Executive Summary: A Human Rights Legal Framework for Communications Surveillance in Latin America

What is the current status of the legal framework for communications surveillance in Latin America? That is the question that underpins this first analysis focused on criminal investigation and intelligence activities. Having a comparative baseline of countries in the region will allow us to address regional debates and research to maintain a legal framework that respects the rights of individuals, guarantees their practices, and has effective control and monitoring mechanisms that allow them to claim the restitution of rights and serve as a democratic control to the broad powers of States in this area.

With this purpose, we present this executive summary of the research that we as a consortium of organizations Al Sur conducted, based on the analysis of the legal framework of communications surveillance in eight Latin American countries: Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Mexico, Panama, Paraguay, and Peru.