Mercedes-Benz: Kidnapping and torture to drown out workers’ demands
Seven company workers who were kidnapped in the 1970s – six of whom remain disappeared – and whose cases are analyzed in this trial were labor activists and delegates to the internal trade-union commission at Mercedes-Benz. CELS is acting as a plaintiff in its capacity as a human rights organization.
We seek to act as plaintiffs in the Acindar case
A plant owned by the Argentine steelmaker housed both a clandestine detention center and a police outpost during the 1976-1983 dictatorship. Company executives pointed out the workers who should be kidnapped and provided the military with photographs from their personal files so they could be identified.
The Ford case: prison terms of 10, 12 and 15 years
After 15 years of judicial investigations and a year-long trial, a federal court in Argentina found two former heads of Ford’s plant in General Pacheco guilty of acting as direct participants in illegal detentions and torture during the 1976-1983 dictatorship. This is a milestone in the sanctioning of civilian responsibility in state terrorism.
La Fronterita sugar company: six businessmen will be questioned over crimes against humanity
The public prosecutor’s office will question sugar industry executives from the province of Tucumán about their collaboration with the crimes committed against 68 people. Eleven of the victims remain disappeared.
Corporate responsibility in crimes against humanity: Personal reflections
Victorio Paulón, a metalworker and union leader who was detained during Argentina’s 1976-1983 dictatorship, discusses judicial reluctance to prosecute corporate responsibility for the crimes against humanity committed under state terrorism.
Business and human rights: Latin American contributions to debates on an international treaty
The United Nations intergovernmental working group in charge of designing the treaty met in Geneva.
New research: Business responsibility in crimes against humanity in Argentina
The report “Business responsibility in crimes against humanity: The repression of workers during state terrorism” presents evidence confirming that the owners, executives and managers of some companies actively participated in violating the human rights of workers during Argentina’s last dictatorship (1976-1983).
