Waging Peace:  Chile

Exploring a Hemispheric Agenda

Carter Center representatives met with leaders in Chile as part of a fact-finding tour Jan. 15-26, 1997, to prepare for the consultation "Agenda for the Americas for the 21st Century." The delegation included former U.S. President Jimmy Carter; Rosalynn Carter; Dr. Robert Pastor, then director of the Center's Americas Program; and Dr. Jennifer McCoy, current program director. Meetings were held with Chile President Eduardo Frei Ruiz-Tagle and other government officials as well as with civic and human rights groups. The mission, which included stops in Argentina, Brazil, and Jamaica, helped to set the agenda for the April 1997 consultation. Former President Patricio Aylwin Azócar attended the conference.

Honoring Human Rights

The Carter-Menil Human Rights Prize was awarded to La Vicaría de la Solidaridad in 1987. La Vicaría was founded in 1976 by Cardinal Raul Silva Henriquez to provide legal assistance to political prisoners and welfare assistance to families of victims of human rights abuses in Chile. President Carter and the late Dominique de Menil established the $100,000 prize to promote the protection of human rights. It has been awarded to individuals or organizations for their outstanding efforts on behalf of human rights, often at great personal sacrifice, enabling human rights activists to continue their work and focusing attention on their struggles.

Urging a Moratorium on Arms Sales

Although Latin America spends relatively less on defense than most other regions, expenditures on expensive weapons systems divert scarce foreign exchange from more effective investments, including education. They also compel neighbors to spend more on defense and, by doing so, generate international tensions. Concerned about an arms race in Latin America, the Carter Center's Council of Presidents and Prime Ministers of the Americas urged governments in the region to pause before embarking on major arms purchases. Between April 1997 and March 1998, 28 current heads of government and 14 former heads of government signed a written pledge to accept a moratorium of two years on purchasing sophisticated weapons. Among the signatories was former Chile President Patricio Aylwin.