News of human rights

Admirers bid farewell to Taty Almeida, symbol of nation's human rights struggle

15-06-2026 19:35 Argentines on Monday bid farewell to Taty Almeida, president of the Madres de Plaza de Mayo Línea Fundadora organisation and a symbol of the tireless search for the disappeared.

HUMAN RIGHTS

Taty Almeida and the struggle for memory in the Milei era

15-06-2026 16:41 Historic leader of the Madres de Plaza de Mayo Línea Fundadora became one of the most impassioned voices in Argentina to rail against denialism and formed a bridge carrying the banner of memory and the white headscarf to new generations.

by Gabriella Danieri, Perfil

OBITUARY

Human rights activist Taty Almeida, founding member of Madres de Plaza de Mayo, dies at 95

15-06-2026 09:47 Teacher, iconic human rights activist, president of Madres de Plaza de Mayo Línea Fundadora and campaigner for the disappeared and downtrodden. Taty Almeida, who has died at the age of 95, would not be silenced in her tireless search for memory, truth and justice and the knowledge over what happened to her missing son Alejandro.

RIGHTS REPORT

Amnesty Int'l warns Milei government scaling back protections

21-04-2026 11:57 Report by NGO’s local chapter says government’s cuts have deepened inequality, with protests, the press and gender violence and abortion protections under increasing pressure.

by James Grainger

HUMAN RIGHTS

Amnesty warns of ‘predatory’ world order as leaders fuel crisis

21-04-2026 11:39 Human rights group says global protection system built over last 80 years faces potential collapse as governments fail to act against abuses; Amnesty's chief warns Trump, Putin and Netanyahu are "predators" and must not be appeased.

human rights

Report: Government not supporting campaign to restore dictatorship identities

09-04-2026 19:20 Milei administration has interrupted sending of DNA kits to consulates nationwide for those who have doubts about their identity and suspect they may be children of disappeared.

VIOLENCE & SOCIETY

68 gender-based killings in Argentina in first quarter, report finds

07-04-2026 11:32 Report by La Casa del Encuentro NGO recorded 68 gender-based killings in January-March period; 72% of killings took place in victim’s home.

NEW ERA IN CHILE

Kast's Chile axes plans to give papers to almost 200,000 migrants

30-03-2026 11:55 President José Antonio Kast's government also announces it will reverse expropriation of Pinochet-era torture centre.

BEYOND THE HEADLINES

Completing memory

28-03-2026 05:55 It should be well within the means of libertarians (at all odds with dictatorship in theory at least) to challenge the denialist tag often placed on them and one wonders why they do not make more effort to do so.

by Michael Soltys

50th anniversary of 1976 coup

‘Sadism is not a political ideology nor a strategy of war, but a moral perversion’

28-03-2026 05:53 Populism, on the left and on the right, has wrecked havoc, helping to exacerbate the decline of traditional democratic values. It’s a shame that the defence of human rights has become fodder for culture wars and polarisation.

by Agustino Fontevecchia

50th anniversary of 1976 coup

‘Tell us where they are’ – Rights groups renew call for answers

24-03-2026 21:02 Statement read out onstage at coup anniversary march by rights groups, including Abuelas de Plaza de Mayo and Madres de Plaza de Mayo, contained sharp criticism of Javier Milei’s government and pleaded for new information about the disappeared and missing grandchildren.

50th anniversary of 1976 coup

Huge crowd floods Plaza de Mayo to mark 50 years since dictatorship coup

24-03-2026 18:19 Tens of thousands of people marched Tuesday in Buenos Aires on a day of remembrance marking 50 years since the coup d’état that installed a bloody dictatorship.

50th anniversary of 1976 coup

Milei government calls for ‘complete history’ of dictatorship era in video

24-03-2026 09:38 La Libertad Avanza restates its position on the 50th anniversary of Argentina’s 1976 coup, highlighting left-wing violence; Seventy-five minute video features interview with recovered granddaughter and son of a former soldier kidnapped by guerrillas.

50th anniversary of 1976 coup

Argentina remembers painful legacy of dictatorship as Milei challenges narrative

24-03-2026 08:54 Human rights groups to lead commemorations as Milei government questions long-standing narratives about dictatorship's crimes; Political battle grows over how nation remembers military regime and victims.

50th anniversary of 1976 coup

Historians discuss Milei, memory and dictatorship, 50 years on from coup

24-03-2026 00:46 Historians Camila Perochena and Felipe Pigna discuss the facts behind the 1976 coup, its current impact on politics and the Milei government’s stance on state terrorism and rights abuses.

50th anniversary of 1976 coup

Voices from the darkness: 20 dictatorship survivors and their tales

23-03-2026 16:43 Half a century after the coup, a look at 20 key survivors who not only lived through the terror, but helped the country understand what happened and prosecute those responsible.

by Darío Silva D'Andrea

50TH ANNIVERSARY OF COUP

50 tales for 50 years: Book collects personal stories of dictatorship’s crimes

22-03-2026 00:07 'La Retaguardia,' media outlet specialising in coverage of trials probing crimes against humanity during the military dictatorship, has compiled accounts drawn from court files and testimonies given in court.

by Giselle Leclercq

50th anniversary of 1976 coup

Videla’s confession: Reconstructing the dictatorship

22-03-2026 00:01 Published in 2012, 'Disposición Final' features an extended interview with military junta leader and former de facto president Jorge Rafael Videla. To mark the 50th anniversary of the coup d’état that brought him to power, we run a translated extract from Ceferino Reato’s historic non-fiction book.

by Ceferino Reato

50TH ANNIVERSARY OF COUP

Trials into crimes against humanity press on amid political tensions

21-03-2026 00:09 Thousands investigated, hundreds convicted, but ageing suspects, slow courts and political pressure threaten progress. As the 50th anniversary of coup d’état draws nears, government criticism raises concerns over accountability for crimes against humanity.

by James Grainger

50th anniversary of coup

Poll shows strong rejection of dictatorship on 50th anniversary of coup

21-03-2026 00:01 Survey finds 71% of Argentines hold negative view of dictatorship, only 7% positive; Broad support for human rights trials ahead of March 24 coup anniversary rallies.

by James Grainger

50TH ANNIVERSARY OF COUP

Argentina’s Church leaders says ‘never again’ as coup anniversary nears

19-03-2026 16:14 One cannot move forward without memory, say Church leaders in communiqué marking 50th anniversary of the March 24, 1976 coup; Bishop warns against authoritarianism and calls on state to “defend democracy” and the most vulnerable.

HUMAN RIGHTS & COURTS

Forensic team identifies 12 new dictatorship victims at Córdoba’s ‘La Perla’ site

11-03-2026 11:19 Court in Córdoba confirms skeletal remains found at La Perla detention centre last year have been identified and pertain to 12 missing dictatorship victims; Former detention centre operated in the La Calera area, on the outskirts of the provincial capital.

HUMAN RIGHTS

Human rights office could be moved from ex-ESMA on eve of 50th coup anniversary

25-02-2026 16:11 President Javier Milei’s government analysing moving Argentina’s Human Rights Department from ex-ESMA clandestine detention centre to offices of now defunct Women, Gender and Diversity Ministry; Move would take place in the same month as the 50th anniversary of the 1976 coup, according to reports.

HUMAN RIGHTS

More than 200 political prisoners in Venezuela launch hunger strike

22-02-2026 22:59 More than 200 Venezuelan political prisoners go on hunger strike to demand their release under a new amnesty law that excludes many of them.

HUMAN RIGHTS

Prisons are overcrowded, deteriorating and deadlier, says report

15-02-2026 06:06 PROCUVIN prosecutor’s office for institutional violence issues stark warning over increase of prison population and the deterioration of conditions for detainees.

POLITICS IN VENEZUELA

Venezuela amnesty bill excludes gross rights abuses under Chávez, Maduro

06-02-2026 11:26 Venezuela's National Assembly starts weighing amnesty law; Bill is an initiative by interim president Delcy Rodríguez, who stepped into the shoes of Nicolas Maduro after he was deposed in US military operation one month ago.

COURTS & HUMAN RIGHTS

Argentine court requests Maduro’s extradition from the United States

04-02-2026 15:57 Court seeks extradition of Venezuela ex-president over crimes against humanity, using principle of universal jurisdiction.

REGIME CHANGE IN VENEZUELA

Venezuelan interim president announces mass amnesty push

31-01-2026 09:03 Delcy Rodríguez says said she will propose a "general amnesty law covering the entire period of political violence from 1999 to the present."

Jailed Argentine in Venezuela

‘I fear for my life’ – Video released of Argentine lawyer detained in Venezuela

26-01-2026 08:08 Argentine lawyer Germán Giuliani seen in a video recorded from his prison cell; 49-year-old denies allegations against him and appeals for intervention from Milei government and international human rights bodies.

Politics in Chile

Chile president picks Pinochet lawyers as ministers of human rights, defence

21-01-2026 11:24 Chile's right-wing president-elect names two ex-lawyers of former dictator Augusto Pinochet to lead the ministries of defence and human rights.

HUMAN RIGHTS

Venezuela releasing 'large number' of political prisoners

08-01-2026 16:36 National Assembly speaker announces release of political prisoners as a “gesture for peace; Analysts see move as concession to Washington after ouster of Maduro.

HUMAN RIGHTS

Plaintiffs ask court in Argentina to seek Maduro’s extradition

04-01-2026 22:03 Prosecutors and plaintiffs in Argentine court case probing alleged crimes against humanity committed by Maduro and his government seek extradition of Venezuelan leader.

FILM & CINEMA

Sending silence to oblivion

22-12-2025 17:35 'Tiempos Circulares' (2025); Directed by Andrés Dunayevich; Documentary; 78 minutes.

by Michael Soltys

HUMAN RIGHTS

Milei's top human rights official quits post

04-12-2025 17:21 Conflicting accounts as Human Rights Secretary Alberto Baños resigns post; Official had been appointed to the position by Justice Minister Mariano Cúneo Libarona.

HUMAN RIGHTS

Milei challenges Argentina's longstanding human rights policies

27-11-2025 19:11 President’s decision to appoint the head of the Army, Lieutenant General Carlos Presti, as Argentina's new defence minister comes amid calls for a new march to demand the release of military officers convicted of offences committed during the last military dictatorship and and delays to trials investigating crimes against humanity.

by Giselle Leclercq

Peru Chile Migration

Scared Venezuelan migrants flee Chile and spark backlash

27-11-2025 14:24 Venezuelan migrants fleeing Chile’s tough policies has seen hundreds stranded at the Peru border. In response, the government in Lima is enforcing strict border control amid fears of a larger migration wave.

ELECTION IN CHILE

Presidential hopeful Kaiser vows to withdraw Chile from IACHR rights court

06-11-2025 20:31 Chilean libertarian Johannes Kaiser is promising to withdraw Chile from the Inter-American Court of Human Rights, in his latest bid for presidency.

ANNUAL PRIDE MARCH

Argentines march for LGBTQ pride, against government-fuelled 'hate'

02-11-2025 09:00 Streets surrounding Congress fill with colour, music and rejection of Javier Milei's government policies as revellers celebrate 34th edition of the LGBTIQ+ Pride March 2025.

EXCLUSIVE

Film legend Jane Fonda to promote human rights doc ‘Norita’ in Los Angeles

24-10-2025 10:42 Academy Award-winner Jane Fonda to present screening of documentary detailing life of Madres de Plaza de Mayo co-founder and human rights icon Nora Cortiñas at the Museum of Tolerance in Los Angeles.

OBITUARY

Madres de Plaza de Mayo member Vera Jarach dies at 97

03-10-2025 17:51 Vera Jarach, a leading figure of the Madres de Plaza de Mayo human rights group, dies aged 97; Activist, who lost her only daughter to the dictatorship, became a tireless defender of human rights.

Human rights

UN-backed mission reports rising political persecution in Venezuela

22-09-2025 16:59 UN-backed fact-finding mission condemns clampdown in Venezuela; Maduro invites Trump to “preserve peace through dialogue” – but US president rejects approach.

OBITUARY

Rights campaigner Rosa Tarlovsky de Roisinblit dies aged 106

07-09-2025 09:40 Grandmothers of Plaza de Mayo honorary president dies at 106; Tireless campaigner's activism inspired by her disappeared daughter and grandson, with whom she was reunited in 2000.

FOREIGN POLICY & DIPLOMACY

Argentina will not put up candidate for UN rights council

03-09-2025 12:09 Government will not put up candidate for election to United Nations Human Rights Council; Decision follows announcement that Argentina will withdraw from World Health Organisation.

Human rights

Peru's president signs military crimes amnesty bill into law

13-08-2025 17:36 Peruvian President Dina Boluarte signs controversial bill granting amnesty to military personnel, police and members of civilian self-defence units over a bloody 1980-2000 campaign against leftist guerrillas.

HUMAN RIGHTS

'Welcome to hell': Freed migrants tell of horrors in Salvadoran jail

29-07-2025 11:20 One of the detainees was part of Donal Trump's crackdown.

HUMAN RIGHTS

United Nations rights council criticises Milei pressure on Judiciary

15-07-2025 15:43 International rights watchdog calls for clarification on measures that could undermine the autonomy of the courts. Executive has yet to respond and present its defence.

COURTS

Court upholds life sentence for man convicted of Tehuel de la Torre’s murder

14-07-2025 14:23 Judges confirm hate-crime ruling in killing of young trans man who has been missing since 2021.

HUMAN RIGHTS

Abuelas identify 140th grandchild born in dictatorship captivity

07-07-2025 15:38 Rights group announces discovery of new grandchild of disappeared parents; Child of Graciela Romero and Raúl Metz was born in a secret detention centre in 1977.

Environment & rights

Inter-American court says states must protect people from climate change

04-07-2025 09:35 Decision means that around 20 countries across Latin America and the Caribbean – including Argentina – must undertake legal reforms to protect populations from climate change.