Memory of the World - Latin America and the Caribbean
Human Rights Documentary Heritage 1976-1983. Truth, Justice and Memory Archives in the Struggle against State Terrorism
The Human Rights Documentary Heritage of Argentina covering the period 19761983 represents the historical and social memory both of the violations of human rights and fundamental freedoms for which the Argentine State was responsible and of the actions of institutions and civil society for humanitarian defence justice and solidarity Comprising different components coming from various sources this documentary heritage is indispensable for reconstructing a specific historic period within a specific social context Moreover it is a key input towards the clarification of events related to the forced disappearance of persons and grave violations of human rights in Argentina closely related to similar events occurred in Chile Uruguay Paraguay Brazil Bolivia and Peru under the umbrella of what was called the Condor Plan This joint nomination Coordinated by the Archivo Nacional de la Memoria National Memory Archive brings together documents from national municipal and provincial government institutions human rights organizations and individuals The agreement reached for its creation illustrates the democratic and civic experience of many daily efforts to keep memory alive preserve the documents and disseminate them Each component of this documentary heritage provides unique authentic and irreplaceable evidence and information for the reconstruction of individual and collective memory The holding shows a map of the state terrorism ruling Argentina during the last military dictatorship It includes documents produced by the State bodies that were operative between 1976 and 1983 with some earlier or later dates There are also documents made by human rights organisations and by people who opposed the military dictatorship with their denunciations struggles solidarity campaigns the search for victims of forced disappearances and their actions to find justice and truth Finally there are documents produced after the recovery of democracy in 1983 made with the purpose of elucidating human rights violations the fate of the victims of forced disappearance and to contribute to judicial proceedings in cases of crimes against humanity They include testimonies complaints photographs legal and journalistic records intelligence reports lists of missing persons among other materials This heritage is clear evidence of a systematic plan to persecute illegally detain torture set up clandestine detention centres and the murder and disappearance of people The evidence gathered continues to be used in courts both in Argentina and abroadThis holding represents a legacy for future generations to learn about appreciate and strengthen the culture of peace based on tolerance nondiscrimination dialogue and respect for human rights The heterogeneous nature of their condition state of conservation accessibility ownership and custody represents a formidable challenge for those responsible for the preservation and the universal access to these documents which must be guaranteed Thirty years after the last coup in Argentina and under the motto never again this documentary heritage aspires to be recognized worldwide as part of the Memory of the World thus contributing to prevent these abhorrent crimes from being committed again anywhere in the world This heritage promotes a policy of memory against silence and oblivion as a collective instrument to know understand learn about and practice justice The joint nomination of eighteen archives coordinated by the National Memory Archive is complemented by an aggregate that includes two addenda 2017 and 2018 with different collections and documentary fonds belonging to public and state institutions Its specific objective to support the process of memory truth and justice initiated by society since the end of the dictatorship and affirmed by the establishment of public policies in recent years Among these policies is that of safeguarding documentation on paper digital and audiovisual records to serve as evidence in trials for crimes against humanity in the country as well as documentation referring to testimonial aspects of popular resistance before during and after the dictatorial period The addenda consists mostly of audiovisual media and documents from Córdoba none of which had been previously includedThe documents of the Buenos Aires Penitentiary Service SPB addenda of 2018 are the results of impoundments conducted by the Human Rights Secretariat of the Province of Buenos Aires in the units of the Penitentiary Service The compilation was part of the judicial investigation to determine the extent of responsibility of the Penitentiary Service in crimes against humanity committed during the dictatorship of 19761983 The impoundment of documentation occurred in the context of the reform of the Penitentiary Service and in the year the trials for crimes against humanity were resumed which allowed those responsible for the security forces to be convicted during the last dictatorship Until then no members of the Buenos Aires Penitentiary Service had been convicted in spite of the existence of numerous testimonies that attested to their participation in the repression The impounded documentation refers mainly to political prisoners and is made up of personal files medical records files and books
Argentina -