Human rights and the Cold War: the campaign to halt the Argentine ‘dirty war’

Abstract

In the late 1960s and 1970s, internationally-focused human rights groups in the United States worked to raise public awareness and generate popular opprobrium of repressive regimes overseas, and lobbied policymakers for more stringent congressional control over foreign aid funding to regimes violating human rights. By the mid-1970s, non-governmental human rights advocates and their sympathisers in Congress had created a strong grassroots base, established a powerful presence in Washington, and could effectively mobilise on behalf of human rights issues, as evidenced by the successful 1978 congressional cutoff of all US arms transfers to Argentina.

Notes

William Michael Schmidli is an Assistant Professor of History at Bucknell University. He completed a PhD in the Department of History at Cornell University in February 2010. He specialises in the history of United States foreign relations, the Cold War, modern Latin America, and human rights. He is currently working on a book-length project entitled ‘From Counterinsurgency to Human Rights: the United States, Argentina and the Cold War’.

 [1] Olga Talamante, Official Affidavit, State of California, 12 October 1976, Argentina Declassification Project (1975–84), Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) Electronic Reading Room. http://foia.state.gov/SearchColls/CollsSearch.asp (hereafter ADP); Gómez, ‘Feminism, Torture, and the Politics of Chicana/Third World Solidarity’, 171–2.

 [2] Details from the Talamantes' life from Thomas, ‘Dirty Wars’, 108–9.

 [3] Pogash, ‘Friends Remember Argentine Prisoner’.

 [4] Talamante, Official Affidavit, 12 October 1976.

 [5] Congressional Correspondence (hereafter CC), Michael J. Harrington to Henry Kissinger, 12 March 1976, ADP.

 [6] Thomas, ‘Dirty Wars’, 118.

 [7] Thomas, ‘Dirty Wars’, 117. On NACLA's role in the Talamante case, see for example, ‘Free Olga Talamante’, NACLA Report on the Americas 9, no. 6, 1 September 1975.

 [8] CC, Norman Y. Mineta to Robert C. Felder, 12 March 1975, Box 10, Folder 7, George Lister Papers, Benson Latin American Collection, University of Texas Libraries, the University of Texas at Austin (hereafter LP).

 [9] For the sake of clarity, in this article the ‘human rights movement’ refers to the effort to a) elevate moral and ethical considerations in the formulation and implementation of United States foreign policy; and b) to promote the protection of human rights overseas. The term ‘human rights’ defies a single definition in the historical context of the late 1960s and 1970s given the diverse political leanings of human rights advocates, but is broadly construed as a) freedom from government violation of the integrity of the person; b) economic and social rights, such as food, shelter, and education; and c) civil and political rights.

[10] On the role of human rights in US foreign policy in the early post-Second World War period, see Borgwardt, A New Deal for the World; Glendon, A World Made New; Lauren, The Evolution of International Human Rights; Moyn, The Last Utopia, 120–75.

[11] Fraser's subcommittee was later renamed the Subcommittee on Human Rights and International Organizations. On the role of Congress in the human rights debate during the 1970s, see Arnson, Crossroads; Forsythe, Human Rights and U.S. Foreign Policy; Johnson, Congress and the Cold War; Keys, ‘Congress, Kissinger, and the Origins of Human Rights Diplomacy’.

[12] US Congress, Human Rights in the World Community.

[13] Personal interview with Rev. Joe Eldridge, 4 May 2008, Washington, DC.

[14] Personal Interview with Roberta Cohen, 1 May 2008, Washington, DC.

[15] See Cohen, ‘Conditioning U.S. Security Assistance on Human Rights Practices’, 251.

[16] James M. Wilson, ‘Diplomatic Theology – An Early Chronicle of Human Rights at State’, Undated, James M. Wilson Papers, Box 1, Folder: Human Rights and Humanitarian Affairs – Wilson Memoir, Gerald R. Ford Library, Ann Arbor, MI.

[17] For Fraser's correspondence on specific countries, see Fraser to Kissinger, Box 149.G.13.7B, Folder: Human Rights; and Fraser to Kissinger, Box 149.G.9.7B, Folder: Human Rights, 1975 [1], Donald M. Fraser Papers, Minnesota Historical Society, St. Paul, MN.

[18] Department of State Memorandum (hereafter DSM) of Conversation, 17 December 1974, Subject: ‘Human Rights’, Box 7, Folder: Human Rights (D/HA), Records of Deputy Secretary of State Charles W. Robinson, 1976–1977 (hereafter RCR), General Records of the Department of State (hereafter GRDS), Record Group 59 (hereafter RG 59), National Archives II, College Park, MD (hereafter Archives II).

[19] Department of State Memorandum (hereafter DSM) of Conversation, 17 December 1974, Subject: ‘Human Rights’, Box 7, Folder: Human Rights (D/HA), Records of Deputy Secretary of State Charles W. Robinson, 1976–1977 (hereafter RCR), General Records of the Department of State (hereafter GRDS), Record Group 59 (hereafter RG 59), National Archives II, College Park, MD (hereafter Archives II)

[20] Personal interview with Rev. Joe Eldridge.

[21] Breslin, ‘Human Rights: Rhetoric or Action?’

[22] Salzberg, ‘A View From the Hill’, 17.

[23] Cohen, ‘Conditioning U.S. Security Assistance on Human Rights Practices’, 252–3.

[24] Apodaca, Understanding U.S. Human Rights Policy, 40; ‘House Votes to Ban Foreign Aid for Human Rights Violations’, New York Times, 11 September 1975, 18.

[25] DSM, J.M. Wilson to Henry Kissinger, 1 October 1976, Subject: ‘D/HA Monthly Report’, Box 7, Folder: Human Rights (D/HA), RCR, GRDS, RG 59, Archives II.

[26] Department of State Cable (hereafter DSC), State A-1285, Secretary of State (Kissinger) to All ARA Diplomatic Posts, 26 February 1975, Subject: ‘Human Rights and Protection of U.S. Nationals in Latin America’, Box 63, Folder 25, LP.

[27] Department of State Cable (hereafter DSC), State A-1285, Secretary of State (Kissinger) to All ARA Diplomatic Posts, 26 February 1975, Subject: ‘Human Rights and Protection of U.S. Nationals in Latin America’, Box 63, Folder 25, LP

[28] DSC, Buenos Aires 6870, US Embassy (Hill) to Secretary of State, 15 October 1975, ADP.

[29] DSC, Buenos Aires 4645, US Embassy (Hill) to Secretary of State, 14 July 1975, ADP.

[30] DSC, State 239839, Assistant Secretary of State (Shlaudeman) to US Embassy (Hill), 8 October 1975, ADP.

[31] DSC, Buenos Aires 6870.

[32] On the Argentine military dictatorship (1976–83), see for example Wright, State Terrorism in Latin America; Duhalde, El Estado Terrorista Argentino; Feitlowitz, A Lexicon of Terror; Frontalini and Caiati, El Mito de la ‘Guerra Sucia’; Lewis, Guerrillas and Generals.

[33] Thomas, ‘Dirty Wars’, 117.

[34] Thomas, ‘Dirty Wars’, 118. See also Omang, ‘Argentines Release Jailed American’; ‘Freed American Tells of Torture in Argentine Jail’, New York Times, 29 March 1976, 9.

[35] Apodaca, Understanding U.S. Human Rights Policy, 39.

[36] DSM, Don Tice to Charles W. Robinson, 16 July 1976, Subject: ‘Fraser Human Rights Hearings’, Box 7, Folder: Human Rights (D/HA), RCR, GRDS, RG 59, Archives II.

[37] US Congress, Human Rights in Argentina, 41.

[38] On the non-governmental human rights movement in the 1970s, see Cmiel, ‘The Emergence of Human Rights Politics in the United States’; Keck and Sikkink, Activists Beyond Borders; Morgan, ‘The Seventies and the Rebirth of Human Rights’; Schoultz, Human Rights and United States Policy Toward Latin America; Korey, NGO's and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

[39] Wiseberg and Scoble, ‘Monitoring Human Rights Violations’, 183–5.

[40] Laber, The Courage of Strangers, 73–4.

[41] U.S. Policy on Human Rights in the Latin America (Southern Cone), 81.

[42] Memorandum, Roberta Cohen, undated, Personal Papers of Roberta Cohen, Washington, DC.

[43] Personal interview with Roberta Cohen, May 1, 2008, Washington, DC.

[44] Teltsch, ‘Human Rights Groups are Riding a Wave of Popularity’. The Lawyers Committee was later renamed Human Rights First.

[45] Ottaway, ‘The Growing Lobby for Human Rights: Time for Action’.

[46] Cmiel, ‘The Emergence of Human Rights Politics in the United State's, 1235.

[47] Ottaway, ‘The Growing Lobby For Human Rights’, 31.

[48] Amnesty International, Report on Torture; Rejali, Torture and Democracy, 43.

[49] DSC, Harry W. Shlaudeman to all[?] US Embassies in Latin America, 28 October 1976, ADP.

[50] See, for example, Amnesty International, ‘List of Refugees Detained or Missing in Argentina’, press release, 17 June 1976, ADP; Idem, ‘List of Politically Motivated Deaths in Argentina Between 3 January and 3 June 1976’, press release, 2 July 1976, ADP; Idem, ‘Attack on Academic Freedom in Argentina’, report, 6 September 1976, ADP.

[51] Drinan, ‘Religious and Political Repression in Argentina’.

[52] DSM of Conversation, 5 December 1976, ADP.

[53] Amnesty International, Report of an Amnesty International Mission to Argentina.

[54] Schoultz, Human Rights and United States Policy Toward Latin America, 84.

[55] Telephone Interview with Olga Talamante, 28 March 2008.

[56] Argentine Commission for Human Rights, Press Release, 10 November 1977, Box 73, folder: Human Rights 12/76-11/77, Office of Public Liaison, Margaret (Midge) Costanza (hereafter OPLMC), Jimmy Carter Library, Atlanta, GA (hereafter JCL).

[57] Telephone Interview with Olga Talamante.

[58] Jimmy Carter, Inaugural Address, 20 January 1977. http://www.jimmycarterlibrary.gov/documents/speeches/inaugadd.phtml (accessed 8 October 2009). Early scholars of Carter's human rights policy were generally critical. See for example, Kaufman, The Presidency of James Earl Carter, Jr.; Muravchik, The Uncertain Crusade; Smith, Morality, Reason, and Power. Recent generally positive studies include: Brinkley, ‘Bernath Lecture’; Dumbrell, The Carter Presidency; Schmitz and Walker, ‘Jimmy Carter and the Foreign Policy of Human Rights’.

[59] Jerome J. Shestack to Jimmy Carter, 2 March 1977, box: 4, folder: Foreign Policy and Human Rights, 1/77-3/77, OPLMC, JCL.

[60] CC, Tom Harkin to Cyrus Vance, November 11, 1977, Box 13, Folder: Human Rights – Argentina I, Records of Warren Christopher, 1977–1980 (RWC), Office of Deputy Secretary (ODS), GRDS, RG 59, Archives II.

[61] See Hunt, ‘House Coalition's Plan on Human Rights’; Goodfellow and Morrell, ‘U.S. Aid and Comfort for World Torturers’; Russell, ‘Hill Bars Softening on Rights’.

[62] On US–Argentine relations during the period of military dictatorship, in addition to the sources cited elsewhere in this essay, see Sheinin, Argentina and the United States; Tulchin, Argentina and the United States; Cisneros and Escudé, Historia General de Las Relaciones Exteriores de La Republica Argentina; Cohen, ‘The Carter Administration and the Southern Cone’.

[63] Argentine Commission for Human Rights, ‘Statement Prepared for the International Symposium on Human Rights and American Foreign Policy’, 27–30 April 1977, University of Notre Dame, box: 74, folder: Human Rights: Argentina and Chile 1/76-11/77, OPLMC, JCL.

[64] Griesgraber, ‘Implementation by the Carter Administration of Human Rights Legislation Affecting Latin America’, 71.

[65] Erb, ‘A mis Compañeros y Compañeras les Regalé mi Voz’, 143.

[66] Olga Talamante and Horacio D. Lofredo to Jimmy Carter, 3 June 1977, box: 74, folder: Human Rights: Argentina and Chile 1/76-11/77, OPLMC, JCL.

[67] The Congress had passed similar legislation suspending US military transfers to Chile the previous year. See Sikkink, Mixed Signals, 125. For a useful abstract of human rights legislation in the 1970s and early 1980s, see Newsom, The Diplomacy of Human Rights, 223–35.

[68] Schoultz, Human Rights and United States Policy Toward Latin America, 84.

[69] Kaufman and Kaufman, The Presidency of James Earl Carter, Jr., 52.

[70] Derian's began her tenure at the Department of State as ‘Coordinator for Humanitarian Affairs’ but was named Assistant Secretary on 17 August 1977. The Bureau of Human Rights and Humanitarian Affairs was established 27 October 1977.

[71] DSM, John Bushnell to Patricia Derian, 13 June 1978, Subject: ‘Commentary on Cutler Hammer Letter’, Box 13, Folder: Human Rights – Argentina III, RWC, 1977–80, ODS, GRDS, RG 59, Archives II.

[72] On this point, see, for example, DSC, Buenos Aires 5172, US Embassy (Castro) to Secretary of State (Vance), 26 June 1979, Subject: ‘Ambassador Discusses Human Rights with General Viola’, ADP; and Organization of American States, Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, Report on the Situation of Human Rights in Argentina (Washington, DC: OAS, 6 April 1980), 6. On the significance of the IAHRC visit, see also, Seoane and Muleiro, El Dictador, 228–9; Novaro and Palermo, La Dictadura Militar (1976–1983), 119; Arditti, Searching for Life, 38; Gorini, La Rebelión de las Madres, 334; Guest, Behind the Disappearances, 177; Flood, ‘U.S. Human Rights Initiatives Concerning Argentina’, 133.

[73] On the Reagan Administration's human rights policy, see for example Carleton and Stohl, ‘The Foreign Policy of Human Rights’; Hartmann, ‘U.S. Human Rights Policy Under Carter and Reagan, 1977–1981’; Jacoby, ‘The Reagan Turnaround on Human Rights’.

[74] Quoted in Gómez, ‘Feminism, Torture, and the Politics of Chicana/Third World Solidarity’, 119.