UN experts: Uruguay must step up search for disappeared persons and fight impunity

GENEVA/MONTEVIDEO (15 July 2022) – Uruguay must end decades of impunity for human rights violations by stepping up efforts to search for disappeared persons and bring perpetrators to justice, a delegation of the UN Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances said at the end of an official visit to the country.

Presenting its preliminary observations (Spanish), the Working Group stressed that, to date, there had been no comprehensive exercise of clarification of the truth regarding human rights violations in Uruguay.

"It is imperative that the State assume responsibility, and immediately reverse lack of progress in the search for disappeared persons for over more than five decades. Uruguay must take effective measures to end impunity for past crimes," the UN experts said.

"There is an urgent need for a comprehensive State policy that breaks the silence and contributes to improving information gathering from human as well as documentary sources," they said.

The Working Group said victims and families of the disappeared in Uruguay were engaged in a relentless pursuit for truth, justice, seeking to preserve historical memory and demanding guarantees of non-recurrence.

“We salute the courage and tireless struggle of victims, their families and representatives to search for disappeared persons, ensure justice and fight impunity for crimes committed during the period of illegitimate State action and dictatorship between 1968 and 1985,” the UN experts said.

The Working Group positively highlighted the work of the National Human Rights Institution, which enjoys a high degree of credibility and trust among victims. In view of the imminent election process for a new board of directors of the Institution, it emphasized the need for a procedure that offers guarantees of suitability and competence of the candidates and that they represent civil actors involved in the promotion and protection of human rights.

The experts also hailed the tireless work of victims' groups and family members in generating a social consensus that recognises and rejects the crimes of the dictatorship, and their ongoing efforts to ensure "never again". However, the experts expressed their concern at ongoing efforts to change the narrative, including initiatives that seek to dilute responsibility for the crimes committed by the State.

With regard to reparation measures for victims and relatives of victims of enforced disappearances, the Working Group was concerned that criteria established for receiving reparations were not in line with international standards. “Many victims who were forcibly disappeared and subjected to acts of torture and sexual violence during their detention have not been officially recognised to date, and therefore would not benefit from reparation measures,” the experts said. They also expressed concern that existing reparation laws in the country do not include children and adolescents as direct victims of human rights violations during the 1968-1985 period.

Referring to enforced disappearances perpetrated under Operation Condor, the Working Group urged Uruguay to redouble its efforts to obtain international judicial assistance for criminal proceedings. “Uruguay must cooperate proactively with other States in the assistance, search, location of disappeared persons and, in the event of death, the exhumation, identification and restitution of their remains,” the experts affirmed.

The Working Group also drew attention to ongoing disappearances in the country, based on reports that girls, boys and adolescents were disappearing after their stay in State-run shelters, and the disappearances of women possibly related to situations of sexual exploitation and trafficking.

“There is a climate of stigmatisation and an absence of preventative measures, search mechanisms and policies specifically directed at this group of persons and investigations into these cases,” the experts said.

The Working Group will present its concluding observations on the visit at the 54^th session of the Human Rights Council in September 2023.