Paper short abstract:

This article examines the role of Chilean human rights organizations as advocates of the global regime against torture during 1990-2006. Based on extensive field research, it shows the weakness of domestic NGOs to take advantage of the opportunities opened with the arrest of Pinochet in London.

Paper long abstract:

The arrest of Pinochet in London in 1998 for crimes of torture opened for the first time a enormous window of international opportunity to put the problem of torture survivors of the dictatorship on the public agenda. This article examines the consequences of that breakthrough event for International Law and International Relations, exploring the role of Chilean human rights organizations as advocates of the global governance regime against torture during 1990-2006. Based on extensive field research and drawing on the Spiral Model of Human Rights Change (Risse, Ropp and Sikkink, 1999), this article shows the weakness of domestic organizations to take advantage of the existent opportunities. It concludes that rhetorical action tactics have been ineffective to persuade three consecutive governments to advance on the rights of the forgotten victims of the military regime under democracy.