About this Collection
Memoria Abierta is an alliance of nine Argentinean human rights organizations, most of which were created during the last dictatorship (1976-1983) to denounce violations of that time and to support victims and relatives. During the last five decades, these organizations authored publications detailing their histories, promoting organizational events, and sharing social commentary. This collection of organizational materials reveals the work of human rights activism and traces the history of these organizations in Argentina.
Collection Overview
Alternative title
Argentinean human rights organizations: periodical and non-periodical publications
Date Created
1985-1996
Access Condition
Rights Holder
cflores@memoriaabierta.org.ar
Notes
Description
From 1976 to 1983, military dictatorship in Argentina overran the population with politically-charged attacks and threats of imprisonment against citizens. In response to this regime, various human rights organizations (HROs) were created. Memoria Abierta is a collective alliance of nine of these HROs that aimed to denounce social injustice and support victims of repression. This online collection includes written works from these groups. The materials document and reflect (1) the history of the HROs and their members, (2) forms of organization and intervention, and (3) the roles that these groups played in a sociopolitical context. The publications include magazines, booklets, newsletters, and newspapers from the 1970’s to today. Publications in the collection include but are not limited to the Magazine of the Permanent Assembly for Human Rights (a newspaper covering politics, human rights, and justice advocacy), Bulletin of Relatives of the Disappeared and Detainees for Political Reasons (a periodic publication on missing persons, human rights violations, and HRO activities), and “Paz y Justicia” (a periodic bulletin on human rights in Argentina and Latin America). These publications allow users to explore the history of the human rights movement as well as the sociopolitical context of organizations and interventions within the movement. The materials contextualize the HRO’s within their foundation histories, the challenges that they faced, and the actions they carried out against injustice. For this collection, Memoria Abierta has selected materials that reflect Argentina’s dictatorial state and its consequences that led to organized resistance. The content is especially significant in light of modern-day right-wing governments regaining presence within and surrounding the country. This political climate has created some set-backs in making accessible Argentina’s grim, repressive history. However, this archive takes a huge step towards highlighting the voices of those that advocated for a more democratic and inclusive system-- an ideology that echoes into the present day. Digitized as part of the Modern Endangered Archives Program.