In the run-up to 54th General Assembly of the OASwhich began today in Paraguay and will last until Friday, The United States ambassador to the OAS, Frank Mora, spoke about the changes that Argentina proposed in references to gender and rights in some of the resolutions for consideration by the General Assembly. In that sense, he said that his country respects the Argentine position but He asked that the approval of the documents not become a “show.”
This Tuesday, in statements to Paraguayan radio ABC Cardinal, Mora confirmed what Página 12 had already warned days ago: that the Argentine delegation to the OAS presented “changes regarding gender and human rights” in the draft resolutions that will be approved this week at the General Assembly, after more than a month of discussion by the OAS Committee on Juridical and Political Affairs (CAJP) in Washington, where the text was debated.
“A large majority of the resolutions have arrived here in Paraguay closed, negotiated. And in the end, before traveling, Argentina presents all these changes regarding gender and human rights”said the diplomat.
In a marked shift in foreign policy on human rights, The proposed modifications reveal official positions on many issues ranging from sexual and reproductive rights to environmental rights., going through racism, people with disabilities, indigenous communities, Afro-descendants, childhoods and more. In general terms, and in contradiction with national legislation itself, Javier Milei’s government proposes sweeping away almost any reference to the “lgbti population” and “gender” in the text of that resolution.
“The United States,” he clarified, “does not support that position although we recognize that Argentina has the right, with the procedures that exist, to make that gesture.” But, in the opinion of the American ambassador, it cannot be “enter to renegotiate something that was already negotiated.”
Among the modifications proposed by the Government, in the section in which the OAS expresses its concern about the dangerous situations to which Human Rights activists are exposed in the different member countries, Argentina requests that the fragment be reconsidered in particular. in which the criminalization of protest. This request for modification fell just a few days after the arrest of 33 people who were demonstrating in front of Congress during the treatment of the projects of the Bases Law and the Fiscal Package, of which the majority were released due to “lack of merit” and five are still detained.
Furthermore, the government opposes the passage in which the organization indicates its concern about the violence to which lgbti children are exposed, in, for example, school. Suggest that this fragment be deleted. claiming that he considers that this wording “seriously violates the freedom of education and, in particular, the ideologies of private schools.” And in that sense, it is also against condemning “discrimination, hate speech and manifestations, incitement and acts of violence motivated (…) by reason of their sexual orientation, gender identity and/or expression and their characteristics.” “sexual”, with the argument that this suggestion violates the freedom of expression.
In the comments, Argentina Cross out the term “gender”. And every time it appears, it suggests changing the definition of “sexual and reproductive health” for women to “comprehensive health.” Furthermore, in a completely unprecedented gesture, it raises objections to the commitment that the OAS proposes to reaffirm against the Inter-American Convention to Prevent, Punish and Eradicate Violence against Women (known as the Belém do Pará Convention).
With respect to environmental issues, every time the words “climate change”, The comments of the local delegation appear to question: “Argentina considers that it does not correspond to declarations on human rights to rule on discussions of a scientific nature.” Likewise, every time the concept of “Agenda 2030”Argentina highlights its contrary position.
In this framework and observing the ways in which this Government manages its foreign policy, Ambassador Mora warned: “We want to avoid this becoming more of a show than a process of adopting resolutions.” Thus, he considered that it is important for Argentina to express itself, but not to begin “renegotiating those paragraphs of the resolutions,” but rather to He suggested that the country make use of the footnote in the documents to raise its objections.
In this regular session, the United States will be represented by Undersecretary of State Richard Verma and the person in charge for Latin America, Brian Nichols, who will promote support for a security mission for Haiti and seek to condemn human rights violations in Nicaragua.
The inaugural session of the 54th Ordinary Assembly of the OAS will take place on Wednesday in Asunción, the country’s capital, while the plenary sessions, which will last until Friday, will take place in the neighboring city of Luque.
