News of human 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.

Milei removes ESMA museum director, sparking backlash

05-06-2025 10:39 Human rights groups condemn what they call a fresh attack on the state policy of memory, truth and justice.

The battle by Chile torture site dwellers to remain

19-05-2025 13:51 Villa Baviera, a German-themed settlement of 122 souls in southern Chile, looks like the perfect holiday getaway. But Colonia Dignidad, as it was previously known, is a byword for horror during the dictatorship of Augusto Pinochet.

Ayelén Mazzina: ‘Scrapping programmes that protected women is deeply perverse’

16-05-2025 13:49 Former Women, Gender & Diversity Minister Ayelén Mazzina responds to President Javier Milei’s decision to eliminate 13 programmes that were created at the portfolio she previously led during her time in office.

Report: 20 convictions for crimes against humanity last year

27-03-2025 00:01 Annual report from PCCH puts tally at 1,195 convictions, 332 sentences for crimes against humanity since 2006 – the year in which such trials were resumed.

Dictatorship-era torturer ‘El Turco Julián’ dies in jail

26-03-2025 09:59 Former Federal Police officer Julio Héctor Simón, who tortured his victims at the ‘El Olimpo’ clandestine detention centre and commanded task forces entrusted with the abduction and disappearance of persons, dies aged 84 while serving time for three convictions of crimes against humanity.

Lawyer opposed to gender policies gets top human rights post

18-03-2025 16:34 Úrsula Basset, specialist in family law who has backed President Milei’s “cultural battle” against “wokeism,” named as new human rights director for Argentina’s Foreign Ministry.

Peru rights groups sound alarm on 'anti-NGO' bill

14-03-2025 13:30 Peru's Congress is on a mission to increase state oversight over NGOs, which have drawn the ire of conservatives for bringing cases against the state for alleged human rights abuses. 

Chronicle of an announced withdrawal

11-02-2025 10:44 Milei government anticipates its departure from the United Nations Human Rights Council, opting not to seek re-election for current mandate — an indirect way of accelerating its retreat. The move would reflect the new policy of alignment with Washington.

by Juan Gasparini

Affected and allied unite to rally for queer cause

04-02-2025 09:14 Tens of thousands of people flooded the streets of Buenos Aires on Saturday afternoon in a joyous celebration of diversity and a defiant defence of human rights.

Government attempts to cool backlash to Milei’s Davos remarks

30-01-2025 20:54 Presidential Spokesperson Manuel Adorni denies President Javier Milei branded homosexuals as paedophiles in his World Economic Forum speech as activists prepare to rally for LGBT+ rights.

'No way out': Grim conditions in El Salvador's mega-prison

29-01-2025 14:17 The largest prison in Latin America and emblem of the war against gangs in El Salvador celebrates two years since it was inaugurated under conditions that rights groups call inhumane. Along with Milei's support, Argentina Security Minister Patricia Bullrich considers President Nayib Bukele's approach as a model for state security.

Abuelas de Plaza de Mayo announce discovery of 'grandchild number 139'

21-01-2025 12:26 Human rights group announces press conference at the Casa de la Identidad to reveal details of latest discovery.

Judge orders government to protect dictatorship torture sites

15-01-2025 19:52 President Milei’s nominee for Supreme Court, Federal Judge Ariel Lijo, orders Human Rights Secretariat to safeguard sites and staff of 'Olimpo,' 'Club Atlético,' 'Automotores Orletti' and 'Virrey Cevallos' after request by City legislator Victoria Montenegro.

'I'm Still Here': Oscar buzz for ode to Brazil resistance

02-01-2025 16:26 Honoured in Venice, Brazilian film 'I'm Still Here' is a contender for a Golden Globe this Sunday and even possibly for the Oscars. Its director Walter Salles and star Fernanda Torres explains why this cinematic a message of "resistance" is important amid a rise in support for the far right.

Argentine judge orders arrest of Nicaragua's Ortega over rights violations

30-12-2024 19:57 Federal Judge Ariel Lijo orders arrest Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega, Vice-President Rosario Murillo and a dozen other collaborators for "systematic violation of human rights."

IACHR condemns El Salvador for denying abortion to sick woman

23-12-2024 21:01 Amnesty International praised a ruling by the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) condemning El Salvador for denying a woman a life-saving abortion in 2013.

Amnesty Int’l urges Milei to respect rights after year of ‘confrontation’

19-12-2024 14:18 Data compiled by rights NGO shows more than 1,100 people were injured in protest “repression” during Milei’s first year in office

by James Grainger

Almost 50 years on, French families still seeking answers about disappeared relatives

22-11-2024 11:14 Almost 50 years on, families are still seeking answers about French citizens who disappeared in Argentina in the late 1970s, during the 1976-1983 military dictatorship’s reign of terror. Last week’s visit to Buenos Aires by French President Emmanuel Macron put the topic back on the agenda.

Argentina refuses to back UN draft resolution on indigenous rights

12-11-2024 10:45 Argentina the only country out of 169 to vote against a United Nations draft resolution on rights of indigenous peoples.