UN human rights experts warn of alarming setbacks in Argentina

On the eve of the 50th anniversary of the start of the last dictatorship, a group of United Nations human rights experts warned that Argentina is experiencing “alarming setbacks” in its historic fight for memory, truth and justice, due to regressive policies put in place since 2024 by the government of Javier Milei. The experts stated that, due to this, Argentina is losing the position it had earned as a worldwide pioneer in seeking justice for human rights violations committed by the state. “Since the return to democracy in 1983, Argentina has established itself as a global benchmark in transitional justice,” said the statement that was signed by a group of independent experts who lead special teams within the UN, including special rapporteurs on topics such as the promotion of truth and justice. They highlighted that Argentina “has made major progress in the fight against impunity and to ensure the rights to truth and memory,” despite some “oscillations and gaps” throughout the past four decades. “Unfortunately, today we are seeing a rapid deterioration of Argentina’s global leadership in this area,” they warned.  According to a press release published by the UN, this is the sixth time the group has expressed their concern to the Argentine government “regarding the regressive measures adopted since 2024.” Those measures include the reduction of the role of the state in promoting criminal investigations for crimes against humanity, obstruction of access to archives of the dictatorship and the weakening of mechanisms for reparation and support of victims, the release said. Also mentioned among the concerns are the dismantlement of institutions dedicated to the preservation of memory, the search for disappeared persons, and the promotion of human rights.  In addition, they warned about the elimination of a team of archivists who analyzed and processed dictatorship files, helping to find evidence to convict criminals of that era and any information on the whereabouts of the disappeared or their children who were kidnapped and given to other families. “These measures undermine the foundations of transitional justice, democracy and the rule of law, while weakening guarantees of non-repetition,” the UN experts said. “We urge authorities to restore dismantled institutions and policies without delay and cease actions that erode historical legacy,” they added, saying that the Argentine state has an obligation to guarantee truth, justice, reparation, memory, and non-repetition. They also warned about denialist discourse about dictatorship crimes expressed by authorities, including “disinformation” and “hate speech.” “Attempting to rewrite the past with denialist or revisionist narratives constitutes another alarming setback and a violation of human rights.” Following online rumors and press reports about a potential pardon to former military personnel convicted for heinous human rights violations, they said this is “strictly prohibited under peremptory norms of international law.” Referring to pardons issued by former president Carlos Menem in 1989 and 1990 they said: “Argentina cannot make the same mistake again. It must rather consolidate and build on its successful transitional justice legacy to ensure effective reconciliation and non-recurrence,” the UN experts said. The trials continue Despite the mentioned setbacks, the fight for memory, truth and justice in Argentina continues in the judiciary. On Thursday, Argentina’s top criminal court confirmed the life sentences of pilots Ángel Delsis Malacalza y Eduardo José María Lance, accused of conducting the “death flights” from which detainees were thrown alive into the Atlantic Ocean or the River Plate, as well as obstetrician Jorge Luis Magnacco and Víctor Roberto Olivera, a former navy member who worked as a guard at the ex-ESMA clandestine detention center. The court rejected the appeals that had been filed by their defense teams in what was their last chance to protest their convictions. Magnacco was convicted for working as a clandestine obstetrician for the pregnant women who were held captive at the ESMA and for signing fake birth certificates of many of their babies, which were then handed to families who raised them under new identities. Magnacco was involved in the child appropriation of politicians Victoria Donda and Juan Cabandié. You may also be interested in: 50 years on, most Argentines support continuing dictatorship trials