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DE RUEHBU #1705/01 3521709
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 171709Z DEC 08
FM AMEMBASSY BUENOS AIRES
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 2701
INFO RUEHWH/WESTERN HEMISPHERIC AFFAIRS DIPL POSTS
RHEHNSC/NSC WASHINGTON DC

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 BUENOS AIRES 001705 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR WHA/PDA: JDICKSON; WHA/PDA: CPETERSON 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PHUM KDEM OEXC OIIP SCUL KPAO PGOV PREL AR
SUBJECT:  Human Rights Day Message Reaches Millions of Argentines 
 
Ref: Buenos Aires 837 
 
BUENOS AIR 00001705  001.2 OF 002 
 
 
¶1.  (U) SUMMARY:  Embassy Buenos Aires used the observance of Human 
Rights Day on December 10 to reach tens of thousands of Argentines 
on the importance of respecting human rights both here in Argentina 
and throughout the world.  Post co-hosted a human rights recognition 
ceremony with the GOA's National Anti-Discrimination Institute 
(INADI), sponsored GWU professor Allida Black to discuss the 
formation of the Universal Declaration on Human Rights and the human 
rights challenges facing the incoming Obama administration, and 
placed an op-ed in daily-of-record La Nacion.  Post's efforts to 
mark the 60th anniversary of the declaration and hail the 25th 
anniversary of the return to democracy in Argentina have helped to 
underscore our commitment to the defense of human rights to an 
audience that has long been skeptical of our intentions. 
Coincidentally, this December 10 marked the 25th anniversary of 
uninterrupted democracy in Argentina.  END SUMMARY. 
 
Joint Human Rights Event with the Government 
-------------------------------------------- 
 
¶2. (U) In May, the Ambassador met with Maria Jose Lubertino, the 
President of GOA's National Anti-Discrimination Institute (INADI), 
an Argentine government agency we have been very interested in 
supporting.  Lubertino and the Ambassador discussed the possibility 
of co-sponsoring a joint event to honor ex-First Lady Eleanor 
Roosevelt's role in drafting and ratifying the Universal Declaration 
on Human Rights (reftel).  Since then, Post has worked with INADI to 
organize the event, sponsoring the visit of Professor Allida Black, 
Project Director and Editor of George Washington University's 
"Eleanor Roosevelt Papers," a project designed to preserve, teach 
and apply Eleanor Roosevelt's writings and discussions of human 
rights and democracy. 
 
¶3. (U) On December 9, Post co-hosted an award event with INADI at 
the Ambassador's residence.  The event commemorated the 60th 
anniversary of the UN's adoption of the Universal Declaration of 
Human Rights, and highlighted -- through keynote remarks by Dr. 
Black -- former First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt's role in the drafting 
and ratification of the Declaration. 
 
¶4. (U) During the event, INADI President Lubertino and the 
Ambassador presented certificates of recognition to one NGO and four 
women activists for their contribution to the defense and protection 
of human rights.  Awards were given to the men and women of the 
Argentine Forensic Anthropology Team (EAAF) for their investigation 
of human rights violations in Argentina and more than 30 
conflict-torn countries throughout the world.  Their efforts 
(supported by over $1.4 million in ESF Democracy and Human Rights 
funds) to identify the remains of human rights victims have helped 
many countries, including Argentina, with their reconciliation 
processes by providing closure to the victims' families.  The award 
was also given to Margarita Barrientos, director of a soup kitchen 
in the poor neighborhood of Los Piletones, who in addition to 
feeding 1,600 children and adults a day in Villa Soldati, fights to 
help them gain access to education and health care.  Indigenous 
leader Rosario Quispe was also recognized for her efforts to develop 
a sustainable microcredit system for fifty indigenous communities 
that has created thousands of jobs for women.  Other honorees 
included Dr. Ana Belen Elgoyhen for her groundbreaking research on 
hearing disorders that may one day improve the quality of life for 
the hearing-impaired, and to disability rights activist Marilu 
Ferreira. 
 
Speaker Programming 
------------------- 
 
¶5. (U) Following the INADI event, Dr. Black spoke at the Argentine 
Council on International Relations (CARI), a prestigious Argentine 
foreign policy think-tank, on the "Challenges in Human Rights for 
the Obama Administration."  Also, Professor Black gave a talk in La 
Plata, capital of Buenos Aires province, on "Eleanor Roosevelt and 
the Battle to Create the Universal Declaration of Human Rights." 
She was also featured in a DVC with Quito, Ecuador, and Cordoba, 
Argentina, on the same topic. 
 
Media Outreach 
-------------- 
 
¶6. (U) In addition to these presentations, on December 10, Post 
placed the Ambassador's op-ed on human rights in the prestigious 
daily "La Nacion," reaching over 150,000 Argentines.  The 
Post-drafted op-ed, "From Roosevelt to Obama," focused on the 
development of civil and human rights in the United States and 
informed the Argentine public of the USD 1.4 million grant the USG 
provided the EAAF to conduct a national campaign in Argentina to 
obtain blood samples of relatives of those disappeared during the 
military dictatorship in an effort to identify remains. 
 
 
BUENOS AIR 00001705  002.2 OF 002 
 
 
¶7. (U) Media coverage of Embassy Human Rights Day events was 
substantial, reaching almost every media organization in the 
country.  These included Telam, a state-owned wire service agency, 
ImpulsoBaires.com, Noticias.MDQ, the Mar del Plata online newspaper, 
Portal La Plata, Yahoo Noticias, La Voz.com, El Argentino.com, 
Terra.com, and InfoBae.com.  Dr. Black was also interviewed by 
leading newspaper Clarin and the pro-government daily Pagina 12. 
Clarin plans to run a two-page article on Dr. Black and the human 
rights issues facing the Obama administration on Inauguration Day, 
January 20, 2009. 
 
Comment: Addressing a Neuralgic Issue Head-on 
--------------------------------------------- 
 
¶8. (SBU) Engaging with Argentines on human rights can be complicated 
by the wariness with which many of them view the role of U.S. 
"support" for the military dictatorship from 1976-83, when an 
estimated 10,000-30,000 armed guerrillas, political dissidents, 
sympathizers, and others were killed or disappeared.  The fact that 
INADI, an Argentine government agency dedicated to the advancement 
of civil rights, approached the USG to carry out a joint activity to 
commemorate the Universal Declaration of Human Rights is a positive 
and welcome gesture.  Post's efforts to mark the 60th anniversary of 
the declaration and hail the 25th anniversary of the return to 
democracy in Argentina have helped to underscore our commitment to 
the defense of human rights to a historically skeptical audience. 
 
WAYNE 
081201 social outreach cable draft