Justice Minister Fernando Rabat informed the Senate Human Rights Commission on Tuesday that there are currently 28 pending pardon requests awaiting resolution. The announcement was made during a session in which the Secretary of State presented his ministry's legislative priorities for the current administration.
According to a report by El Mostrador, approximately 20 of the pending requests date back to before March 11, 2026, while the remaining eight are more recent. Rabat noted that the cases involve diverse matters and that not all are related to the events of the 2019 social unrest.
Rabat appeared before the commission alongside Undersecretary of Human Rights Pablo Mira, following a request by Senator Fabiola Campillai, the commission's chair. During the hearing, the legislator questioned the Executive branch's criteria regarding the possibility of granting pardons to state agents convicted of human rights violations.
“As a government, how will you guarantee that the severity of the harm to victims—in cases of death, loss of vision, or loss of mobility—is taken into account? We are talking about clear re-victimization, both for those affected and for the families of the deceased,” Campillai warned, as reported by La Tercera.
The Justice Minister avoided taking a definitive political stance on whether President José Antonio Kast would exercise presidential pardon powers, stating only that each case will be evaluated individually in accordance with current law. Representatives from victim advocacy groups, including Alicia Lira of AFEP and Gaby Rivera of AFDD, also participated in the session.
Continuity of the National Search Plan
On another agenda item, Undersecretary Pablo Mira confirmed the continuation of the National Search Plan, an initiative launched during the Gabriel Boric administration. The Undersecretary assured that the current government has no doubts about the program's permanence and noted that 12 meetings have been held to coordinate improvements with the Judiciary and the Ministry of Public Works.
Mira detailed that, since March 11, meetings have been held with technical teams to ensure the inter-ministerial coordination necessary to carry out search operations.