2022 National Day of Remembrance for Truth and Justice in Argentina

The Auschwitz Institute for the Prevention of Genocide and Mass Atrocities (AIPG) marks March 24, 2022, as Argentina’s National Day of Remembrance for Truth and Justice (Día Nacional de la Memoria por la Verdad y la Justicia). The annual public observance serves to commemorate the victims of murders, tortures, and disappearances carried out during the last military dictatorship in Argentina and their families.

March 24, the date of the observance, was chosen to coincide with the initiation of the 1976 coup d’état, which installed the military junta responsible for approximately 30,000 forced disappearances over the following seven years. The contemporary commemorative date aims to foster collective reflection and critical analysis of recent Argentine history. In Argentina’s school system, students consider the scope of the legacy and consequences of the military dictatorship, as well as the ways in which they intersect/interact with the defense of human rights, democratic culture, and the guarantees established by the country’s National Constitution.

In Buenos Aires and around the country, performances and art exhibitions, poetry readings, prayer services, peaceful rallies and marches led by Mothers and Grandmothers of the Plaza de Mayo (Madres y Abuelas de Plaza de Mayo), as well as other cultural events, are dedicated to remembering the events of March 24 and its aftermath. These demonstrations are part of a continued multistakeholder effort to call for investigations into the circumstances surrounding the numerous disappeared citizens whose fate remains unknown and strengthen the national government’s policies protecting human rights.

The Auschwitz Institute commends the efforts of the  Mothers and Grandmothers of the Plaza de Mayo and other victims groups, human rights organizations, and grassroots organizers in continuing to seek justice, accountability, and reforms in response to the atrocities that took place during the years of military rule. In addition to its work with Argentina,  the Auschwitz Institute also promotes the continued and active support of,  and participation in, the Latin American Network for the Prevention of Genocide and Mass Atrocities, which facilitates the cooperation of member states to protect human rights and vulnerable populations.