Abstract

SFERRAZZA TAIBI, Pietro. The Search for Missing Persons in Chile: The Need for a Humanitarian Complement?. Rev. mex. cienc. polít. soc [online]. 2021, vol.66, n.243, pp.79-108.  Epub Jan 31, 2022. ISSN 0185-1918.  https://doi.org/10.22201/fcpys.2448492xe.2021.243.70276.

The search for victims of forced disappearance is an issue that has given rise to a deep interdisciplinary discussion. Like other Latin American countries, Chile is facing this problem, since it has not been possible to recover and identify the vast majority of the victims of the disappearances committed during Augusto Pinochet’s dictatorship from 1973 to 1990. This research ponders the ideal search model to face this catastrophe. With a socio-legal approach, the article explains the theoretical discussions on search models, reflects on the way in which the search has been carried out in Chile from the dictatorship to the present and seeks to propose some general principles for the implementation of a complementary model that combines, coordinates and connects the criminal prosecution of the perpetrators through the judicial process and the search for disappeared persons through administrative channels. In light of the local context, the article aims to contribute to the dialogue on the search that is taking place within the framework of various disciplines of the social sciences.

Keywords : forced disappearance; search for missing persons; transitional justice.