Areas of expertise & Fields of activity:
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Economic and Social:
Coorporate Accountability
Criminal Justice
Development
Disabled Persons
Habitat
Human Rights
Indigenous Peoples
International Law
Justice
Labour
Migration
Refugees
Torture
Violence
Women
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| Geographic scope: |
National
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| Country of activity: |
Argentina
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| Mission statement: |
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| Year established: |
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| Year of registration: |
1985 |
| Organizational structure: |
CELS is formed by a interdisciplinary team whose main activities are: litigation before national and international courts; researching and building tools to monitor public institutions; and training social organizations, legal operators, members of the judiciary and state institutions. - Litigation and Legal Defense CELS litigates leading cases before Argentinean and international courts. The cases in progress at present involve: challenging impunity, institutional violence, economic, social and cultural rights, independence of magistrates, access to information, freedom of expression, rights of children and adolescents, and the rights of immigrants, among others. CELS also promotes the application of international standards by elaborating opinions and petitions and transfers its legal expertise on human rights, for example taking legal workshops on human rights to the interior of Argentina. - Research The research area centralizes and coordinates the research carried out by CELS, at both national and regional levels. It promotes discussion and interdisciplinary work between researchers in different areas and programs. CELS seeks to generate spaces of reflection and criticism about its work and institutional production regarding human rights. It is intended that these spaces influence the formulation and reorientation of public policies concerning human rights. Library and archive: The origins of CELS were marked by the documentation of human rights violations and the systematization of information and theoretical developments about human rights and the ways of confronting these violations. Currently, CELS possesses a large volume of information about human rights violations from 1976 until the present, including legal documents, testimonies, photographs, newspaper articles, video and audio items, books and other written material. - Training In order to disseminate information about international regulations and courts and the multiple forms to protect human rights, CELS organizes workshops and seminars for members of the judicial community, state institutions and non-governmental organizations, for whom it also elaborates various publications and didactic material. CELS also runs an Internship Program for members of other social organizations, and has internship, cooperation, technical assistance and research agreements with institutes and universities, local and international. As an agreement with the University of Buenos Aires (UBA), CELS carries out two legal workshops for students of the College of Law, both oriented towards teaching public interest rights implementation and the support of human rights. - Mental Health Assistance Since 1982, CELS’ Mental Health Team, made up of psychologists, psychiatrists and social workers, has been offering psychological, psychiatric and social assistance to victims of state terrorism and their relatives. The team also provides psychological assistance to victims of torture in cases filed before the inter-American system. The aim of these actions is to define strategic guidelines that will encourage the system to adopt an integral approach to the subject. The team also offers advice, support and expertise in cases of political asylum, refuge and restitution of children appropriated by the military dictatorship filed before Argentinean courts. The team carries out teaching, research, training and specialization activities. -Communication and Advocacy CELS´ Communication and Advocacy Area coordinates and proposes strategies to make the institutional goals and activities known, developing tools for institutional communication in print, audio-visual and electronic media. It is also responsible for the coordination of publications and the Report on the Situation of Human Rights in Argentina, which since 1994 follows the enforcement of human rights in the country and proposes solutions to improve public policy. |
| Number and type of members: |
Members: 371 Board of Directors: 13 Areas and Programmes Directors: 18 Members of the Working Teams: 61 |
| Affiliation with NGO networks: |
HRCNet; ESCR Network; INCLO; ICJ, Iniciativa por los Principios de Derechos Humanos en la Política Fiscal, International Drug Policy Consortium (IDPC), Consorcio ETO, Consorcio Latinoamericano Contra el Aborto Inseguro (CLACAI) |
| Funding structure: |
Membership fees or dues
Fundraising campaigns
Grants from Governments
Foreign and international grants
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