Amnesty International Report 2000 - Uruguay

Head of state and government: Julio María Sanguinetti
Capital: Montevideo
Population: 3.2 million
Official language: Spanish
Death penalty: abolitionist for all crimes

Past human rights violations remained unclarified, and there were continued reports that detainees had been ill-treated. AI used the opportunity presented by the presidential elections in November to raise the issue of human rights and urged the candidates to address impunity if successfully elected.

Impunity

Some 34 people "disappeared" and thousands were tortured under military governments between 1973 and 1985. The democratic government which took power in 1985 was urged to clarify the victims' fate, but in December 1986 parliament approved the Expiry Law granting exemption from punishment to all police and military personnel who committed human rights violations for political motives, or to fulfil orders, before 1 March 1985. The Expiry Law was retained after a national referendum in April 1989.

In 1995 Uruguay ratified the Inter-American Convention on Forced Disappearance of Persons thereby acknowledging "disappearances" as continuous or permanent offences "as long as the fate or whereabouts of the victim has not been determined". However, these crimes remained unresolved.

• María Claudia García Irureta Goyena, an Argentine citizen, was six months' pregnant when she "disappeared" in Argentina with her husband, Marcelo Gelman, in August 1976. Her husband's body was discovered in 1989, but in May 1999 it emerged that María Claudia García might have given birth to her baby at the Military Hospital of Montevideo. According to information gathered by Marcelo Gelman's father, María Claudia García and her baby were last seen in December 1976 when they left the Third Division of the Defence Information Service escorted by two army officers. Marcelo Gelman's father called on President Julio María Sanguinetti to investigate the allegations, but the President's reply stated that he was unable to corroborate the allegations.

Ill-treatment

There were continued reports that detainees were ill-treated by police and prison guards in 1999.

• Inmates at the Libertad prison in San José department reportedly went on hunger strike after they had been ill-treated by prison guards in February.

Presidential elections

AI wrote to all presidential candidates running for election in November, calling on them to put human rights issues high on their political agenda and urging them to address impunity if successfully elected. It suggested that the establishment of an independent body, such as an ombudsman, would be a step forward in the protection and promotion of human rights. AI also suggested that torture and "disappearances" should be incorporated into the Penal Code as a way of sending a clear message to the security forces that these crimes would not be tolerated. AI expressed concern that Uruguay had neither signed nor ratified the Statute of the International Criminal Court, which was adopted by the international community in 1998. Jorge Battle, who was elected in November, was due to take office in March 2000.

Carlos and Federico Fasano

Former prisoners of conscience Federico Fasano, director of La República newspaper , and Carlos Fasano, the editor of La República, were absolved by the Supreme Court of Justice in October 1999. They had been sentenced to two years' imprisonment in May 1996, after they published articles about the alleged corruption of the then President of Paraguay, but conditionally released two weeks later.