In the European Parliament in Brussels, the Subcommittee on Human Rights (DROI) hear the testimony of Argentinean civil society and judicial system representatives in order to exchange views on the way in which Argentina is judging, 30 years later, the crimes of the dictatorship.

Brussels

Subcommittee on Human Rights

GOMES, Ana (S&D, PT)

hearing

EU - Argentina (T)

YAÑEZ-BARNUEVO GARCIA, Luis (ES, S&D,ES)

Fight against impunity, the example of Argentina: extracts of the hearing

SOUNDBITE (Spanish), Daniel RAFECAS, Argentinean Judge, The policies carried out in Argentina for 25 years, policies of amnesty, impunity, trying to forget and the so called reconciliation... have failed: 'in the last 5 years we have taken what seems to be right road, the road of remembering, the road of truth, the road of justice. When I say justice, I mean trials, punishment for the guilty at all levels, from the people giving the orders to the torturers, kidnappers... this is to carried out in civilian courts, the same courts in which any other criminal would be judged and sentenced, respecting all rights and guarantees available under the legal Argentinean system, and also with the criminal laws that were in place where the crimes were committed.

SOUNDBITE (Spanish), Daniel RAFECAS, Argentinean Judge, At the moment we have about 1000 people that are or have been before the court. Many have already been found guilty and right now there are dozens of trials being carried out in major cities in the country. These trials are putting outside in the media the stories of torture, rape, murdering, kidnapping of children, and this, finally, after 30 years of forgetfulness, we are breaking through the barrier of impunity which the dictatorship and its friends had laboriously built up.

SOUNDBITE (Spanish), Rodolfo YANZON, Argentina is seen as an example and we know that human rights are being violated in other countries such as Colombia and elsewhere... This is precisely why we need to ensure that the example of Argentina is maintained, and the international community and the European Parliament must support the example, because if the example fails, then this will have a domino effect!

SOUNDBITE (Spanish), Ana GOMES (S&amp;D, PT), I come from a country where we also had a dictatorship, Portugal, and I wish that in Portugal we would have had similar trials as the ones you are having in Argentina, because a large number of problems we have today in our legal system could have been avoided if we have had the judiciary doing its job as you do in Argentina.

SOUNDBITE (Spanish), Daniel RAFECAS, Argentinean Judge, It would be very useful if the European Union could make a statement of support to the Argentinean trials. This would have a direct impact in Argentina's public opinion and, in an indirect way, on the other countries in the region where there are some hesitations among the governments as to whether or not they should take the step that Argentina took in terms of instituting these procedures.

SOUNDBITE (Spanish), Luis YA&#209;EZ-BARNUEVO GARCIA (S&amp;D, ES), Argentina is an example and a precedent of how things can be done, and I hope that all countries that have suffered this fate in the past or that are suffering authoritarian regimes, will see such justice, attention to truth and indeed sentencing all guilty of crimes.