Amnesty International (Author): “The State of the World's Human Rights; Chile 2025”, Document #2139259

Right to truth, justice and reparation

In March, the Public Prosecutor’s Office decided not to proceed with 1,509 cases relating to human rights violations committed during the 2019 social uprising. Less than 2% of the cases that continued led to a conviction. In others, the statute of limitations was close to expiry or had already expired by the end of the year. Pending cases included the trial against senior commanders of the Carabineros (police force).

In May, the National Network of Survivors of the Social Uprising withdrew from talks with the government. The organization denounced shortcomings in the drafting of a comprehensive reparations law and the creation of a permanent classification commission for victims of human rights violations.

In August, three members of the Carabineros were convicted of “unlawful coercion”, “obstruction of the investigation” and “falsification of a public document” for the attack on Moisés Órdenes in 2019 while he was demonstrating peacefully. The sentence was criticized by various sectors as too lenient.¹

David Gómez, a victim and survivor of institutional violence, committed suicide in September. Since the social protests of 2019, at least six individuals who were victims of human rights violations had committed suicide.

In October, complaints were made regarding persistent shortcomings in access to and quality of care provided to users of the Support and Care Plan for Survivors of Ocular Trauma. They included lack of transparency and accountability and poor coordination between services.

The national search plan for victims of enforced disappearance during the military regime of Augusto Pinochet (1973-1990) made progress but faced serious challenges. Relatives’ associations demanded, among other things, that truth and reparation measures be prioritized and that no decisions be made in haste or in a way that would violate trust.

Since 2022, 29 memorial sites had been declared throughout the country, representing 41% of total sites declared since the end of Pinochet’s military regime. Funding issues nevertheless persisted in 2025 and in September the executive submitted a bill to ensure the sites’ permanent operation.

Unlawful use of force

No progress was made towards much-demanded reform of the Carabineros.²

The purchase and use of less-lethal weapons continued to lack adequate regulation. A severe lack of transparency persisted regarding the weapons that could be used and the processes for their acquisition, control and evaluation. Mass purchases were made without transparent procedures, including the purchase of more than 10,000 “BolaWrap” remote restraining devices. Implementation of the government’s pilot plan for the use of electric stun guns was also pending.

The bill on the use of force continued through the legislative process, despite being questioned for its lack of regulatory precision, failure to adopt a comprehensive human rights perspective, and insufficient protection for vulnerable groups.

Refugees’ and migrants’ rights

The country continued to lack a migration policy with a human rights perspective. During the second half of the year, rhetoric hostile to migrants and refugees intensified in the context of the presidential campaign, while Congress continued to debate bills proposing the criminalization of these individuals. Of particular concern was a proposal to restrict access to social benefits for people with irregular migratory status.

Children’s rights

The Specialized Protection Service for Children and Adolescents (Better Childhood) faced operational challenges, mainly associated with overcrowding, waiting lists and a lack of specialized residential care centres.

Several cases of child exploitation were registered during the year, including of migrant and refugee children. In January, the government announced that it had set up the Presidential Commission for Truth, Justice, Reparation and Guarantees of Non-Repetition in December 2024, as recommended by the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child six years earlier.

Sexual and reproductive rights

A new abortion regulation was approved in May to prevent forced transfers of people between healthcare providers and ensure timely care.

Also in May, the government introduced a bill in Congress proposing the legalization of abortion in all cases up to 14 weeks of pregnancy.

Violence against women and girls

Violence against women and girls continued to generate concern, with 444 actual, attempted or thwarted femicides being reported. In addition, the police registered 118,234 complaints for domestic violence and 18,776 for sexual offences during the year; 79% of the victims were women. A total of 14,734 crimes against life or physical integrity were committed against girls, of which 41% were crimes of rape or sexual abuse, and 3,644 cases of domestic violence.

Inhumane detention conditions

The prison system continued to face a serious structural crisis. This was marked by extreme overcrowding, which increased to 143% in several prisons; a lack of preparedness to address organized crime; numerous escapes; and various administrative errors. There were also reports of abuse, acts of torture, and gross negligence against persons deprived of their liberty, according to the Committee for the Prevention of Torture.

Indigenous Peoples’ rights

In April and May, two Indigenous people were arrested in the context of a pattern of criminalization and arbitrary detention targeting the Mapuche-Huilliche people defending their territory against the Los Lagos hydropower project.

A gendarmería (prison police) report classifying the prison population was criticized for containing a number of criminalizing and discriminatory statements regarding an imprisoned Mapuche leader.

The ongoing state of emergency in the Macrozona Sur directorate reached 1,505 days, as a result of more than 64 extensions approved since May 2022. This constitutional exception perpetuated restrictions on human rights, including freedom of assembly and movement, with no meaningful evaluation of the effectiveness or proportionality of the measures imposed, in a region with a large Indigenous population.

Human rights defenders

Lack of protection for human rights defenders persisted. Significant events included lack of progress in the investigation into the disappearance of human rights defender Julia Chuñil in 2024; the disappearance of human rights defender María Ignacia González in June; death threats against Huilliche leader Miguel Raín; harassment of machi (ancestral spiritual authority) Miriam Mariñan by a forestry company; and a police raid of the home of machi Millaray Huichalaf in connection with an investigation into an existing conflict with a hydroelectric power plant.

Right to water

Chile continued to experience high levels of water stress, according to the Aqueduct Water Risk Atlas, and faced a crisis associated with a prolonged decrease in rainfall and water scarcity in river basins.