MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Argentina downsizes Human Rights Secretariat

“The Human Rights portfolio, now, will be in charge of guaranteeing all Human Rights and not of defending a partisan ideological sector,” Adorni pointed out

The Argentine government has downgraded the Secretariat of Human Rights to an under-secretariat, implementing a 40% reduction in its structure and a 30% cut in staff, resulting in substantial annual savings. Presidential Spokesman Manuel Adorni stated that the move aims to ensure the Human Rights portfolio serves all rights impartially, not just partisan interests.

”The Ministry of Justice defined that the Secretariat of Human Rights will be turned into the Undersecretariat of Human Rights. Thus, 40% of the structure and 30% of the personnel will be cut, which implies a saving of 9 billion pesos (around US$ 7.8 million) per year,“ explained Adorni. ”The Human Rights portfolio, now, will be in charge of guaranteeing all Human Rights and not of defending a partisan ideological sector,“ he added.

”This measure implies a 30% reduction in the staffing, without affecting the functions of the area,“ Adorni also pointed out. ”Since we took office, 405 militant employees have already been dismissed, which represents 44% of the personnel received“ in a scenario calling for ”the analysis and adoption of urgent measures to improve the structure, operation, and sustainability of the State.“

The Justice Ministry reported a 50% cut in commanding positions and the dismissal of 405 ”militant” employees (44% of inherited staff), while the National Memory Archive and ESMA Site Museum have been unified under the International Center for the Promotion of Human Rights.

In the cultural sector, reforms include centralizing entities like the National Theater Institute, the Museum of Fine Arts, and the fairground Tecnópolis, and creating a new National Institute of Historical Research to streamline operations and reduce administrative costs, thus closing existing research agencies or merging them into the new structure.