WASHINGTON.- The human rights organization Human Rights Watch (HRW) warned in its last annual report that the government’s offensive on Justicethe delays in the appointment of judges and other positions, such as the Attorney General, and the corruption, including in the judiciary, have undermined the rule of law in Argentina. The 2023 World Report also provided a gloomy picture of the state of fundamental rights in Latin America.
“In Argentina, hostile rhetoric towards judges by authorities, delays in the appointment of judges and other high-level authorities, and corruption, also present in the judiciary, have progressively undermined the rule of law” warned the organization’s report.
Tamara Taraciuk Broneracting director for the Americas at Human Rights Watch, told THE NATION that during 2022 in Argentina the use of hostile rhetoric by the president was seen Alberto Fernandezthe vice president, Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner, and other cabinet members against the judicial system, including the Supreme Court and lower courts. Cristina Kirchner, sentenced for the so-called “Causa Vialidad”, referred to the courts on several occasions as the “Judicial Party.” President Fernández also announced his intention to impeach the judges of the Supreme Court, and refused to comply with an order of the highest court favorable to the City of Buenos Aires in a dispute over federal co-participation funds.
“The announcement of impeachment against all members of the Court, together with initial statements that a ruling from the highest court would not be followed, constitutes a very serious attack on the separation of powers,” said Taraciuk Broner. “We are concerned that this type of measure could contribute to naturalize the harmful practice that rulers seek to dismiss judges just because they do not like the content of their sentences,” he warned.
Taraciuk Broner further noted that “high levels of polarization and the inability of politics to reach minimal consensus are also eroding the rule of law,” noting that Congress has been unable to appoint an Ombudsman since 2009, an Attorney General since 2018 and a magistrate on the Court since 2021, when Judge Elena Highton de Nolasco resigned.
“These are key figures in the protection of human rights in the country. These appointments should be a priority for all political forces, ”she indicated.
The 712-page World Report 2023 in its English version investigates abuses in some 100 countries and is the 33rd edition of this report from Human Rights Watch, one of the leading global organizations in defense of human rights. Founded in 1978, HRW is one of two Western organizations along with Amnesty International that investigates abuses around the world. The organization has specific programs that cover the five continents, and others that cover specific topics, such as women’s rights, the LBGT community or people with disabilities. In 1997, HRW shared the Nobel Peace Prize for the Campaign to Eradicate Land Mines.
“The announcement of impeachment against all members of the Court, along with initial statements that a ruling from the highest court would not be complied with, constitutes a very serious attack on the separation of powers””
Taraciuk Broner (HRW)
The report warned that the governments of Latin America and the Caribbean “must address chronic human rights problems such as poverty, inequality, corruption, insecurity and environmental degradation and, at the same time, protect democracy.” Chronic failures to address these problems, the paper added, have driven millions of people in the region to leave their homes in search of opportunities in other countries.
“The leaders of the region should demonstrate that democracy can respond to the needs of the population, promoting the rights to health, education and security and strengthening the rule of law,” said Taraciuk Broner.
The work emphasizes the inequalities in Latin America, where almost a third of the population lives in poverty, and more than a tenth in extreme poverty. More than half of the region’s total income goes to the richest 20%, and structural racism is still present, HRW remarks. “Poverty and inequality disproportionately affect women, children, and indigenous people,” the organization points out.
The report lists several serious abuses in the region, some with global consequences, such as the deforestation of the Amazon rainforest in Brazil, the fastest in 15 years during the presidency of Jair Bolsonaro, a true catastrophe for the fight against climate change. In Cuba, Nicaragua and Venezuela, oppressive regimes commit egregious abuses against critics to silence dissent. Latin America and the Caribbean is the region with the highest annual homicide rate in the world, at 21 homicides per 100,000 inhabitants. In Mexico, during the administration of President Andrés Manuel López Obrador, violent crime has reached all-time highs. “Crimes are almost never investigated or prosecuted,” the report states.
The regional context of lack of opportunities, insecurity and impunity has caused one of the largest migratory waves in history. “Millions of people have migrated in Latin America escaping violence, repression and poverty. This includes more than 7.1 million Venezuelans who have fled their country since 2014, as well as hundreds of thousands who flee each year from Central America, Mexico, Haiti, Cuba, and other countries,” the report said.
HRW remarked that the Joe Biden government has encouraged “Latin American governments to impose abusive immigration policies, a factor that contributes to aggravating the crisis.”