We urgently call for the formation of the bicameral commission on intelligence oversight

For the past four months, since the composition of the Chambers in Congress changed, the commission tasked with overseeing intelligence agencies and activities has been inactive. Alongside members of the Iniciativa Ciudadana de Control del Sistema de Inteligencia (ICCSI) [Civil Initiative for Intelligence System Oversight], we urge parliamentary authorities, deputies, and senators to rectify this situation.

  

On Milei’s “omnibus bill”

The Argentine government led by Javier Milei seeks to dismantle essential procedures and implement regressive measures affecting human rights and democracy. Within a span of three weeks, from Decree 70/23 to the proposed “Bases…” law, the Executive Branch introduced 1649 articles altering the entire social and political landscape, protection parameters, and state architecture. Congress bears the political responsibility to refrain from validating it.

  

Magdalena massacre hearing at the IACHR: the State acknowledges responsibility for the 33 deaths

More than 17 years later, the Argentine State acknowledged before the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights its international responsibility for the incident and committed to put a series of measures in place to prevent such cruel deaths from ever happening again. CELS and the Colectivo de Investigación y Acción Jurídica (CIAJ) took part in the hearing as representatives of the victim’s families.

  

25 years without justice for the AMIA bombing

The scheming behind the AMIA case is still present and explains many of the problems that concern us today. The pacts between the judicial, political, intelligence and media sectors that built the impunity around the bombing have never been broken, nor have ways of doing things been transformed.

  

IACHR sounds alarm over rising militarization in the region

In a hearing they described as “historic,” members of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) affirmed that the militarization of public security leads to an exponential increase in human rights violations. They also cautioned about the return of the national security doctrine in the region.

  

Militarization of the region at the IACHR

The militarization of public security is on the rise across the Americas, with very troubling consequences. For that reason, 17 organizations from 10 countries requested a regional hearing before the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR), which will be held on December 6.

  

INCLO welcomes historic win against UK mass surveillance

In a landmark win for seven members of the International Network of Civil Liberties Organizations (INCLO), the European Court of Human Rights ruled that the UK’s mass surveillance practices violate privacy and freedom of expression. CELS joins all its fellow INCLO members in celebrating this victory.

  

“Argentina is responsible for widespread and persistent violations of the Convention against torture”

The UN Special Rapporteur on torture, upon concluding his visit to the country, said that detention conditions in provincial police stations and prisons “severely contravene international standards and are incompatible with human dignity.” He also denounced the “degrading” conditions in the Melchor Romero psychiatric hospital and police violence in low-income neighborhoods. At the same time, he urged the Argentine state to allocate “sufficient resources to ensure the timely processing and adjudication of the remaining cases and trials for crimes against humanity.”

  

Government must scrap decision to exclude civil society from the WTO Ministerial Conference

The Argentine government has revoked the accreditation of key civil society actors before the World Trade Organization. It attempted to justify this action by admitting it was based on an analysis of organizations’ social networks that aimed to exclude those considered “disruptive.” CELS and other organizations jointly submitted a letter requesting that this decision be rescinded.

  

Press conference on Santiago Maldonado’s disappearance

A press conference was held in Esquel, 35 days after Santiago Maldonado’s disappearance. The participants emphasized the investigation’s shortcomings in the first crucial days, the violent security force operation in which Santiago disappeared, and the hypotheses used to try to divert the case.

  

Ten days since Santiago Maldonado disappeared in Argentina

Today marks 10 days since Santiago Maldonado was last seen trying to escape from an operation by Argentina’s Gendarmerie in the territory of the Pu Lof Cushamen indigenous community, in Chubut province. Human rights organizations convened a massive rally in the Plaza de Mayo today to demand that he be found alive.

  

Places of confinement: the provincial state must adopt urgent measures

In the 163rd period of IACHR hearings, the Comisión Provincial por la Memoria (CPM), Center for Legal and Social Studies (CELS) and the Public Appeals Defender exposed the crisis in the system of confinement in the province of Buenos Aires and called on the provincial and national states to take measures to reduce overcrowding, overpopulation, inhuman conditions, lack of access to health, and torture in prisons.

  

What intelligence is being shared among countries?

The International Intelligence-Sharing Project was launched to demand that governments in eight countries tell the public what information-sharing agreements are in place with other nations. In Argentina, we filed an information request to the Federal Intelligence Agency (AFI).

  

Argentine state faces UN Committee Against Torture

The Argentine state’s compliance with the Convention against Torture will be evaluated on Wednesday, April 26 and Thursday, April 27. CELS submitted a report to the UN Committee that carries out the evaluation and contributed to two reports produced with other organizations.

  

Control the police, not the poor, to reduce violence

Residents of the Flores neighborhood protested at police precinct 38 over serious incidents that they attributed to the historic collusion between police and illegal businesses and the existence of “lawless areas.” The city government responded to those reports with the traditional approach of greater police presence and more ID checks.