CRIME & SECURITY Prison breaks in Buenos Aires: 19 inmates escape in 20 days, many convicts at large 23-04-2024 16:04 Fugitives on the run in Argentina – overcrowding at police stations in and across the capital allows detainees to escape from jail.
HUMAN RIGHTS & DICTATORSHIP NGOs accuse Milei government ‘dismantling’ team investigating military records 12-04-2024 08:45 Injunction against move filed with courts as human rights groups denounce firing of 10 out of 13 researchers that probe archives of Armed Forces to assist investigations into crimes against humanity.
CATHOLIC CHURCH Against abortion, for LGBTQ rights: Vatican defends 'human dignity' 08-04-2024 16:14 Vatican publishes new text condemning "grave violations of human dignity," listing abortion, surrogacy and gender theory alongside discrimination against migrants and LGBTQ people.
POLITICS Milei reopens debate about dictatorship, Armed Forces 04-04-2024 18:51 President enrages human rights groups by questioning estimate of those disappeared by junta’s security forces and calls for “reconciliation” of the military in Argentina.
POLITICS & HUMAN RIGHTS Alberto González: ESMA torturer – and vice-president’s mentor 29-03-2024 21:02 He headed the dreaded “underground” of the ESMA Navy Mechanics School concentration camp. Convicted for crimes against humanity, Alberto González was also the first dictatorship-era criminal to be sentenced for rape. He is also the mentor of Argentina’s Vice-President Victoria Villarruel. by Juan Luis González
Human rights ‘Los Pozos’: 10 handed life sentences for dictatorship-era abuses 28-03-2024 14:28 Court issues 10 lifetime prison sentences as part of a long-running, mass prosecution into incidents of kidnapping, torture, rape and disappearances at three sites during the country's 1976-83 military dictatorship.
HUMAN RIGHTS H.I.J.O.S. rights activist provides details of attack at her home 25-03-2024 17:12 Abused HIJOS activist Sabrina Bölke goes public and speaks out about attack she suffered: "They tortured me and said they were going to kill me."
24 de MARZO Milei government casts doubt over dictatorship crimes 24-03-2024 18:49 Milei administration echoes vice-president's line, demanding justice for "the victims of terrorism" during military dictatorship era and questioning 30,000 disappeared estimate from human rights groups.
HUMAN RIGHTS Argentines send message with march in memory of dictatorship 24-03-2024 17:03 Huge crowds head to Plaza de Mayo to mark the 48th anniversary of the coup d'état that brought Argentina’s brutal 1976-1983 military dictatorship to power, resulting in the disappearance, exile and execution of tens of thousands of people in secret death camps across the country.
EDITORIAL 48 years and 100 days later 23-03-2024 06:34 Tomorrow is the 48th anniversary of the 1976 military coup, while last Tuesday marked the classic first 100 days of the Javier Milei Presidency.
HUMAN RIGHTS Attack on rights activist rocks nation on eve of coup anniversary 21-03-2024 18:36 H.I.J.O.S. human rights activist brutally assaulted and sexually abused at home by assailants who threatened her and identified themselves by using slogan linked to President Javier Milei.
HUMAN RIGHTS Judge asks Uruguay to repatriate Navy plane used in the Condor Plan 21-03-2024 14:05 Court demands repatriation of plane in Uruguay that was used to transfer detainees during the Operation Condor plan of coordination between South American dictatorships in the 1970s and 1980s.
HUMAN RIGHTS IN COLOMBIA Buried clothes, bones and DNA help identify Colombia's missing 14-03-2024 12:42 Across Colombia, efforts have intensified to find, exhume, and identify those who have gone missing during the country's six decades of armed conflict.
Women's Rights Organised backlash unravels progress in women's rights 08-03-2024 06:10 Conservative counter-campaigns are unravelling global advances in women's rights, the latest "backlash" in a series dating to the 1980s, activists and experts warned ahead of International Women's Day on Friday.
Abortion rights Abortion protection in French Constitution is 'message of hope' for other nations 05-03-2024 12:41 France's new "guaranteed freedom" to have an abortion may transcend borders and "give a boost to the recognition of this fundamental right" in the world, experts and activists argue.
Human rights Victoria Donda’s uncle sentenced to 15 years jail for her dictatorship abduction 04-03-2024 21:51 Retired military officer Adolfo Donda sentenced to 15 years in prison as co-perpetrator of the abduction of his niece, politician Victoria Donda, during dark days of 1976-1983 military dictatorship.
Abortion rights France enshrines abortion as constitutional right in world first 04-03-2024 16:39 Lawmakers in Versailles vote to anchor the right to abortion in the constitution, making France the first country in the world to enshrine explicit protection for terminating a pregnancy in basic law.
Human rights UN rights chief warns Gaza 'powder keg' could spark wider war 04-03-2024 13:17 Speaking before the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva, Volker Türk characterises the Gaza war as a "powder keg" and condemns "great replacement" theories
CATHOLIC CHURCH Pope launches fresh attack against 'dangerous' gender ideology 01-03-2024 12:57 Argentine pontiff and leader of Catholic Church declares "worst danger" today is "gender ideology."
INTERVIEW / PERIODISMO PURO Silvia Labayrú: ‘I was the first, I believe, to give birth at ESMA’ 17-02-2024 06:43 Silvia Labayrú is a survivor of one of Argentina’s darkest places during the 1976-1983 era of state terrorism. Held at the ex-ESMA Navy Mechanics School, which served as a clandestine detention centre during the dictatorship’s rein of terror, she was kidnapped, tortured and raped several times during her captivity. In a feature interview, she recalls her experience and reveals the horrors she suffered during those black days. by Jorge Fontevecchia
HUMAN RIGHTS Venezuela suspends UN rights office, expels staff 15-02-2024 16:27 Two days after the United Nations agency expressed "deep concern" over the detention of a prominent rights activist, Venezuela's Foreign Minister ordered staff at the rights office to leave within 72 hours.
Columbia Colombian armed groups forcibly recruited nearly 190 kids in 2023: report 13-02-2024 13:20 Nearly 190 children as young as nine were forcibly recruited by armed groups in Colombia last year, the country's rights ombudsman said Monday.
CATHOLIC CHURCH 'Mama Antula': Human rights pioneer and Argentina's first female saint 09-02-2024 15:44 Blessed 'Mama Antula,' soon to be consecrated a saint, is considered the first defender of human rights in Argentina during the Spanish colonial viceroyalty of the Río de la Plata.
POLITICS & JUDICIARY Rights groups criticise bid to lower age of criminal responsibility 05-02-2024 11:02 Several bills seeking to lower the age of criminal responsibility have been introduced to Argentina’s Congress in recent years, but none have won approval. As Javier Milei’s justice minister confirms he will seek once again to lower the threshold, human rights groups and childrens’ advocacy groups reiterate their opposition. by Ashton Goren
El Salvador Elections El Salvador goes to polls with gang-busting Bukele miles ahead 02-02-2024 12:32 El Salvador's President Nayib Bukele is all but guaranteed a resounding victory in elections Sunday, with his no-holds-barred war on gangs having earned him approval ratings hovering around 90 percent
POLITICS Claudia Rucci appointed head of Senate Human Rights Observatory 14-01-2024 16:39 Vice-president names Claudia Rucci as the head of the Senate’s Human Rights Observatory. In 2023, the new appointee supported Villarruel's event at the City Legislature paying tribute to “victims of terrorism.”
HUMAN RIGHTS Milei's human rights secretary on future of ex-ESMA memory site 19-12-2023 17:07 New head of Human Rights Secretariat, Alberto Baños, offers Milei government’s first definitions regarding future of ex-ESMA memory site questioned by Vice-President Victoria Villarruel.
FOREIGN POLICY & DIPLOMACY Argentina debuts diplomatic shift under Milei at United Nations 19-12-2023 10:17 Diplomatic shift begins as Milei government takes stronger stance on authoritarian regime at United Nations; Argentina urges "Nicaraguan authorities to immediately release all persons arbitrarily arrested while re-establishing the rights of those deprived of their nationality," in line with European Union countries and the United Kingdom and other nations. by Juan Gasparini, from Geneva
CATHOLIC CHURCH Vatican authorises blessings for same-sex couples, with caveats 18-12-2023 14:13 Document approved by Pope Francis approves "the possibility of blessings for couples in irregular situations (including unmarried couples or divorcees) and for couples of the same sex," but does not alter stances on unions or civil partnerships.
OBITUARY Maud Daverio de Cox, author indelibly linked to dictatorship era, dies at 92 01-12-2023 11:38 Author Maud Daverio de Cox, the wife of former 'Buenos Aires Herald' editor Robert Cox who helped expose abuses perpetrated by 1976-1983 military dictatorship, passes away aged 92. by James Grainger
HUMAN RIGHTS How Kissinger gave the junta tacit approval for abuses 30-11-2023 16:53 The death of former US secretary of state Henry Kissinger has put his dictatorship-era policy towards Argentina in the spotlight once again.
Human rights Protesters in Buenos Aires admonish incoming government’s ‘denialism’ 24-11-2023 16:53 Activists join weekly Madres de Plaza de Mayo march to admonish Javier Milei and Victoria Villarruel over their “denialism” of state terrorism during 1976-1983 military dictatorship.
IN FOCUS: VICE-PRESIDENT-ELECT Victoria Villarruel: First vice-president to play down dictatorship’s crimes 22-11-2023 11:37 By presenting herself as a militant of "complete memory," the La Libertad Avanza vice-president-elect has constructed her political figure around the controversial “theory of two demons,” equating left-wing killings with state terrorism.
Human rights Carlotto wants Milei to ‘respect search for grandchildren’ 20-11-2023 17:35 Leader of Abuelas de Plaza de Mayo human rights group says that she will request a meeting with libertarian leader Javier Milei and demand that her organisation's “search for our grandchildren” is respected.
HUMAN RIGHTS & ART Pablo: the disappeared child who walks on waters of River Plate 18-11-2023 07:20 From the Parque de la Memoria in Buenos Aires, an ever steeper path winds up to the shoreline of the River Plate. In the distance, in the water, a child can be seen floating with his back turned, ebbing and flowing with the tide. The story of a unique statue, entitled ‘Reconstrucción del retrato de Pablo Míguez.' by Sabrina Chemen
ELECTIONS 2023 Massa and Milei end campaigns ahead of tight vote 17-11-2023 00:25 Economy Minister Sergio Massa and libertarian lawmaker Javier Milei closed their campaigns on Thursday, ahead of a tense and tight contest in which every vote counts.
HUMAN RIGHTS Ex-Navy officer accused of 23 dictatorship-era murders dies in Berlin 16-11-2023 17:08 Ex-Navy officer Luis Kyburg was suspected in the abduction, disappearance, torture and murder of 23 young individuals in 1976 and 1977; 75-year-old died just weeks before he was due to be charged.
HUMAN RIGHTS Victoria Villarruel criticises ESMA dictatorship world heritage site 14-11-2023 13:55 Far-right vice-presidential candidate Victoria Villarruel suggests ESMA memory site, once home to detention and extermination camp, should be turned into a school; Javier Milei’s running-mate alleges widespread corruption in government’s human rights policies.
WAR IN MIDDLE EAST Latin America divided and nuanced on Israel-Hamas conflict 01-11-2023 11:52 Many Latin American governments maintain strong support for Palestinians and their cause of statehood while condemning Israeli bombing of the Gaza strip; Argentina shows support for freeing hostages, with some of its citizens still being held by Hamas.
EDITORIAL Of dirty money and ‘dirty wars’ 07-10-2023 06:40 With corruption being rubbed in its face by Insaurralde’s Marbella yacht jaunt and with the ballot-box in only a fortnight’s time as a readymade outlet, how will the citizenry react?
HUMAN RIGHTS The imperious need to penalise denialism 27-09-2023 13:12 There are issues, like crimes against humanity, which should be beyond electoral speculation. With the same speed with which the government secured approval for amending the income tax threshold, it should also now approve a law to condemn denialism with the support of Juntos por el Cambio and a united opposition. by Jorge Fontevecchia
GUEST VOICE Victoria Villarruel, human rights, and truth 22-09-2023 05:19 Many victims and relatives of victims of armed organisations neither feel represented by, nor do they endorse, Victoria Villarruel’s claims and views on human rights. by Gustavo Llarull**
Human rights Ex-Trial of the Juntas judge: ‘Argentina should punish denialism by law’ 20-09-2023 16:32 One of the judges who sat on the court that convicted Argentina’s military junta of crimes against humanity declares that “denialism tends to undermine the validity of the democratic rule of law.”
Foreign Policy & Diplomacy Biden and Lula to launch workers' rights pact in meeting Wednesday 20-09-2023 07:00 The two presidents are taking further steps to tighten relations based on their mutual support for worker's rights and organized labor
HUMAN RIGHTS Court confirms life sentences for Jorge ‘Tigre’ Acosta and 39 others 19-09-2023 16:34 Federal Criminal Cassation Chamber dismissed appeals by 40 individuals convicted of crimes against humanity and sentenced to life in jail.
HUMAN RIGHTS Hell becomes heritage: UNESCO honours ex-ESMA detention centre 19-09-2023 15:51 An exercise in memory without hatred has turned the former ESMA Navy Mechanics School, the largest torture and extermination centre during the last military dictatorship’s rein of terror, into a cultural space that hurts but aspires to heal.
Human Rights Ex-ESMA recognised as UNESCO World Heritage Site 19-09-2023 13:10 Former clandestine detention, torture and extermination camp during era of state terrorism recognised as a World Heritage site by UNESCO.
Human Rights Ex-ESMA in running to join UNESCO World Heritage list 15-09-2023 14:10 Ex-ESMA Navy Mechanics School, former clandestine detention centre under 1976-1983 military dictatorship and today a museum of memory, among a host of sites in running for United Nations recognition
EDITORIAL It’s not just the economy, stupid! 09-09-2023 05:25 In the last general elections in 2019 PASO primary winner Alberto Fernández was seconded by a woman whom nobody underestimated and today’s PASO primary winner Milei is seconded by a woman who perhaps should not be underestimated either.
HUMAN RIGHTS Dictator Pinochet looms large over Chile 50 years after coup 07-09-2023 12:04 Augusto Pinochet suspended democracy using military force to overthrow a popularly-elected president and rule Chile with an iron grip that saw thousands of his subjects tortured and killed. Yet, 50 years after his power grab, and despite a brutal legacy, the general continues to inspire admiration rather than condemnation among many.