ARGENTINA: Children's rights and the Inter-American system

Summary: This report summarises hearings on children's rights in Argentina held by the Inter-American Commission, reports by the Commission's Rapporteur on the Rights of the Child, and cases brought to the Commission and Court.

Argentina is a member of the Organization of American States (OAS). The Inter-American Commission is an autonomous body of the OAS which monitors Member States' compliance with their obligations under regional human rights conventions.

Regional instruments ratified

Argentina ratified the American Convention on Human Rights on 14 August 1984.

Search CRIN's ratifications table to find other regional instruments to which Argentina is a party.

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Inter-American Commission on Human Rights

Hearings

Several hearings have been held on juvenile justice in Argentina.

  • In April 2009, Argentina's ombudsperson presented a hearing to press the government to reform the penal system for children and to put an end to life imprisonment.
    Read more
  • In October 2008, a joint hearing on the situation of children deprived of their liberty was held on Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay. The hearing was presented by: the Colectivo de Derechos de Infancia y Adolescencia - Argentina / Associação Nacional dos Centros de Defesa da Criança e do Adolescene (ANCED) Brazil / Coordinadora por los Derechos de la Infancia y la Adolescencia (CDIA) Paraguay / Comité de los Derechos del Niño.
    Read the full report
    (in Spanish).
  • In March 2007, a coalition of national NGOs - Colectivo de Derechos de Infancia y Adolescencia presented a hearing on children deprived of their liberty. The coalition pointed out that 19,579 children are being held in detention in Argentina, according to an official report, of whom 87.1 per cent are being held for social and economic reasons, mainly because they have been separated from their families.

    The Commission asked the Argentinian government to implement a social policy to change the situation of "children detained for reasons other than committing a crime".
    Watch the hearing
    - Read the report

  • In November 2008, a hearing was held on the situation of persons – including children - deprived of their liberty in prisons and mental hospitals in Argentina, presented by the Grupo de Mujeres de la Argentina - Foro de VIH Mujeres y Familia.
    Listen to the hearing

Country visits by the Commission's Rapporteur on the Rights of the Child

In 2008, the Rapporteur conducted a visit to Argentina to gather information for its thematic report on juvenile criminal justice in the Americas.

In August 2008, the Rapporteur on Children's Rights gave a presentation on the "Challenges for full and effective compliance with the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography in the hemisphere". This was part of the "Preparatory Meeting for the World Congress III on Sexual Exploitation", which took place from August 19–22 in Buenos Aires.

The Rapporteur met with government authorities and civil society representatives. He interviewed officials of the province of Buenos Aires' National Secretariat of Childhood, Adolescence and the Family; provincial judges specialising in childhood issues; and representatives of Congress. Meetings were also held with representatives of the "Memory Commission of the Province of Buenos Aires" and with civil society organisations, in particular with members of the National Collective on the Rights of Childhood and Adolescence and the Forum for Early Childhood, as well as with the UNICEF team and national experts.

Commission reports on Argentina

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Inter-American Commission: cases

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Inter-American Court: cases

Argentina has accepted the contentious jurisdiction of the Inter-American Court (what does this mean?)

Search for cases here.

Countries

Please note that these reports are hosted by CRIN as a resource for Child Rights campaigners, researchers and other interested parties. Unless otherwise stated, they are not the work of CRIN and their inclusion in our database does not necessarily signify endorsement or agreement with their content by CRIN.