government, and the Families of the Detained and Disappeared Organisation are emphasising that the Report, while important, leaves much undone - the Armed Forces continue to refuse to acknowledge or apologise for their role in the disappearances; the fates of many of the disappeared remain unresolved; and there have been few prosecutions of perpetrators, due to the retention of the Amnesty Law of 1986, which prohibits prosecution of members of the security forces for crimes committed as part of their duties, between 1973 and 1985 (although a few victims have gained redress successfully in civilian courts).

LATEST UPDATE

January 2008: In September 2007, Uruguan Courts approved the trial of former President Juan Maria Bordaberry and his foreign minister. Bordaberry was arrested in November 2006 in connection with the deaths of 4 political opponents in May 1976. Two prominent lawmakers and two leftist rebels had fled Uruguay's dictatorship but were taken from their homes in Buenos Aires, Argentina, and shot.

The trial is significant since it is the first time that a high-level leader is being held accountable for human rights violations committed during Uruguay's military rule. It is hoped that the new Government will continue with this policy and that more trials will follow.