Argentina deepened far-right stance in foreign policy, report says

Under President Javier Milei, Argentina has departed from its historic human rights positions in international forums and instead adopted “the global agenda of the far right,” according to a report by the Center for Legal and Social Studies (CELS, by its Spanish acronym). The report said that while Argentina has been a leading actor in the development of humanitarian international law and defense of human rights for the past four decades, that legacy is now being “dismantled.” Since taking office, Milei has made a sharp turn in Argentina’s human rights and memory policies. This includes defending denialist stances about state terror committed during the last military dictatorship in the country, as well as defunding human rights state organizations. The country has also noticeably changed its foreign policy in human rights, going as far as to break its tradition of neutrality in international armed conflicts. In 2025, Argentina has engaged in what the report describes as an “unrestricted alignment” with U.S. foreign policy, said the report issued by CELS, an organization founded in 1979 during the military dictatorship. No more neutrality Argentina had already questioned the agenda of the United Nations in 2024, with Milei accusing it of being “woke,” and becoming the only country to vote against resolutions of issues it had previously backed. The shift became clearer after U.S. President Donald Trump took office in January 2025. Since then, Argentina has changed its historic vote in certain areas in order to align with the United States. CELS expressed “concern” about Argentina’s vote against a UN General Assembly resolution aimed at preventing and eradicating torture, alongside the U.S. and Israel.  Argentina also aligned with Israel and the United States on votes related to the war in Gaza. In June, Argentina was among 12 countries that rejected a U.N. call for a ceasefire. In September, it was one of the only ten countries to vote against a resolution supporting a peaceful two-state solution for Israel and Palestine, which included the disarmament of Hamas. Argentina also refused to back a UN resolution calling for an end to Israel’s occupation of Palestinian territories. “The Argentine state broke with its historic tradition of neutrality and positioned itself in favor of the state of Israel,” the CELS said. Another instance of Argentina backing the U.S. came in October, when, for the first time ever, the country voted against a U.N. resolution calling to end the embargo on Cuba. In November, Argentina was the only country to reject the G20 South Africa summit’s joint declaration, citing disagreement with the statement’s approach to the Palestine conflict and “geopolitical differences.” The U.S. boycotted the summit. Argentine representatives have also questioned the legitimacy of international human rights protection mechanisms during hearings before the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights and the UN. CELS said the Argentine government went so far as to make accusations against their members and Argentine human rights organizations. During a November hearing before the UN’s Committee Against Torture, Alberto Baños — who was Argentina’s human rights undersecretary at the time — denied the figure of 30,000 disappeared victims of the last military dictatorship, an unprecedented position in the country’s democratic history. He also accused human rights organizations of being “corrupt” and said the members of the committee had been “colonized” by those groups. You may also be interested in: Argentine journalists denounce state harassment under President Milei at IACHR