Raúl Alfonsín
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The Permanent Assembly for Human Rights (in Spanish, La Asamblea Permanente por los Derechos Humanos (APDH)) is an Argentine non-governmental human rights organization; founded in 1975. According to its official website the organization is the product of a "call from people coming from distinct areas: the church, politics, Human Rights, sciences, culture, and labour Argentines in response to the increasing violence and the collapse of the most elemental Human Rights in the country".
The Permanent Assembly for Human Rights was founded on December 18, 1975, three months before the military coup that marked the beginning of the dictatorship known as the National Reorganization Process (1976–1983), in the House of Spiritual Exercises within the Church of Santa Cruz, as a result of an initiative of Rosa Pantaleón. Other founders included the Bishop of Neuquén, Jaime de Nevares; Rabbi Marshall Meyer; Bishop Carlos Gatinoni; Alicia Moreau de Justo; Raúl Alfonsín; Oscar Alende; Susana Pérez Gallart; Adolfo Pérez Esquivel and Alfredo Bravo.[1]
The APDH played an important role in the defense of human rights during the military dictatorship. Later it supported the work of CONADEP fights against the impunity of the crimes against humanity committed during the National Reorganization Process.
Currently, the APDH works to consolidate democracy, defending the protection of life, human dignity, and social coexistence. In order to ensure the legal protection of human rights, the APDH participates in the following organizations:
At the regional and continental scale, the APDH interacts in collective organizations in international networks such as the Global Council of Churches, the Continental Social Alliance, the Lawyers' American Association, The Global Social Forum and the Global Peace Council among other entities.
The APDH follows current events in Argentina and analyzes them with regard to human rights. These tasks include:
• Denouncing human rights violations
• Negotiating before public authorities, institutions and entities specifically relevant to these rights
• Developing educational initiatives aimed at educating individuals about these rights
• Spreading National Constitution rulings : pacts, declarations, conventions, etc.
• Advising victims of human rights violations
• Working with brother organizations to ensure that human rights are respected
• Promoting the sanction of those laws necessary to ensure the protection of human rights
The APDH is primarily made up of volunteers. Its headquarters are located in Buenos Aires and the organization has subsidiaries in other cities throughout Argentina.
Its principle tasks include:
The APDH is a non-profit organization which funding is entirely based on donations and individual contributions. Nevertheless, for special projects and framework maintenance, the funding can originate in governmental or intergovernmental agencies.
Nowadays, the financial resources of the organization is composed of:
- Environment and Housing
- Documentary Archives
- Legal Affairs
- Economic, Social and Cultural Rights
- Disability and Inclusion
- Education
- Investigation
- Adults and their Rights
- Women, Gender Equality and Diversity
- Children and Teenagers
- Peace and people's Free Will
- Press
- Native People
- International Relations
- Health
- Mental Health
- Security and Human Rights
Until december 2015, the three co-presidents of the APDH are Norma Ríos, Gisela Cardozo y Ernesto Moreau.
Some of the individuals that compose the APDH are: journalist Luisa Valmaggia, writer Ernesto Sábato and Noé Jitrik, religious leaders Monsignor Justo Laguna and Rabbi Daniel Goldman, painter Luis Felipe Noé, singer León Gieco, scientist Federico Westerkamp, lawyer Raúl Zaffaroni, and labor unionist Marta Maffei.
The APDH has produced numerous publications (in Spanish) related to human rights. Amongst these are:
• National Security, a republican system of government and individual rights (Seguridad Nacional, sistema republicano de Gobierno y derechos individuales)
• The forced disappearance of Persons (La Desaparición forzada de Personas)
• The Disappearance as a crime against humanity (La desaparición como crimen de lesa humanidad)
• “Racism and violence” (about ethnic groups in history within scholarly texts) (Racismo y violencia (sobre la historia y las etnias en los textos escolares))
• The working woman and her rights (La mujer trabajadora y sus derechos)
• Domestic violence – Battered women (Violencia familiar-Mujer golpeada)
• Drug addicts, Victims or Culprits? (Drogadictos, ¿víctimas o culpables?)
• Life Workshops “Human Rights Education” (Talleres de Vida" Educación por los derechos humanos)
• Women’s human rights 50 years after the Universal Declaration (Los derechos humanos de la mujer a los 50 años de la Declaración Universal)
• Found guilty by society, unpunished by the law (Culpables para la sociedad, impunes por la ley)
• Women’s rights, are they human rights? (Los derechos de la mujer, son derechos humanos?)
• Estimates of the Dirty War (Las cifras de la guerra sucia)
• Reproductive rights are human rights (Los derechos reproductivos son derechos humanos)
• Economic issues and human rights (Orden económico y derechos humanos)
• Fundamentals of human rights (Fundamentos de los derechos humanos)
The following publications (in Spanish) can be viewed on-line:
