[PUBLIC LECTURE 2013]
Public Lecture by: His Excellency Pedro Villagra Delgado Ambassador of the Argentine Republic and Dr. Guillermo Anad.

The lecture will consist of two presentations by H.E. Ambassador Pedro Villagra Delgado: “Human Rights and Democracy in Argentina” and Dr Guillermo Anad: "Strengthening Democracy: Grandmothers of the Plaza de Mayo and the Right to Identity.” Each presentation will go for 20min and will be followed by a Q & A session.

Since the fall of the military dictatorship and the restoration of democracy thirty years ago, Argentina has led a process involving the search for justice, memory and truth regarding the severe violations of human rights occurred during the 1976-83 military government. This process, even with setbacks at some points, was fostered by the grass-roots human rights movements, such as the Mothers and Grandmothers of Plaza de Mayo and has led to a fight against impunity for the crimes committed without precedent in scope and reach.

Human rights are a key part of the political debate about state policy in relation to key initiatives such as the trials of those responsible for crimes against humanity, the development of the right to the truth; the appointment of a UN Rapporteur to combat impunity; the use of forensics medicine in human rights, the efforts on genocide prevention and the adoption of the International Convention for the protection of all persons against enforced disappearance. New reforms are now underway to address new challenges, such as social inclusion policies to strengthen economic, social and cultural rights as well as laws on gender identity, dignified death, same-sex marriage and the fight against discrimination.