This document aims to present the observations and comments to the draft of IDB Invest’s new Environmental and Social Sustainability Policy from a gender perspective, which is practically absent in the current draft. These observations are made with the aim of making conflicts and existing problems in the actions of IDB Invest more visible, related to the violation of rights, inequality, violence and the sexual division of labour, first and foremost.
Since the creation of the World Bank (WB) in 1944, with the aim of facilitating and promoting reconstruction and post-war development, the purpose of the institution has been changing over time, adapting to new realities and international contexts . Today, on its 75th anniversary and positioned as “one of the main sources of financing for the eradication of poverty through an inclusive and sustainable globalization process,” the Bank has new challenges that include, among other things, its framework of relationship with civil society, which although it has been strengthening in recent decades, still has huge outstanding issues.
“Below, we offer a google translate version of the original article in Spanish. This translation may not be accurate but serves as a general presentation of the article. For more accurate information, please switch to the Spanish version of the website. In addition, feel free to directly contact in English the person mentioned at the bottom of this article with regards to this topic”.
Over time, the reformulation of the World Bank’s purpose brought new institutional practices, including the incorporation of civil society as a valid counterpart not only in relation to the internal governance of the institution but also as a party consulted at the time of planning the projects.
Thus, as a result of the growing closeness of the work areas of the World Bank and of many Civil Society Organizations (CSOs), as well as the deep commitment of an increasingly organized civil society, the Bank began to open, little by little. , new ways of participation and involvement of CSOs both in the construction of policies and in the administration of projects.
In this way, there has been a paradigm shift, which went from being institutionally focused and merely consultative to a model that works in conjunction with CSOs, focused on specific issues. For example, their more active participation in the elaboration of the Strategies of Assistance to the Countries (EAP) and the documents of strategies to fight against poverty, among others.
On the other hand, many CSOs have also changed their position regarding the World Bank’s role in society and have decided to work in an articulated manner. The majority of CSOs that interact with the Bank are currently adopting an “positive intervention” approach, which aims to influence the Bank’s decisions; rather than adopt an essentially confrontational position. Even so, it should be clarified that a large part of civil society maintains its critical and supervisory stance vis-à-vis the World Bank projects, especially in relation to those Bank-financed infrastructure projects that have major socio-environmental impacts.
The strengthening of the dialogue between civil society and the World Bank has been reflected both quantitatively and qualitatively. Quantitatively, for example, with the increasing active participation of CSOs in the Annual and Spring Meetings organized by the Bank, and in the increase in policy dialogue sessions within the framework of the Forum on Policies related to Civil Society (which it was organized for the first time in 2009 where 300 representatives of civil society organizations from more than 30 countries participated). In turn, qualitatively the spectrum of participation was broadened by bringing different sectors such as youth associations and also incorporating agenda items such as food security and health, among others.
It should also be noted that, in order to promote this strengthening in a transversal way to the entire institution, the World Bank has coordinated efforts with the International Development Association and other members of the World Bank Group, such as the International Finance Corporation (IFC), the Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA), which provides political risk insurance for projects in various sectors of countries, developing members and the International Center for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID), an institution responsible for arbitrating a solution to disputes between governments and nationals of other states that have invested in that country.
In this way, it can be seen that in the course of the last decades and as a consequence of a greater openness on the part of the institution, but more than anything due to the increasing pressure and demand coming from civil society, demanding greater participation in decisions and Bank actions, a process of strengthening relations between the World Bank and civil society has been evidenced. However, there are still important shortcomings and issues still to be resolved in the relationships of these actors, which is currently reflected in the disagreement of a large number of CSOs regarding the Bank’s actions in a series of related agendas, especially to the protection of the environment and human rights, and the responsibility of the institution in this regard.
The revision of the Environmental and Social Framework of the World Bank and the criticisms of civil society
Precisely, one of the most recent criticisms of the World Bank from civil society has been the recent revision of the Institutional Environmental and Social Framework and what much of civil society considers as a clear weakening or dilution of the safeguards framework and social and environmental standards of the institution. The reasons for this weakening follows a trend at global, regional and national levels and responds to the need to make the Bank more competitive, in an international context of loss of competitiveness vis-à-vis other emerging financial actors.
Thus, for example, the Comparative Analysis of the regulations of the International Financial Institutions present in Latin America carried out by the Regional Group on Financing and Infrastructure (GREFI) of which Fundeps is a part, highlights the way in which World Bank investments have been recently made less competitive against new emerging actors such as the Development Bank of China, for example. Likewise, the report carries out a comparative analysis where it can be seen that environmental and social standards turn out to be more lax in emerging financial actors, which to a large extent allows them to become the first sources of financing for National States, displacing traditional institutions such as the World Bank or the IDB, which have more robust standards and, therefore, imply greater costs and delays for national governments.
Given this situation of loss of competitiveness by the World Bank, the Bank’s Social and Environmental Framework recently reviewed and in force in 2019 is considered by some civil society organizations as flexible against some fundamental issues that would put the environment and rights at risk Humans from the villages of the member countries. For their part, CSOs have expressed reservations about the review of safeguards that practically did not take into account their recommendations. Also, CSOs have denounced that the new MAS lacks a human rights approach and does not take any reference of international standards in the matter.
On the other hand, the main criticism towards the work of the World Bank, regarding this context of competitiveness, is the exclusion of due diligence by the bank by granting the possibility to borrowing governments to request to use their own safeguards systems to national level transferring responsibility for the correct application of safeguards to governments and not to the bank.
In this way, it can be concluded that the World Bank faces great challenges as a financial institution to remain competitive in the face of new emerging institutions and, in turn, incorporate the demands of civil society effectively and effectively. Thus, improving the relationship of real participation with civil society in an increasingly complex context, without weakening its socio-environmental regulatory frameworks, continues to be a latent challenge for the World Bank within its 75 years.
More information
New analysis on regulations in development institutions present in Latin America – Fundeps
Authors
Ailin Toso
Florence Harmitton
Contact Gonzalo
Roza, gon.roza@fundeps.org
Corruption negatively impacts the quality of our democracy and affects the validity of human rights, particularly those groups and communities that are most vulnerable. By reducing the quantity and quality of public resources available, the economic, social and cultural rights of the population are especially undermined.
Regarding the fight against corruption, our country still has numerous reforms pending. Among them, we can mention as unavoidable points the modification of the law of public ethics, the sanction of a new system of purchases and contracts of the State, implement policies of transparency in the financing of the policy, improve the control organisms, implement policies of transparency in markets and financial flows. It is also necessary to institutionalize spaces for citizen participation, not only in the fight against corruption, but to guarantee a more inclusive democracy.
On International Anti-Corruption Day, civil society organizations highlight that in order to successfully prevent, detect and punish corruption, comprehensive public policies are needed, aimed at different sectors of the State and private actors. For that, it is necessary to generate broad and robust consensus among the various social actors. In this sense, the Social Anti-Corruption Agreement, prepared by a diverse group of organizations and specialists, aims to draw up a roadmap of public policies that should be implemented to build a country with less corruption and, therefore, more just and egalitarian.
The document can be accessed at www.acuerdoanticorrupcion.org.
Contact
Nina Sibilla, ninasibilla@fundeps.org
The judge in the Federal Administrative Litigation No. 11, Cecilia Gilardi de Negre, issued on Thursday a precautionary resolution within the framework of the collective protection initiated by the Association for the Promotion of Civil Rights and by the Civil Association Portal de Belén.
“Below, we offer a google translate version of the original article in Spanish. This translation may not be accurate but serves as a general presentation of the article. For more accurate information, please switch to the Spanish version of the website. In addition, feel free to directly contact in English the person mentioned at the bottom of this article with regards to this topic”.
In the case, initiated in 2018, organizations question the constitutionality of the Protocol for the comprehensive care of people entitled to the Legal Interruption of Pregnancy of the Ministry of Health and Social Development, and Provision No. 946/2018 of the National Administration of Medicines, Food and Technology (ANMAT), issued on 12/10/2018, while authorizing Laboratorios Domínguez SA a new condition of sale (under archived prescription).
Suspension of sale in pharmacies
The precautionary measure orders the suspension of article 2 of the provision, and is based on the reading of the MISOP 200 leaflet, as it indicates that its improper use or outside of the recommended indications may be harmful to health.
However, as indicated by the Ministry of Health and Social Development when appearing before the Court in the context of the case, Misoprostol presents security for ambulatory use with medical follow-up, without risks for the person entitled to access the interruption if It is done during the first trimester of pregnancy. Likewise, the availability of the drug in pharmacies, under an archived prescription, allows the pregnant person, together with their doctor, to decide how and where to carry out the termination of pregnancy in the cases allowed by law, without the need to attend the system Health public
Likewise, as we affirmed in our amicus, access to the medicines necessary for the termination of pregnancy, classified as essential by the World Health Organization, is part of the fundamental human rights in health matters to which the Argentine State is bound by Your international commitments. The Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, in its General Comment No. 22, on the right to sexual and reproductive health, establishes access to essential medicines as a standard for States parties. In this regard, when describing the elements of sexual and reproductive rights, and developing the concept of availability, the Committee states that: “Essential medicines must also be available, including a wide range of contraceptive methods, such as condoms and contraceptives emergency, medications for assistance in cases of abortion and after abortion, and medications, including generic drugs, for the prevention and treatment of sexually transmitted infections and HIV ”.
The attack attacked, and now suspended, aimed at ensuring the rights of people who require access to this medicine for the practice of legal termination of pregnancy. There are no technical, medical or therapeutic reasons to prevent the pharmaceutical circulation of misoprostol in its presentation of 200 mcg pills, and, consequently, restrict this medication only to hospital use as intended.
Soup again
The protection presented by these organizations is only another attempt to impede rights. We recall that there is a systematic practice by these groups to prosecute each of the advances that are achieved in our country in terms of sexual, reproductive and non-reproductive health. They already did it locally: Portal de Belén got the local protocol for the care of non-punishable abortions to be suspended for more than 7 years. In that case, Prodeci had introduced himself as amicus curiae. Now, their efforts are focused on the federal order.
ILE is still right
It is important to clarify that the resolution only suspends the application of article 2 of Provision No. 946/18 of ANMAT, which authorized the sale of MISOP 200 of Domínguez Laboratories in pharmacies, under archived prescription. The precautionary request of organizations to suspend the national protocol was rejected, so its application remains in force.
Nor does the availability of MISOP 200 change for gynecological use in hospitals and health centers, nor the availability in pharmacies of misoprostol in its other commercial form, Oxaprost, from Beta Laboratory.
It is unfortunate a resolution of these characteristics, taking into account that in our country the legal abortion due to causes is a right since 1921, and the Argentine State has been repeatedly recommended to facilitate access to the practice in safe conditions.
In addition to the pending resolution of the merits, the legislative treatment of the Voluntary Interruption of Pregnancy is imminent, for which the discussion on the availability of essential medicines for practice should be resumed.
Contact
Mayca Balaguer, maycabalaguer@fundeps.org
We held the National Forum on Gender Policies in Journalism and Advertising on September 12 and 13 at the Faculty of Social Sciences of the UBA. We have the presence of interns from the interior of the country dedicated to advertising, journalism and communication, representatives of journalistic and advertising organizations and we obtained the signature of 44 institutions to the Commitment Agreement.
Below, we offer a google translate version of the original article in Spanish. This translation may not be accurate but serves as a general presentation of the article. For more accurate information, please switch to the Spanish version of the website. In addition, feel free to directly contact in English the person mentioned at the bottom of this article with regards to this topic.
There were two days of reflection and discussion around a central axis: the gender policies that exist (and are missing) in the two most important sectors dedicated to communication: advertising and journalism.
On Thursday 12, the day began in the afternoon with the opening of the Forum by the organizations that made this event possible: The Civil Association Communication for Equality, The Heinrich Boll Foundation, UNESCO and Fundeps.
Then, organizations from all over the country linked to journalism and advertising signed the Commitment Agreement on Gender Policies in Journalism and Advertising. They expressed their interest and desire to transform the labor structures of these industries and create democratic, inclusive and diverse spaces, with equal real opportunities to access decision-making positions and more valued areas.
They joined 44 organizations of which 16 are from within the country. They signed 9 media companies, 15 advertising agencies, 7 academic institutions, 6 professional associations and networks, 3 press unions, 3 business chambers and 1 state agency. Those who want to adhere and sign the Commitment Agreement can do so through this form.
The day ended with Luciana Peker’s talk-debate «The feminist tide in journalism and publicity: another way of telling, another way of working.»
Start from questions to find answers
Friday was raised as a meeting place between the various actors that are part of both industries: educational institutions, unions, business chambers, advertising agencies, media companies, civil society organizations, state agencies and workers / is from both industries.
The day was organized in four panels, designed from the critical axes found in both industries. During the morning the following were presented:
- Care policies, in which Paula Rey and Victoria Gallo (ELA), Georgina Sticco (Gender and Work-Grow), Mariángeles Camusso (Inter-American Open University), Silvia Martínez Cassina (channel 13) and Cecilia Bustos Moreschi (Fundeps) participated as moderator.
- Labor rights and unionization, whose panelists were Cynthia Benzion (vice president of the Association of Lawyers and Labor Lawyers of CABA), Verónica Baracat (UN Women), Diego Pietrafesa (Telefe-SiPreBA), Luciano Calió (FBC & Fire) and Melanie Tobal (Advertising. org) in moderation.
In the afternoon were the panels «Journalism and Gender» and «Advertising and Gender»:
- The first, moderated by Pate Palero (PAR Network), was composed of Viviana Mariño (Argentine Time), Nicole Insignares (Clarín Group), Silvia Hernández (UBA) and Gabriela Toledo (Subprogram of Strategies for Training and Communication of San Luis ).
- The last one was formed by Mariana Iesulauro (Y&R Agency), Agustina Militerno (Havas), Tomás Balduzzi (Higher School of Advertising Creatives) and Rocío Restaino (Women in Advertising) as moderator.
In these spaces, the various actors in the advertising and journalism industries were invited to ask themselves: What is the relationship between care policies and actions and the participation of women in the advertising and journalism industries? Why are there so few women in hierarchical positions and in the most valued areas? What are the most serious problems of both industries in relation to unionization and the construction of labor rights? What strategies can be designed, implemented and evaluated to generate more democratic and diverse work environments?
These questions put into question the labor practices of both industries, the production of content and promoted discussions postponed by some of these actors.
There were two days of intense debate, which allowed us to observe and realize that the advertising and journalism industries are not excluded from many sexist practices, and that, like most of the different items, gender-based inequalities suffer, such as, the wage gap between men and women and the glass ceiling, both produced mainly by the overload in women of unpaid household chores and by maternity. That in order to transform this, it is necessary to defend and transform trade union spaces, to continue with the internal demand for violence-free, equitable and egalitarian spaces. As Luciana Peker said «without union rights, but also gender-specific, there is no possibility of reaching or staying, or reaching places of hierarchy.»
We believe that the Forum was an enriching space as it sat on the same discussion table to workers, companies, unions, educational institutions, civil society organizations and the same State, in order to generate commitments that translate into policies of Formal, concrete and sustainable gender that promote real equality of opportunities, inclusion and diversity within.
Authors
Valentina Montero
Cecilia Bustos Moreschi
Contact
Cecilia Bustos Moreschi cecilia.bustos.moreschi@fundeps.org
In August, during the election campaign, newspaper profile published a note assaulting Ofelia Fernandez. From Fundeps we denounced to INAM and INADI but their responses were lukewarm and insufficient in the case of INAM and restrictive in the case of INADI.
“Below, we offer a google translate version of the original article in Spanish. This translation may not be accurate but serves as a general presentation of the article. For more accurate information, please switch to the Spanish version of the website. In addition, feel free to directly contact in English the person mentioned at the bottom of this article with regards to this topic”.
On July 27, Diario profile published a note entitled “Operation cancel” in which it intended to make a brief analysis of the link between social networks, new technologies and political participation.
With this objective, the author of the note, Pola Oloixarac, took as a reference figure the candidate for legislator by the City of Buenos Aires, Ofelia Fernández, making the following statement:
“In cyclic olitas, as things and people circulate on the web, we learn that certain characteristics of the Argentine bourgeoisie have an unwanted effect on the vagina of the candidate for legislator Ofelia Fernández. In a video where she is seen talking from a pulpit, she says that “the warmth of the bourgeoisie dries my shell.” Ophelia revitalizes the Marxist troop of the class struggle by bringing it closer to the immediacy of her bombshell: she invites us to think that there is an unsatisfied sexual drive in the status quo, and that the heat of the coming revolution is the only thing that could excite the young woman Ophelia According to that image, voting for Ophelia is an invitation to please her sexually, preparing her for a successful intercourse. At 19, Ofelia understands that the personal is political, that is, that the political is genital: that the Pindongas and cuchuflitos of each unite are somehow called to participate in the collective hysteria of the revolution (or the Change).”
In the cited paragraph, the author takes the metaphorical expression used by Ophelia to communicate her disagreement and rejection of certain political practices and makes a literal interpretation with the clear objective of running the debate from the political to the sexual level, degrading her for her status as a woman .
It is important to mention that it is not the first time that the newspaper profile exercises media and symbolic violence against Ofelia Fernández. On November 21, 2018, this same publisher published a note entitled “The schoolgirl k that impacted the G20 counter-summit”. The recidivism of this type of action realizes the urgent need for State agencies responsible for eradicating gender violence to carry out the necessary interventions to achieve this goal.
Faced with the violence of these speeches, from Fundeps we present the corresponding complaint to INAM and INADI through their web pages. Although the first agency received the complaint, INADI contacted by telephone to inform us that the option to make complaints by that means is no longer available and that they must be submitted in one of its offices. We understand that the restriction of the channels to make claims means a restriction on the rights of the hearings, limited to those who have knowledge about this administrative route, the time and resources to do so.
For its part, INAM’s response comes after two months of having filed the complaint; the Institution acknowledges that there was misogyny in the story, but that the author of the note did nothing more than give a literary or philosophical interpretation to Fernández’s sayings, thus minimizing the symbolic, political and media violence to which she went submitted the candidate. The document sent by the institution states:
“Although, mention is made of the genitals of the then candidate, and that should not be part of a political analysis, the note takes up textual phrases from the political leader and the article seems to become an elaborate analysis of those phrases, with some fragments of a rather literary or philosophical tone that include other figures of politics and / or culture. We understand, however, that there was misogynist production in a series of articles or journalistic coverage based on this candidate, although not only, but also other women in politics. ”
The last paragraph cited recognizes the misogyny from which the journalistic approaches to the group “women in politics” are made. However, instead of aggravating and sustaining the claim presented, the paper underestimates these misogynistic violence by falling into a collective.
It is clear that the newspaper profile profile reaffirms and reproduces the political violence faced by women who choose to perform within party politics, and accounts for delegitimization strategies through the reification and sexualization of their bodies. A deal that, on the contrary, is never applied to their male peers.
This type of action delegitimates and disables the political participation of women, as well as undermines the effectiveness of the recently implemented Law of Gender Parity, interfering with the possibility of performance on equal terms as men. This attack on Ofelia Fernández constitutes an attack on all women and a disciplinary and expulsive message from the political arena.
From the above, it is evident that we are facing a case of media and symbolic violence as stipulated by Law 26,485 on the Integral Protection of Women. This regulation defines media violence as follows:
“… That publication or dissemination of messages and stereotyped images through any mass media, that directly or indirectly promotes the exploitation of women or their images, injures, defames, discriminates, dishonors, humiliates or attempts against the dignity of women, as well as the use of women, adolescents and girls in pornographic messages and images, legitimizing inequality of treatment or constructing sociocultural patterns that reproduce inequality or generate violence against women”.
Symbolic violence, on the other hand, is defined as one that “through stereotyped patterns, messages, values, icons or signs transmits and reproduces domination, inequality and discrimination in social relations, naturalizing the subordination of women in society»
The aforementioned note also constitutes a violation of subsection m. Article 3 of Law 26,522 on Audiovisual Communication Services, which establishes the obligation to “promote the protection and safeguarding of equality between men and women, and the plural, egalitarian and non-stereotyped treatment, avoiding all discrimination based on gender or sexual orientation. ”
This content, besides constituting an act of violence in itself, functions as a legitimator and a motivator of other expressions of violence. Ofelia Fernández shared the misogynist and macho messages she received in her networks from this publication and declared “It hurts the electoral campaign a lot to enable us to be treated like this. Unfair and unpleasant. ”
Author
Mila Francovich
Contact
Cecilia Bustos Moreschi, cecilia.bustos.moreschi@fundeps.org
On November 28 and 29, the 2nd annual meeting of the Network of Organizations Against Corruption (ROCC) was held in the city of Córdoba. In this context, a meeting was held with journalists to talk about corruption and access to information.
The central theme that summoned us was the request to update the law on access to public information in Córdoba, supported by ROCC and other NGOs in Córdoba. During the meeting, the status of this right was discussed at the level of the provinces and at the national level, and the differences between the existence of a regulation and its application. Journalists and NGOs concluded in the need for a collaborative work together to be able to work on access to public information.
What is the situation in Córdoba?
The conclusions of the meeting show the need, in most cases, to have to prosecute requests for access to public information in Cördoba, and to have to wait for judicial times.
Córdoba, not only needs to update its law on access to information, but also the regulations that exist are far from being correctly applied. Fundeps only received 5% responses to requests for information submitted in 2019 to the municipality and the province; and when he prosecuted a case, the TSJ resolved it 10 years later.
And in the other provinces?
From the organizations of Mendoza, CLADH (Latin American Center for Human Rights) and Our Mendoza, it was highlighted that there were clear advances in relation to access to public information in their province, especially legislative ones. Since 2018 they have a new AIP law and in 2019 it was regulated. It contemplates issues of active transparency and even an office dedicated to its implementation, the Office of Administrative Research and Public Ethics. However, they warn that this does not work properly and that a system of comptroller, interprovincial for example, would be useful for the purpose of this being accountable to a third party.
On the other hand, both Salta and Santa Fe, Salta Transparente and Acción Acción, respectively, announced that their legislative situation is the most worrying. Salta does not have a law on access to public information at the provincial level, but at the municipal level of the city of Salta with an ordinance that includes, among other issues, active transparency and sanctions in the case of non-compliance with it. For its part in Santa Fe, the next will try for the ninth time to enter the law to the Legislature the bill on access to public information.
The Civil Association for Equality and Justice (ACIJ) of the autonomous city of Buenos Aires, said it is preparing a report on the applicability of the national AIP law, which will be published at the beginning of the year 2020.
How did the ROCC event continue?
At the meeting, other civil society organizations in Córdoba were invited to present their projects on Open Government. Virginia Romanutti of the Our Cordoba Citizen Network attended, who presented her work in the framework of the Goals Plan of the Municipality of Córdoba. Also attended by representatives of PARES working around three strategic axes: gender, citizenship and development; and Minka who is dedicated to issues related to law and technology.
In relation to the Network of Organizations Against Corruption, a balance of the activities of 2019 was made, highlighting:
- The note that was presented on January 25 to the president of the nation in relation to the decree of necessity and urgency (DNU) issued on the Procedural Regime of Civil Action for Extinction of Domain.
- Contribution of comments to the presentation of the Draft Open State Law in Salta.
- Active participation in the Federal Council for Transparency.
- The Social Anti-Corruption Agreement.
And, some actions were proposed to carry out next year as:
- Participate in the Federal Council for Transparency.
- Conduct awareness campaigns on the importance of the right of access to public information.
- Supervise infrastructure works at the national level as they become one of the most important niches of corruption.
- I work to regularize the lobby.
- Consolidate a work plan on misuse of public resources.
- Require a law on public ethics in provinces or municipalities that do not own one.
Contact
Nina Sibilla, ninasibilla@fundeps.org
We present an amicus curiae (Friend of the Court) in the case before the Federal Administrative Contentious Court No. 11, for an amparo presented by the Civil Association Portal de Belén and by the Association for the Promotion of Civil Rights (ProDeCi), where they question the constitutionality of the Protocol for the comprehensive care of people entitled to the Legal Interruption of Pregnancy of the Ministry of Health and Social Development, and of Provision No. 946/2018 of the National Administration of Medicines, Food and Technology (ANMAT).
“Below, we offer a google translate version of the original article in Spanish. This translation may not be accurate but serves as a general presentation of the article. For more accurate information, please switch to the Spanish version of the website. In addition, feel free to directly contact in English the person mentioned at the bottom of this article with regards to this topic”.
All against the ILE
At the end of last year, the Civil Association Portal de Belén presented an amparo before the federal justice of Río Cuarto requesting that “the absolute and inadmissible nullity of the“ Protocol for the Comprehensive Attention of Persons with the Right to Legal Interruption of Pregnancy be declared ”, For violation of the right of collective incidence to life, and that the absolute and insanity nullity be declared for unconstitutionality of Provision No. 946/2018 of the ANMAT, issued on 10/12/2018, while authorizing the firm Laboratorios Domínguez SAa new condition of sale (under archived prescription). ”In addition, they requested a precautionary measure to suspend the effects of both resolutions.
However, the federal judge of Río Cuarto declared himself incompetent. Although the cause is of federal competence because of the people, because the National State is being sued (through its ministry and one of its dependencies), it was appropriate to refer the proceedings to the Federal Court in Administrative Litigation in turn of the Autonomous City from Buenos Aires, which turned out to be No. 11.
Meanwhile, a similar case was filed before the Federal Contentious Administrative Court No. 7, initiated almost simultaneously by the Association for the Promotion of Civil Rights (PRODECI). PRODECI is an organization “constituted with the purpose of promoting family, life and values, from the law, justice, communication, citizen participation and dissemination”, as can be seen on its website. However, there is no information on who makes it up or how it is financed, although its website details the activities carried out against sexual and reproductive rights, such as Integral Sexual Education. This organization had presented itself as a “friend of the court” in the case that Portal de Belén initiated in the Province of Córdoba against the local protocol.
Thus, by indication of the Federal Prosecutor, and having the same purpose, both cases were accumulated in Court No. 11, as well as the Benefit to Litigate Without Expenses requested by PRODECI. At this time the file is in the office, waiting to resolve the request for the precautionary measure.
#ILEYaEsRight
In the document presented, we accompany fundamentals based on the local legal system, its norms and principles, international human rights treaties with constitutional hierarchy, the pronouncements of international organizations created to monitor their validity and the recommendations of the institutions with the highest authority in the matter health, such as the World Health Organization, with the aim of defending the validity of both the national protocol and the provision of ANMAT that allows the sale of misoprostol in pharmacies.
In addition, we express that reversing any of the two provisions would be contrary to the principle of progressivity and not regressive of human rights, and that it could irreparably injure the human right to health of women and pregnant people in our country. Both provisions are nothing more than the expression of a public health policy that aims to facilitate access to the provision of an essential service that must be guaranteed by the State.
Finally, we consider that the action presented is just another attempt by these organizations to impede the right to access to legal termination of pregnancy, as they did already at the local level. It is worth remembering that the protection attempted by Portal de Belén in our province was rejected by the TSJ last year.
It will be law
It is hard to believe that at this point we have to continue defending such basic rights in court. Access to legal abortion for reasons has been a right since 1921. International human rights organizations have repeatedly recommended that the State of Argentina facilitate access to practice in safety, and have even instructed it to review its regulation, approving the bill concerning the voluntary termination of pregnancy.
However, all forecasts indicate that next year the bill on Voluntary Interruption of Pregnancy will have legislative treatment again. After so many years of struggle, the abortion of the Criminal Code is imminent.
The enactment of an IVE law will mean an advance in the recognition of the human rights of women and pregnant people, fundamentally of the rights related to sexual and reproductive health and the recognition of their freedom and autonomy. Sooner rather than later, it will be law.
More information
Contact
Mayca Balguer, maycabalaguer@fundeps.org
At the end of October of this year we present an action for amparo for late payment, within the framework of Law No. 8803 that regulates the right to access to knowledge of State acts, against the Ministry of Health of the Province of Córdoba, for not having responded to a request for public information filed on August 6.
“Below, we offer a google translate version of the original article in Spanish. This translation may not be accurate but serves as a general presentation of the article. For more accurate information, please switch to the Spanish version of the website. In addition, feel free to directly contact in English the person mentioned at the bottom of this article with regards to this topic”.
Within the framework of our work in monitoring and promoting public policies that respect human rights, with special interest in accessing health services in sexual and reproductive health in the province of Córdoba, we requested information from the Ministry of Health of Córdoba and the directors of the main provincial hospitals.
The information requested focused on the services provided by the Sexual and Reproductive Health Program, with questions about the number of patients who received care, the amount of training that was done in the province on the subject, the budget allocated to the Program, between others. In addition, questions about the services of Legal Disruption of Pregnancy were specifically included, and about the regulations applied to cases of conscientious objection.
In the absence of a response from the Ministry of Health, one month after having dispatched the request, we submitted a request for prompt dispatch, but we also did not obtain any response. It is worth clarifying that the period provided by Law No. 8803 for the provincial State to answer these types of requests is 10 business days. At the end of October, because this deadline was long overdue, we decided to initiate an action for amparo for late payment, which is currently being processed in the Chamber of Administrative Litigation No. 1 of the provincial justice.
The difficulties of accessing information in Córdoba
The right of every person to request and receive complete, truthful, adequate and timely information from any body belonging to the public administration is a fundamental human right to guarantee citizen participation, the strengthening of the democratic system, the transparency of public management. and the effective enforcement of other rights.
Throughout this year, from Fundeps we presented a total of 62 requests for public information to various provincial and municipal public agencies. All meet the deadline, and we only got 3 answers.
It is unfortunate that we have to resort to judicial proceedings in order to access information that is public. It is necessary that the Province review the regulations and enact a law that contemplates the minimum standards for the effective validity of this right, so we request that the law on access to public information be updated.
More information
- Córdoba, a proposal to update the law on access to public information
- Organizations ask to update the Cordoba access to information law
- The Superior Court of Justice reviews the judgment of the Chamber and grants our request to access public information
Contact
Mayca Balguer, maycabalaguer@fundeps.org
As every November 25, this Monday marks the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women. Date that calls us to review and rethink some data and measures taken by the last management.
“Below, we offer a google translate version of the original article in Spanish. This translation may not be accurate but serves as a general presentation of the article. For more accurate information, please switch to the Spanish version of the website. In addition, feel free to directly contact in English the person mentioned at the bottom of this article with regards to this topic”.
This date and its corresponding march close the “feminist calendar” and like every end of the year it is an opportunity to take stock, in addition to this on the occasion of the early change of government, which invites us to extend the analysis to management four years of President Mauricio Macri.
Thus, for example, at the beginning of the current month the Minister of Security Patricia Bullrich shared in her networks the data on femicides relieved by the portfolio she is in charge of, together with the phrase, in a festive tone like who celebrates an achievement, “We lower the femicides 12.1%! ” This statement, which refers to the amount of femicides of the year 2018 compared to that of 2017 (according to that information, 281 and 292, respectively), in addition to being factually incorrect, is an image of an erroneous perspective on the macho violence that explains largely the action (or lack of action) in gender policy of the outgoing government.
First, the numbers presented by Bullrich differ from those registered by the Women’s Office of the Supreme Court of Justice. According to the latter, the figures are 278 for 2018 and 273 for 2017, so it would be the opposite of the alleged reduction alleged by the minister.
According to Chequeado, the difference between the two statistics would be that in the case of the Ministry “as with other types of crimes, their figures come from police records. That is to say that it is the first post-crime analysis, before the start of the judicial investigation. ” Instead, the Women’s Office relieves information on the legal cases in process. This disparity of data should not be a problem for those corresponding to the current year, since the Supreme Court, the Ministry of Security and the Attorney General’s Office have signed an agreement to unify femicide statistics. However, we will have to wait until 2020 for the report to be published.
Meanwhile, although the official data is not possessed, the work of some feminist organizations that, as part of their militancy and without receiving any compensation, do a thorough monthly survey based on the information obtained in the media Communication. In this regard, the Mumalá National Observatory has registered 226 femicides between January 1 and October 31, 2019, not counting 38 cases under investigation, which means at least one victim every 32 hours. Broken down, this number includes 192 direct femicides, 18 linked and 6 trans / transvestites. Another relevant indicator is that 68% of the murders were perpetrated by either the couple (40%) or the former partner (28%) of the victims. Considering that 18% of them had made prior complaints, the question that arises immediately after reading these data is where the State is and what is the true scope of the policies that it has been implementing regarding gender violence.
The National Government published this morning a decree that canceled Resolution No. 3158/2019, which approved an update of the National Protocol for the comprehensive care of people entitled to legal termination of pregnancy.
“Below, we offer a google translate version of the original article in Spanish. This translation may not be accurate but serves as a general presentation of the article. For more accurate information, please switch to the Spanish version of the website. In addition, feel free to directly contact in English the person mentioned at the bottom of this article with regards to this topic”.
The Ministry of Health of the Nation had approved by resolution, published in the Official Gazette last Wednesday morning, the third update of the guide that contains the guidelines and standards of care for cases of abortions allowed by law. The first protocol of these characteristics was prepared in 2007, and updated in 2010 and 2015, where the provisions made by the Supreme Court were incorporated in the FAL ruling of 2012.
On this occasion, the update had been carried out in the light of the new Civil and Commercial Code, which was sanctioned in 2015, particularly with regard to minors and persons with disabilities. These axes had already been included in an explanatory note, in September 2016, but the 2019 update incorporated them into the text. In addition, it contained the latest recommendations regarding medical procedures recommended by the World Health Organization. The most important thing is that, when approved by resolution, the protocol was granted a superior legal and regulatory entity, which would have allowed the actions for its implementation to be reinforced.
Round and round
Several hours after its publication, in the afternoon, various media reported that President Mauricio Macri ordered that the resolution be annulled and that the Secretary of the Government of Health, Adolfo Rubinstein, be asked to resign.
Although in the morning there was no official decision, during the afternoon of Thursday the rumors were confirmed after a Cabinet Meeting, where Carolina Stanley, Minister of Health and Social Development, said that: “The protocol is going to be repealed because it was an unqualified decision of the Secretary of Health ”.
The decision was finalized with the publication this morning of Decree 785/2019, through which the resolution is repealed. Among the reasons stated, the Government argues that the Secretary’s decision was inconsistent with his superiors and other agencies that would have competence in the matter and that, therefore, should have intervened, such as the National Secretariat for Children, Adolescents and Family (SENAF), the Federal Council for Children, Adolescents and Family, the National Disability Agency, the National Women’s Institute (INAM) and the Ministry of Justice and Human Rights.
A meaningless decree
It is noteworthy that the cancellation of the resolution is based on these reasons, when none of the previous protocols (of 2007, 2010, 2015 and explanatory note of 2016) foresaw or required interventions by these organizations.
It is even more surprising that, as an argument, the impact of the protocol on the rights of girls and adolescents is emphasized, when this update, now frustrated, was adequate to the obligations of the Argentine State to be part of the Convention of the Children’s rights. In fact, in the last concluding observations of the Committee on the Rights of the Child addressed to Argentina, which were announced on June 1, 2018, the State was recommended to “guarantee adolescents’ access to abortion services without risk and post-abortion care, making sure that the opinion of the interested party is always heard and duly taken into account in the decision process”. This is precisely what the protocol update provided for, by adapting the guidelines on the consent of girls and adolescents to the provisions of the Civil and Commercial Code, based on the principles of progressive capacity and best interests of the child.
The reference to the lack of intervention of the National Women’s Institute, the governing body on issues related to violence against women, is also curious. The provisions of the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) cannot be ignored because of its primary function of safeguarding the human rights of women in the States parties to the Convention, such as It is the case of Argentina. In the last Concluding Observations towards Argentina, of the year 2016, the CEDAW Committee expressed its concern about the stagnation of the maternal mortality rate, due, among other things, to abortions performed at risk; the limited access to legal abortion, in contravention of the legislation and the decision adopted by the Supreme Court of Justice in 2012; the frequent refusal of doctors to perform an abortion for reasons of conscience; and cases of prosecution against women who have undergone abortions. Therefore, he urged the State to initiate accountability procedures for non-punishable abortion, and to ensure that women have access to legal and safe abortion services. The update of the protocol was clearly in this regard, because it was an advance for access to the service, and reinforced the importance of rapid access to comprehensive care and practice, emphasizing first level care and medication treatments.
What makes no sense is the reference to the draft reform of the Criminal Code, and consequent relevance of the Ministry of Justice and Human Rights in this matter. What the protocol regulates is a health practice. Although the right to legal termination of pregnancy comes, among other rules, from the interpretation made by the Supreme Court in the FAL ruling of Art. 86 of the Criminal Code that is in force in our country since 1921, a supposed reform of that rule It should not prevent the standards of attention on that right from being improved, which is also an acquired right. Moreover, taking into account that the draft reform of this Code is extremely regressive in its regulation of abortion.
ILE is already right
The repeal of the resolution that updated the protocol is unfortunate. The update constituted a breakthrough in the recognition of the human rights of women and pregnant people, in respect to human rights treaties, the principle of progressivity and non-regressivity, and the adaptation to the provisions of the Supreme Court of Justice of the Nation through the FAL ruling
However, the right to legal termination of pregnancy is not repealed, and is given by law: Article 86 of the Criminal Code, as interpreted by the Supreme Court in 2012.
Health teams should continue to apply the 2015 technical guide, with the explanatory note that was added in 2016. The decree only repeals the update, so the previous protocol remains in force.
It is imperative that state officials assume a serious commitment to our rights. The legal interruption of pregnancy is a fundamental human right, and political will is needed to guarantee its access in the best conditions.
Contact
Mayca Balguer, maycabalaguer@fundeps.org
Organizations of Córdoba and from different parts of the country, we request through a document, the update of the provincial law of access to public information, according to international standards and the national law passed in 2016.
“Below, we offer a google translate version of the original article in Spanish. This translation may not be accurate but serves as a general presentation of the article. For more accurate information, please switch to the Spanish version of the website. In addition, feel free to directly contact in English the person mentioned at the bottom of this article with regards to this topic”.
Córdoba has a law called “Law on Access to Knowledge to State Acts” of 1999, which does not include the minimum standards for the effective validity of the right to access public information. Within this framework, organizations we request the updating of the regulations, following the guidelines of the Inter-American Model Law and the National Law on Access to Public Information.
Among its shortcomings, the current provincial law does not establish which are the key principles by which the right of access to public information is governed, it defines in a very restrictive way “public information” and the “obliged subjects” to provide information. For example, it does not include entities that receive public funds, such as political parties or unions, or state contractors to provide a public service.
In turn, the regulations do not have an entity responsible for compliance with the law or establish what information should be proactively published by the State, thereby strengthening democracy and citizen participation.
Request public information in Córdoba
Throughout 2019, from Fundeps we presented a total of 62 requests for public information to various provincial and municipal public agencies, of which we obtained only 3 satisfactory answers. Of those 62 requests, 54 were unanswered and, of the remaining 5, we obtained “answers” of the most diverse, in some cases unclear or incomplete, and in other unusual responses such as “we will not respond”. These requests for information contemplated different themes related to other human rights, such as health, the environment, development, among others.
This makes it imperative to provide mechanisms for monitoring and compliance with the law, through an independent entity. Thus, all claims could be centralized in the event of non-compliance, establish clear guidelines for action to those who must provide information and raise awareness of issues of transparency, accountability and access to information.
We need Córdoba to enact a new law on access to public information that guarantees the effective validity of the right to access public information, key to both strengthening the democratic system, the transparency of public management and the effective enforcement of other rights.
Requesting organizations
Fundeps Argentina, CLADH – Centro Latinoamericano de Derechos Humanos, Fundación Conocimiento Abierto, Fundación Córdoba de Todos, Desarrollo Digital, Directorio Legislativo, Foro Ambiental Córdoba, Minka, Nuestra Mendoza, PARES, Poder Ciudadano, Salta Transparente, ACIJ – Asociación Civil por la Igualdad y la Justicia y Acción Colectiva.
More information
CÓRDOBA, a proposal to UPDATE THE LAW OF ACCESS TO PUBLIC INFORMATION
Contact