Web pages about "Argentina"

Amnesty International welcomes life sentences for Argentinean military officers

Fri, 29 Aug 2008 17:47:23 +0100

Two officers during Argentina's oppressive military regime were given life sentences for the kidnapping, torture and disappearance of former senator Guillermo Vargas Aignasse in April 1976.

Amnesty International said the sentences against former military general Luciano Benjamín Menéndez and his subordinate Antonio Bussi are further testimony that crimes such as torture and disappearances have no place in today’s world.

“The sentences against Bussi and Menéndez are proof of the steps Argentina is taking to deal with its past,” said Susan Lee, Americas Director at Amnesty International.

Amnesty International also called on the Argentinean authorities to take more effective action to protect witnesses and allocate all necessary resources to the investigation of the disappearance of Jorge Julio López – who has been missing since 17 September 2006, after he acted as a witness in a separate trial of the former Director of Investigations of the Buenos Aires Province Police, Miguel Etchecolatz.

Background Information
During Argentina’s military government (1976 to 1983) thousands of people were “disappeared”, extrajudicially executed and tortured. More than 9,000 people are officially listed as having disappeared during the military's systematic crackdown on leftist opponents; however, human rights groups have estimated the number of victims to be 30,000. The amnesty laws in Argentina which had protected the security forces from prosecution were declared null and void in June 2005.

Luciano Benjamin Menéndez (81) was the commander of the regional Third Army Corps in Córdoba and controlled one of the regime's most notorious torture centres. Antonio Bussi (82) led military operations in Tucumán and eventually governed the province after the 1976 military coup. Córdoba and Tucumán were among the most affected areas by human rights violations during the military regime.

Menéndez, six other former military officials and one civilian were also convicted in July 2008 for the kidnapping, torture and extrajudicial executions of four people in 1977.

Argentina: Scrapping of Military Code of Justice welcomed

Fri, 08 Aug 2008 03:52:46 +0100

Amnesty International welcomes the decision by the Argentine Parliament to scrap the 1951 Military Code of Justice, thus abolishing the death penalty in all cases and closing military courts of justice.

"Argentina now joins the global trend towards total abolition of the death penalty," said Amnesty International. "Today's move is also a major step towards ensuring that human rights abuses are dealt with by civilian courts."

The decision abolishes provisions for the death penalty for crimes committed in times of armed conflict or in peace time by members of the armed forces. From now on all military personnel accused of ordinary offences or crimes under international law will be tried by civilian courts. Likewise, military personnel charged with an offence or crime will be free to appoint a civilian lawyer, instead of military.

Amnesty International is also studying other provisions adopted by the Argentine Parliament today to ensure they are consistent with international law.

END/

UN examines human rights in member countries

Mon, 07 Apr 2008 17:59:20 +0100

All UN member states are facing a rigorous examination of their human rights records. The inaugural session of the UN Human Rights Council's Universal Periodic Review (UPR) working group began on Monday.

The Universal Periodic Review (UPR) is a new mechanism of the UN Human Rights Council and, over the next four years, it will regularly review the human rights obligations and commitments of all 192 Member States. Governments themselves will carry out this regular and systematic scrutiny.

The new process will address one of the main criticisms of the Council’s predecessor, the Commission on Human Rights, which was accused of considering only a small number of countries, and of often avoiding pressing situations for political reasons.

The UPR Working Group will, until 18 April, examine the human rights records of 16 countries: Algeria, Argentina, Bahrain, Brazil, Czech Republic, Ecuador, Finland, India, Indonesia, Morocco, the Netherlands, the Philippines, Poland, South Africa, Tunisia and the UK.

This first session will be followed by two further sessions in 2008, so that 48 countries, selected by drawing lots, will have been scrutinized during the year.

An important feature of the new process is that governments of the countries under examination are expected to carry out a broad consultation among civil society. Amnesty International has lobbied energetically to ensure that all relevant voices are heard.

The organisation has submitted information on 14 of the 16 countries above and its members and supporters are working with civil society within each country to raise awareness of the new process.

Amnesty International said, in a statement issued on Monday, that this first session of the UPR Working Group will be key in setting the standard for future reviews, in terms of process as well as substance.

"Both reviewed and reviewing countries have an important role to play. Amnesty International looks to all member states to step up and help launch the UPR as an effective human rights mechanism," said Martin Macpherson, Director of the organization's International Law and Organisations Programme.

Human Rights Council elections 2008 - Argentina

Tue, 29 Apr 2008 11:55:49 +0100

Strikes and demonstrations, organized by municipal workers in support of pay demands in 2007, led to violent confrontations with police. Both demonstrators and police officers were injured. In the Neuquen Province, a protester was killed and an investigation into the death has been initiated.

There are also reports of violent raids on peasant and indigenous communities in the context of land disputes. Organizations working on behalf of peasants have faced harassment.

In September 2007, the national Ombudsman submitted a preventive writ before the Supreme Court on behalf of indigenous communities in Chaco Province. The submission emphasized extreme levels of poverty, involving lack of food, access to drinking water, shelter, and medical care.

The Supreme Court ruled in October that the local authorities have to provide food, drinking water and health and education programmes to these communities.

In November 2007, prisoners in the Santiago del Estero prison staged a protest against ill-treatment, abuse of authority, degrading body searches and the failure to investigate their complaints. During the protests, a fire was started – reportedly by the prisoners – which caused at least 30 deaths.

The Rapporteur on the Rights of Persons Deprived of Liberty of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights subsequently called on the authorities to investigate these incidents and to improve the protection of detainees.

Also in Santiago del Estero, reports were received in April 2008 of ill-treatment of detainees by the police officers in this province.

Several people, charged with committing human rights violations during the period of military government in 1976-1983, including abductions, murder, and torture, were sentenced to up to life imprisonment. In July 2007 the Supreme Court ruled as unconstitutional a presidential pardon granted by former President Carlos Menem for past human rights violations, in line with international legislation prohibiting impunity for crimes against humanity.

Recent Amnesty International statements and reports:

General

Amnesty International Report extracts for Argentina 2005-2007
Argentina: Elecciones 2007. Llamamiento de Amnistía Internacional para la creación de un Plan Nacional de Derechos Humanos (October 2007, in Spanish only)

Violence against women

Argentina: Violencia domestica, un problema de Estado (20 November 2007, AI Index: AIAR CAM 02/11/2007 – in Spanish only)

International Criminal Court

Argentina: Recomendaciones con relación al Proyecto de Ley de Adaptación del Estatuto de Roma de la Corte Penal Internacional (August 2006 – in Spanish only)

Ratification of International Treaties

Treaty	Status	Recognition of specific competences of Treaty Bodies	Reservations/ Declarations
International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR)	Ratified	Art. 41 (inter-state complaints)	Entered
Optional Protocol to the ICCPR	Acceded
Second Optional Protocol to the ICCPR on the death penalty	Signed
International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights	Ratified		Entered
Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW)	Ratified		Entered
Optional Protocol to CEDAW	Ratified	Art. 2 (individual complaints)	Entered
International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination	Ratified	Art.14 (individual complaints)
Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (CAT)	Ratified	Art. 21 (inter-state complaints) Art. 22 (individual complaints)	Entered
Optional Protocol to CAT	Ratified
Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC)	Ratified		Entered
Optional Protocol to the CRC on children in armed conflict	Ratified		Entered
Optional Protocol to the CRC on the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography	Ratified		Entered
International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of their Families	Ratified	None	Entered
International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance	Ratified	None
Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court	Ratified
Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees	Acceded		Entered
Protocol Relating to the Status of Refugees	Acceded
The Four Geneva Conventions	Ratified
Protocol I to the Geneva Conventions relating to the Protection of Victims of International Armed Conflicts	Ratified
Protocol II to the Geneva Conventions relating to the Protection of Victims of Non-International Armed Conflicts	Ratified
Protocol III to the Geneva Conventions relating to the Adoption of an Additional Distinctive Emblem	Signed

Compliance with Reporting Obligations

Total Overdue Reports	Up to 5 years overdue	5 -10 years overdue	10 years or more overdue
3	CESCR: 4th periodic report CRC OP SC: initial report	CESCR: 3rd periodic report

Cooperation with the Special Procedures

Extension of a standing invitation	Outstanding visit requests (year requested)	Forthcoming visits (dates if available)	Missions carried out between May 2007 and April 2008
All Special Procedures	None	Working Group on Enforced Disappearances (agreed in principle) Independent Expert on the effects of economic reforms and foreign debt on the full enjoyment of HRs (agreed in principle)	None

Sources:

Compilation Prepared by the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, in accordance with paragraph 15(B) of Resolution 5/1 of the Human Rights Council - Advance Unedited Version – 25 February 2008 (A/HRC/WG.6/1/ARG/1)
Official Website of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights – http://www2.ohchr.org/english/bodies/ratification/index.htm
http://www.unhchr.ch/
http://www2.ohchr.org/english/bodies/chr/special/countryvisitsf-m.htm
Official Website of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees – http://www.unhcr.org/protect/3c0762ea4.html
Official Website of the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court – http://untreaty.un.org/ENGLISH/bible/englishinternetbible/partI/chapterXVIII/treaty11.asp
Official Website of the International Committee of the Red Cross – http://www.cicr.org/ihl.nsf/Pays?ReadForm