Successes and Limitations of the CONADEP Experience in the Determination of Responsibilities for Human Rights Violations in Argentina

Abstract

This chapter examines the successes and limitations of the investigation of Argentina’s National Commission on the Disappearance of Persons (CONADEP) in clarifying human rights violations described in Chapter 2 and identifying responsible parties. CONADEP was established by President Raul Alfonsin in 1983 upon the restoration of democracy in Argentina to investigate the fate of thousands of people who had been disappeared during the 1976–1983 military regime. Over the course of nine months, between December 1983 and September 1984, CONADEP heard testimonies from relatives of the disappeared, survivors, and other witnesses; gathered evidence; and inspected the clandestine detention centers where the disappeared were held. The commission’s final report, entitled Nunca Mas (Never Again), published in November 1984, revealed the characteristics and extent of the system of forced disappearances and established the state as responsible for this act. The report became an unprecedented bestseller on the subject. It was translated into English, Italian, Portuguese, German, and Hebrew and was also published abroad, with 503,830 copies sold as of March 2009 (Crenzel 2008a).