In Argentina, an increasing number of rights are being violated. Taken together, as outlined in the latest annual report of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR), these violations paint a picture of a lack of legal protection, the erosion of democratic life, and fragile access to rights for broad sectors of society. Environmental rights, the impacts of austerity on the population due to economic measures, fiscal policy, and indebtedness; the weakness of the few remaining policies on historical memory can be listed. The report also gathers data on an authoritarian reconfiguration of the state, particularly regarding protest and free expression, privacy, surveillance, and illegal espionage. In short, the report reveals not merely isolated and disconnected reforms but new forms of institutionality in which freedoms and egalitarian projects have increasingly less room.
Protest and Freedom of Expression
The IACHR criticized the measures restricting the right to protest, noting that, combined with direct attacks on journalists and the use of tear gas, rubber bullets, and water cannons, these actions endanger the public. For this reason, it called on the State to guarantee these threatened rights and the safety of those participating in the demonstrations. It drew particular attention to the demonstrations by retirees who protest every week in front of Congress and are repressed.
The IACHR also criticized the “strategy to silence, as well as [the] legal actions that restrict public debate” and warned of the “multiple episodes of violence against journalists, such as death threats and physical assaults, allegedly perpetrated by public officials.”
To this climate of harassment must be added the attacks against the press during demonstrations. The IACHR “urges the State to effectively guarantee the safety and integrity of those engaged in journalistic work.” According to the Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Expression, the attack on photographer Pablo Grillo “is part of a pattern of disproportionate use of force” against media workers.
Privacy and Political Surveillance
The IACHR has received complaints regarding the National Intelligence Plan and notes that it “could facilitate improper practices of surveillance, monitoring, and information gathering targeting various actors, including journalists, economists, and political opponents,” particularly those who might cause a “loss of confidence” in government policies. Furthermore, it warns against the arbitrary use of the national security category to limit access to information and states that this concept must be “interpreted from a democratic perspective.”
Regarding the reform of the Federal Police statute, the IACHR highlighted, as a key point, that it authorizes cyber-patrolling without judicial authorization. For its part, the Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Expression warned that it also allows this force to “register and classify” individuals linked to activities that the “police must suppress.” This could entail risks of stigmatization, selective surveillance, and a chilling effect on freedom of expression.
Furthermore, the report highlights that civil society questioned the fact that the reform was enacted by decree rather than through the legislative process.
Memory, Truth, and Justice
The report highlighted efforts to reunite grandchildren with their families, identify missing persons, and, in particular, the discoveries made at the former clandestine detention and torture center La Perla in Córdoba. It also noted the ongoing legal proceedings regarding crimes committed during the last dictatorship. At the same time, however, it warns of the loss of institutional autonomy of the National Genetic Data Bank, the defunding of memory policies, the dismissal of specialized staff, and the removal of commemorative plaques.
Environment
In the context of the climate crisis, the IACHR views changes to the fire management system and the weakening of protection for glaciers and periglacial zones—amid the loss of strategic water reserves—as a step backward. Forest fires not only affect biodiversity but also infringe upon the right to housing, work, and a healthy environment for the people living in those territories. The link between arson and agribusiness calls for vigilance, and the IAC emphasizes the obligation of States to “strengthen—and not weaken—institutional and budgetary arrangements to prevent and mitigate environmental risks that disproportionately affect rural communities, indigenous peoples, and sectors living in poverty.”
State Adjustment and Reform
According to the IACHR, Argentina is experiencing a “deterioration of democracy” that has direct impacts on economic, social, cultural, and environmental rights. The DESCA Special Rapporteur’s Office warned that this is the result of a combination of regulatory reforms, institutional restructuring, regressive fiscal adjustments, and security and immigration measures adopted by the State in 2025.
Furthermore, it criticized government policies that led to the criminalization and harassment of human rights defenders, particularly indigenous peoples and communities opposing extractive projects. It also criticized the increase in the number of people living on the streets and the criminalization of poverty and informality; restrictions on migrants’ access to education and health care; and the defunding of housing, health, care, and public education policies.