His figure has been relieved by different personalities for his active role in the defense of human rights from the Vicaría de la Solidaridad.
At the beginning of the regular session and as requested by Senator Carlos Montes, on behalf of his Committee, the Senate rendered a minute of silence after the death of the renowned lawyer and national prize for Human Rights, Roberto Garretón Merino, who passed away at age 80 on December 27.
The request was welcomed by the table and, across the board, by all the legislators who supported the heartfelt tribute to whoever was trained at the Law School of the University of Chile.
His figure has been relieved by different political personalities for his active role in defending those persecuted before the War Councils in the 1980s. In that sense, he was head of the legal departments of both the Peace Cooperation Committee in Chile and the Vicaría de la Solidaridad.
In international matters, the jurist was vice president of the World Conference on Human Rights in Vienna, representative for Latin America and the Caribbean of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, part of the Advisory Committee on the Prevention of Genocide, while Kofi Annan was Secretary General of the United Nations, in addition to being linked to the defense of Human Rights in more than 60 countries.
In 2020 he received the National Human Rights Award, awarded every two years by the Institute of Human Rights (INDH), “for his tireless search for truth and justice during his national and international professional career,” explained the organization on that occasion. .