Chile

Through its groundbreaking Inform Women, Transform Lives campaign, The Carter Center partners with city leaders worldwide to raise awareness about women’s right to access information and to help cities reach women with valuable information and essential municipal services. 

Access to this information empowers women with a stronger voice, enabling them to participate in public life, utilize public services, and make more informed decisions for themselves, their families, and their communities. In Chile, the project has partnered with the city of Santiago.

The Carter-Menil Human Rights Foundation was created in 1986 by former U.S. President Jimmy Carter and French American philanthropist Dominique de Menil to promote the protection of human rights worldwide. A $100,000 prize was awarded periodically to individuals or organizations for their outstanding efforts on behalf of human rights.

In 1987, the Carter-Menil Human Rights Prize was awarded to the Chilean group La Vicaría de la Solidaridad, 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. The award not only enabled La Vicaría to continue their work but also focused global attention on their struggle for justice. 

This project ended in 1994.

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 and 14 former heads of government — including Chile’s — signed a pledge to accept a moratorium of two years on purchasing sophisticated weapons. 

In 2013, The Carter Center set out to support a healthy relationship between Latin American governments and the media, as well as to promote policies and practices to strengthen freedom of expression and democratic governance. 

Our Work and Methods

• The Center held a series of discussions in Chile and other countries across Latin America from January 2013 to November 2014 through the Contentious Issues in Democracy initiative.

Impacts

• The conversations enhanced compliance with the essential elements of a representative democracy and the defense and practice of human rights. 
• Participants gained a better understanding of the values and principles of the American Convention on Human Rights, the Inter-American Democratic Charter, and the Declaration of Principles on Freedom of Expression of the Inter-American Commission of Human Rights. 

This project ended in 2014.

In 1997, former Presidents Jimmy Carter and Gerald Ford co-hosted 17 dignitaries from across Central and South America, including the Chilean president, at The Carter Center for “The Agenda for the Americas for the 21st Century” conference. Participants made significant progress on a range of issues, including trade, drug trafficking, weapons moratoriums, territorial disputes, anti-corruption measures, and press freedoms. 

This project ended in 1997.