Together with the community of Marcos Juárez we presented an environmental protection in the Córdoba Justice Department. We request that the current ordinance on agrochemicals be modified with the objective of expanding the protection zone, compliance with controls and the functioning of the Advisory Commission on the Environment be made effective.
“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 application of agrochemicals in Argentina continues to be one of the main environmental problems and leads to serious contamination of water, soil, air and consequent damage to biodiversity and people’s health.
There are thousands of scientific studies around the world that prove the toxicity of these products and their link with the development of chronic diseases that affect adults and mainly children. Among them are: abnormal neurological development, cancer, increased incidence of non-hodking lymphoma, a condition in the human placenta with a probable impact on the development of abortions.
The problem of agrochemicals is no longer limited only to rural communities who see their homes, hospitals and schools fumigated daily, but affects millions of people in our country. As an example, the organization Democracia en Red, within the framework of the Pesticides Introduced Silently (PIS) project, analyzed 200 urine samples in the towns of Lobos, Saladillo, Barrio Nicole (La Matanza), Mar Chiquita and the City of Buenos Aires. Aires. The results showed that in all districts there were positive cases for glyphosate.
At Fundeps we have been addressing this problem for some time, developing and implementing different strategies to achieve adequate public policies to guarantee socio-environmental sustainability. In that sense, in 2019 we published our Agrochemical Emergency website where we systematized the immensity of socio-environmental conflicts that occur in our province from the use/misuse of agrochemicals, we also provide tools so that communities can claim for their rights. Simultaneously, we develop models of ordinances that propose restrictions on the use of these products and the creation of protection zones, seeking to promote local advances to improve the quality of community life.
Following this path, in the month of May we presented a first environmental protection for contamination with agrochemicals in Colonia Tirolesa, a process where even and despite the scientific evidence about the various health problems that the community continually suffers, no solution has been found.
Marcos Juárez: what happens with pesticides?
Marcos Juárez is a town located in the southeast of the province of Córdoba, an area known for its economic growth linked to agricultural exploitation and agroindustry, which uses large quantities of chemical products such as fungicides, herbicides, insecticides and despite the fact that Marcos Juárez has With ordinance 2446, which regulates the use and application of chemical and biological products for agricultural use and which the Municipality adheres to Provincial Law 9140, a large part of the population is exposed to these products on a daily basis.
The Marcos Juárez Ordinance arose from a process of collective struggle in 2010, when members of the community organized against the excessive fumigation with agrochemicals due to the social and health consequences caused by this form of production and that was intensifying over time. This ordinance represented a true historical milestone for Córdoba, since it establishes environmental protection zones for the application of agrochemicals. However, over the years the community began to observe that this regulation is insufficient. Added to this is the fact that the Municipality is unable to enforce compliance with this regulation (there are dozens of complaints for violations).
In this context, in 2015 the Genetics and Environmental Mutation Group belonging to the Department of Natural Sciences of the University of Río Cuarto, headed by Dr. Delia Aiassa, evaluated the level of damage to the genetic material in children exposed to pesticides. in the town. The study shows that of the total number of exposed children, 20 (40%) presented persistent symptoms of various kinds. On the other hand, he maintains: “In the case of a relatively small city, this result shows that the sprays could reach (by air) the entire town and that the vulnerable population of children is subjected to extremely high and continuous exposure, givenwho lives surrounded by crops. Taking into account that there are no differences between the groups of children under study in terms of spray distances up to a maximum of 1095 m, this information should be taken into account when establishing environmental safeguards in localities that are surrounded by crops where spraying is carried out”.
From there, and considering that the ordinance establishes distances that are well below what is recommended, for example in some high risk areas (art. 4) the exclusion zone of 150 meters (when in other locations it is 1500 meters), the community organizes itself again and begins a long journey of demands to safeguard their lives and those of their children.
In this framework, at Fundeps we began to support this legitimate claim and after a long journey we decided to go to court in search of solutions.
The Environmental Protection Action
For these reasons, by virtue of the precautionary, preventive and intergenerational equity principle, on November 27 we presented an environmental collective action before the Córdoba justice system requesting, among other things:
- The creation of an environmental protection zone no less than 1,095 meters away from the external limit of populated areas, where terrestrial fumigation is prohibited.
- And an environmental protection zone of no less than 3000 meters where fumigation of areas with any type of chemical or biological product for agricultural use is prohibited.
The purpose of this action is to safeguard and protect the rights of those who live in the town. We hope that justice, making use of the powers granted by environmental legislation, will quickly order the Municipality of Marcos Juárez to adopt concrete and urgent measures. This is essential to safeguard the community’s rights to life, health and a healthy environment.
Authors:
Katen Moldes and María Laura Carrizo
Contact:
María Laura Carrizo, lauracarrizo@fundeps.org
1st Congress of Food Policies in Argentina: Implementation of the Front Labeling Law
This report summarizes the main contents and challenges addressed in the first congress dedicated to the implementation of the Healthy Eating Promotion Law. Through thematic tables and debates, strategies were explored to improve the application of these regulations throughout the country. Includes testimonies and practical tools to strengthen the right to healthy eating in Argentina.
Democracy is cared for inside and outside Congress
“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 police operation deployed in front of Congress, while it was in session, was violent and excessive, outside the current regulations for action in response to demonstrations. It was organized by the Ministry of National Security, with an excessive deployment of different forces that caused injuries from rubber bullets, irritating gases with an unprecedented capacity for damage, and blows from tonfas. In a historical regression, there were police with firearms, something that had been avoided in all governments more than 20 years ago. The police intimidated older people, left around thirty journalists with injuries of varying severity, and attacked human rights defenders and protesters from different political sectors. Threatening freedom of expression and demonstration, it advanced in the streets, on the sidewalks and in the plaza.
Within Congress, the regulations are violated: days of debate pass on an opinion that is not known, which is being written outside the committees as the sessions progress. These irregularities, in the face of society, deteriorate the institutions. Furthermore, as expressed in the bill, the delegated powers requested by the Executive Branch could impact legislative paralysis and expanded margins of arbitrariness given the vague, general and elusive way in which they are expressed.
The democratic conditions of debate and coexistence are today deeply tense and rarefied. While legislators debate the destiny of the country and its economic and natural resources in record time, the highest officials publish messages that celebrate and encourage police violence and violence by particular groups.
Signing:
Andhes (Abogados y Abogadas del Noroeste Argentino en Derechos Humanos y Estudios Sociales)
Asociación Ecuménica de Cuyo (FEC)
ELA (Equipo argentino de justicia y género)
Fundeps (Fundación para el Desarrollo de Políticas Sustentables)
CELS (Centro de Estudios Legales y Sociales)
Fundación Protestante Hora de Obrar
Asociación para la promoción y protección de los Derechos Humanos Xumek
Fundación SES
Fundación Ambiente y Recursos Naturales (FARN)
CAREF – Comisión Argentina para personas Refugiadas y Migrantes
Consciente Colectivo
Red Argentina de Abogacía Comunitaria (RAAC)
Campaña Argentina por el Derecho a la Educación (CADE)
Tobacco Control Framework Convention – Infographic 2
LET’S NOT STAY OUT.
Argentina is the only Mercosur country that has not ratified the Framework Convention for Tobacco Control, despite having one of the highest addiction prevalence rates in the region. This infographic explains what tools this treaty would provide us in the fight against smoking and why its ratification is urgent.
Tobacco Control Framework Convention – Infographic 1
THE CIGARETTE LEAVES US WITHOUT VOICE OR VOTE.
Argentina does not participate in global decision-making spaces on tobacco control, despite having one of the highest addiction prevalence rates. This infographic brings together data that supports the importance of advancing the ratification of the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control of the World Health Organization (WHO).
Introducing our new Executive Director
“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”.
Mayca Balaguer is a lawyer with a solid academic background, standing out as having a Diploma in Gender Studies, women’s movement and politics in Latin America, as well as a Master’s Degree in Procedural Law. Her commitment and dedication made her a great companion and reference on issues related to access to sexual and (non) reproductive rights in the province of Córdoba.
Since her start at Fundeps in 2015 and over the years, she has coordinated both the area of Gender and Sexual Diversity and Legal Affairs, contributing to the development and strengthening of each one.
We are convinced that Mayca will continue to contribute all its experience in coordinating the activities of the foundation and a team of people who work towards a more just, equitable, sustainable and democratic society.
In turn, with deep gratitude, we say goodbye to Carolina Tamagnini, who has accompanied us since 2014 at Fundeps with different leadership roles. Their commitment, work capacity and strategic vision allowed us not only to strengthen Fundeps internally, but also to enhance our research actions, political advocacy, training and networking. As a professional, we know that in his next projects he will continue to inspire with his dedication and leave his mark on every challenge he faces.
Every change marks the beginning of new opportunities. Starting a year full of new challenges and projects in a challenging context, we wish you both the best. May this new chapter be a journey of learning, collective work and success, and may each effort contribute to the defense of human rights.
Thank you Caro and congratulations May for this new rol.
Omnibus Law: we ask Congress to honor deliberation and citizen participation
On December 22, 2023, the Executive Power of the Nation summoned the Congress to extraordinary sessions in order to submit for its consideration the bill entitled “Bases and Starting Points for the Freedom of the Argentines”.
The initiative contains more than 600 articles covering a wide range of topics: health, education, employment, social security, children and family, culture, environment, tourism, justice, security and defense, electoral system, fiscal policy, debt, economic deregulation and administrative reorganization, among others. This project proposes amendments to Codes and laws that were debated for years, that were enacted after having listened to a wide range of actors and that recognized historical struggles of various groups, and includes changes that will have direct and far-reaching consequences on people’s lives.
It is evident that understanding, studying and establishing a position regarding such a number and type of reforms requires a deliberative process of analysis, substantiation, argumentation and discussion. It is not possible to ensure an informed and robust parliamentary debate or to analyze in depth the impacts that each of the regulatory modifications would have in the timeframe proposed by the Executive Branch. The quality of public debate makes the quality of our democracy.
It is also impossible to guarantee, in a few weeks, a process of real citizen participation, allowing to listen to all the actors with expertise and experience in the matters included in the project and to those sectors that could be most affected by it. Although during the last week some entities were able to present their views to the deputies, each one had only 5 minutes to do so, and -as the call was limited to 3 days- many were left out of the debate. In addition, there were no opportunities for members of the legislative body to ask questions or request additional information, nor were there reasonable time limits for them to fully analyze the contributions received.
On the other hand, it should not be overlooked that some of the reforms included in the bill violate human rights recognized in treaties with constitutional hierarchy in our country and do not comply with the standards of specialized Committees. If these normative changes are approved, an even more critical social situation could arise, the judicial conflict in different jurisdictions would increase and the responsibility of the State before international organizations would be compromised, which reinforces the need to approach the discussion seriously.
In view of the above, the undersigned civil society organizations request the Congress of the Nation to continue in ordinary sessions the treatment of the bill “Bases and Points of Departure for the Freedom of the Argentines” so that our representatives can discuss it in time according to its complexity, and to expand the instances of participation, ensuring that public hearings are convened to allow citizens in general and the sectors affected by the reforms in particular, to express their views on them. Although the extraordinary sessions have been extended until February 15, such term is still ostensibly insufficient to discuss such a large number of regulatory changes.
Signing organizations:
We claim the right to protest and demand: enough repression
“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 city of Córdoba, the call took place in the Patio Olmos, where hundreds of people gathered around 9 p.m. and blocked the road on Vélez Sarsfield Avenue in a peaceful demonstration. Around 10 p.m., the Córdoba Police confronted the gathered people and fired pepper spray and rubber bullets to clear the protest, taking 5 protesters into custody.
As a human rights organization, we maintain that the right to petition authorities, freedom of expression and the right to protest play a key role in developing and strengthening democratic systems. They are protected by our Constitution and by various international instruments.
Social protest must be managed democratically and not criminalized or repressed. Public powers must respect international standards related to social protest and the obligations that must guide the state response.
For this reason, we demand that local authorities take the necessary measures to adequately address social conflict, in compliance with constitutional guarantees and human rights. We also demand the immediate release of those detained.
The people have the right to express themselves and take to the streets to fight. Enough repressing. Enough chasing.
Representatives of civil society meet with president of the IDB
“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”.
25 civil society organizations from Latin America that are part of the IDB Working Group, among them Fundeps, met on Friday, November 10, with the president of the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) Ilan Goldfajn, with the purpose of strengthening dialogue and identify opportunities to bring the institution closer to the populations of the region it tries to serve.
The representatives of civil society presented to President Goldfajn recommendations to strengthen the link with civil society and communities impacted by IDB projects and recommendations to consider in the IDB’s 2023-2030 Institutional Strategy, which is in the process of being prepared. President Goldfajn then opened the floor to listen to specific topics of interest from different member organizations of the group.
The IDB Working Group described the meeting as a positive sign from the bank’s new administration, in the sense of an openness and willingness to strengthen dialogue with civil society. The meeting with President Goldfajn follows a previous meeting that took place during the 2023 IDB Annual Meeting held in March in Panama, and a meeting with the IDB Country Vice President, Anabel González, during the Common Finance Summit that took place in last September in Cartagena de Indias, Colombia.
“These spaces for dialogue represent a sign of the bank’s rapprochement with civil society”, said Carolina Juaneda, from the Bank Information Center, coordinator of the Working Group on the IDB. According to Ivahanna Larrosa, regional coordinator of the Coalition for Human Rights in Development, “the general perception is that it was a good meeting to present our messages and move forward in improving the bank’s dialogue with civil society.”
Civil society representatives pointed out that the IDB Group’s 2023-2030 Institutional Strategy must promote a fair, community-based energy transition that puts people and the environment at the center. Other recommendations of the Working Group were that the bank: comply with the highest environmental and social standards and respect for human rights in its activities and the projects it finances, prioritizing and strengthening the implementation of the Environmental and Social Policy Framework (MPAS), and improving upstream planning to identify suitable projects; prioritizing quality investments, redoubling the principles of good governance, especially transparency, access to information, participation and accountability; strengthen your commitment to the impacted communities, guaranteeing comprehensive reparation to people; ensure a responsible exit from unsustainable projects and operationalize the commitment not to tolerate retaliation.
Civil society organizations seek substantive participation in the IDB Group Annual Meetings that will be held in March 2024 in the Dominican Republic. The opening of President Goldfajn and his team to work towards greater interaction of organizations and communities in the region, with the Bank’s administration and teams, is celebrated.
About the IDB Working Group
The IDB Working Group is a group of more than 60 civil society organizations, both from the region and internationally, that influence the IDB Group, promoting the highest environmental, social and human rights standards. supporting communities adversely impacted by projects financed by the bank. Some of its members have been working for three decades to strengthen the IDB’s processes of participation, transparency, access to information and respect for human rights.
More Information
Contact
Gonzalo Roza, gon.roza@fundeps.org
Two OTP opinions and the Supreme Court’s responsibility to act according to law
During the last week, Laura M. Monti, Deputy Attorney General of the Attorney General’s Office, signed two opinions in the same vein. In them, she recognises the legal standing of a group of citizens and a civil association to represent the so-called ‘unborn persons’ before the judiciary. This is an interpretation that is not supported by jurisprudence: no court has ever recognised in a final judgement the possibility of collective representation of ‘unborn persons’.
Monti issued these rulings in two cases: one led by Cristina Fiore Viñuales and the other by the organisation Portal de Belén, both initiated to question the constitutionality of the Law on the Voluntary Interruption of Pregnancy. In both cases, although it claims to follow the law, it departs from the jurisprudence of the Supreme Court of Justice of the Nation on collective representation. Also in both cases, the petitioners seek to turn what is in fact a general disagreement with the law into a ‘case’ (to be discussed in the courts).
Monti relied on art. 1 of Law 26.061 on the Integral Protection of Children to sustain standing. In this way, he distorted the meaning of the law and devised a sort of ‘popular action’ that would allow any citizen to bring an action outside of a specific case. Not only that, but it also equated ‘unborn persons’ with children and adolescents.
At the same time, in its rulings it decided not to take into account the requirements of article 116 of the National Constitution, the National Code of Civil and Commercial Procedure and the Court’s decisions and jurisprudence on collective proceedings, creating a situation of legal uncertainty. To name a precedent: in the Halabi case, cited by the Attorney General herself, it is established that the existence of a case must be proven in order to grant collective standing. In neither case, neither Fiore Viñuales nor Portal de Belén, is there a ‘case’; in other words, Monti should have denied standing outright.
Why this step by the public prosecutor is serious: because it allows a group of citizens to challenge a law voted for by all political forces through a lawsuit without proving that there is a right or concrete damage affected and, in the same action, to attribute to it a collective representation that does not exist in the Argentine legal system. The democratic debate has already taken place in Congress and has drawn a line for a basic social agreement on the right to health and life, through the decriminalisation and legalisation of abortion.
The files had been awaiting an opinion for a year and a half, but they were issued two days after Dr. Rodolfo Barra was appointed National Treasury Attorney, even though he was still acting as a legal advisor in the ‘Fiore Viñuales’ case.
Dr. Barra, in his capacity as newly appointed Treasury Attorney, has a conflict of interest, according to the public ethics law, which makes him incompatible with the defence of Law 27.610. Therefore, he should be excused from intervening in the cases against the Law on the Voluntary Interruption of Pregnancy and in all matters related to the right to abortion. In this regard, we filed a complaint with the National Treasury Attorney’s Office and informed the Anti-Corruption Office, as it is the authority responsible for applying the public ethics law.
Since 2021, of the total number of legal actions brought against the law, 34 have been rejected by courts in different jurisdictions across the country. Only 3 reached the Court, but not to decide on their constitutionality, but to determine whether those who brought these actions have standing to do so and to represent the collective of ‘unborn persons’.
The opinions of the Attorney General’s Office are not binding for the Court, which can define the applicable legal criteria without taking into account these recommendations. Therefore, the Court now has the responsibility to reposition class actions for the purposes for which they were created, to prevent them from being conceptually forced and to avoid violating due process guarantees. This is their chance to stop the unfounded litigation against an existing and key law for millions of women, girls and persons capable of bearing children.
Care as an autonomous human right: contributions for its interpretation
“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 January, the Argentine State asked the Inter-American Court of Human Rights (IAC Court) to issue a ruling regarding “The content and scope of the right to care and its interrelation with other rights.” What motivated this request, according to the different ministries involved, was the opportunity to address gender inequalities by building more fair and equitable standards in terms of care.
Based on this request, the Inter-American Court will issue an Advisory Opinion, previously allowing the involvement of other actors in the interpretative process of this right. At Fundeps we have taken part, along with other spaces, in the construction of a judicial tool called amicus curiae, which enables voluntary participation through a technical-legal opinion. Likewise, we have adhered to the documents prepared by the CLACAI Legal Network and the Red DESC.
This collective work process brought together activists, professors from Latin American and European universities, people from academia and experts from different committees, feminist and human rights organizations. The document presented seeks to provide elements to the court regarding care as a human right: to care, to be cared for, and to self-care.
The document reconstructs the conception of care as a need that transcends interpersonal relationships, in order to consider it “as an inherent process linked to the sustainability of life and well-being.” From this position, the amicus maintains the right to care as an autonomous right that, at the same time, maintains interdependencies with other rights. Thus, considerations were offered regarding its connection with the right to health, sexual and (non) reproductive health, sexual diversity, social security, a healthy environment, the territories and the city. Furthermore, the amicus explained the importance of having systems of indicators – quantitative and qualitative – of human rights, which allow States to produce complete and systematized information, for monitoring compliance with the right to care.
Regarding the enforceability of the State’s obligations, it was stated that the respect, protection and fulfillment of women’s right to non-discrimination and the enjoyment of equality is an obligation derived from this autonomous right. However, it was expressed that it becomes necessary to take into account, from an intersectional perspective, those obligations derived from the right to care in sectors most exposed to vulnerability: people with disabilities and mental health problems, migrants and indigenous peoples.
As a point to highlight, our presentation also raised the importance of community care work, establishing that it takes particular forms in soup kitchens and soup kitchens, picnic areas, kindergartens, medical rooms, among others, to face economic crises. In this sense, the organization mainly of women and dissidents in territories where social inequalities are evident, this type of care allows social reproduction and the sustainability of life.
In conclusion, we maintained that the right to care is an autonomous right that must be guaranteed by States under conditions of universality, equality and non-discrimination. This means the revaluation of care as an independent right that requires both enforceability towards the State, as well as co-responsibility and distribution, involving both society as a whole and the market.
See Amicus Curiae
See Amicus Curiae – Red DESC
See Amicus Curiae – CLACAI
Author
Carola Bertona
Contacto
Cecilia Bustos Moreschi, cecilia.bustos.moreschi@fundeps.org.
Marcos Juárez: we present a protection for the use of pesticides in populated areas
“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 application of agrochemicals in Argentina continues to be one of the main environmental problems and leads to serious contamination of water, soil, air and consequent damage to biodiversity and people’s health.
There are thousands of scientific studies around the world that prove the toxicity of these products and their link with the development of chronic diseases that affect adults and mainly children. Among them are: abnormal neurological development, cancer, increased incidence of non-hodking lymphoma, a condition in the human placenta with a probable impact on the development of abortions.
The problem of agrochemicals is no longer limited only to rural communities who see their homes, hospitals and schools fumigated daily, but affects millions of people in our country. As an example, the organization Democracia en Red, within the framework of the Pesticides Introduced Silently (PIS) project, analyzed 200 urine samples in the towns of Lobos, Saladillo, Barrio Nicole (La Matanza), Mar Chiquita and the City of Buenos Aires. Aires. The results showed that in all districts there were positive cases for glyphosate.
At Fundeps we have been addressing this problem for some time, developing and implementing different strategies to achieve adequate public policies to guarantee socio-environmental sustainability. In that sense, in 2019 we published our Agrochemical Emergency website where we systematized the immensity of socio-environmental conflicts that occur in our province from the use/misuse of agrochemicals, we also provide tools so that communities can claim for their rights. Simultaneously, we develop models of ordinances that propose restrictions on the use of these products and the creation of protection zones, seeking to promote local advances to improve the quality of community life.
Following this path, in the month of May we presented a first environmental protection for contamination with agrochemicals in Colonia Tirolesa, a process where even and despite the scientific evidence about the various health problems that the community continually suffers, no solution has been found.
Marcos Juárez: what happens with pesticides?
Marcos Juárez is a town located in the southeast of the province of Córdoba, an area known for its economic growth linked to agricultural exploitation and agroindustry, which uses large quantities of chemical products such as fungicides, herbicides, insecticides and despite the fact that Marcos Juárez has With ordinance 2446, which regulates the use and application of chemical and biological products for agricultural use and which the Municipality adheres to Provincial Law 9140, a large part of the population is exposed to these products on a daily basis.
The Marcos Juárez Ordinance arose from a process of collective struggle in 2010, when members of the community organized against the excessive fumigation with agrochemicals due to the social and health consequences caused by this form of production and that was intensifying over time. This ordinance represented a true historical milestone for Córdoba, since it establishes environmental protection zones for the application of agrochemicals. However, over the years the community began to observe that this regulation is insufficient. Added to this is the fact that the Municipality is unable to enforce compliance with this regulation (there are dozens of complaints for violations).
In this context, in 2015 the Genetics and Environmental Mutation Group belonging to the Department of Natural Sciences of the University of Río Cuarto, headed by Dr. Delia Aiassa, evaluated the level of damage to the genetic material in children exposed to pesticides. in the town. The study shows that of the total number of exposed children, 20 (40%) presented persistent symptoms of various kinds. On the other hand, he maintains: “In the case of a relatively small city, this result shows that the sprays could reach (by air) the entire town and that the vulnerable population of children is subjected to extremely high and continuous exposure, givenwho lives surrounded by crops. Taking into account that there are no differences between the groups of children under study in terms of spray distances up to a maximum of 1095 m, this information should be taken into account when establishing environmental safeguards in localities that are surrounded by crops where spraying is carried out”.
From there, and considering that the ordinance establishes distances that are well below what is recommended, for example in some high risk areas (art. 4) the exclusion zone of 150 meters (when in other locations it is 1500 meters), the community organizes itself again and begins a long journey of demands to safeguard their lives and those of their children.
In this framework, at Fundeps we began to support this legitimate claim and after a long journey we decided to go to court in search of solutions.
The Environmental Protection Action
For these reasons, by virtue of the precautionary, preventive and intergenerational equity principle, on November 27 we presented an environmental collective action before the Córdoba justice system requesting, among other things:
The purpose of this action is to safeguard and protect the rights of those who live in the town. We hope that justice, making use of the powers granted by environmental legislation, will quickly order the Municipality of Marcos Juárez to adopt concrete and urgent measures. This is essential to safeguard the community’s rights to life, health and a healthy environment.
Authors:
Katen Moldes and María Laura Carrizo
Contact:
María Laura Carrizo, lauracarrizo@fundeps.org
Diploma in Feminist Strategic Litigation launched
The proposal is aimed at legal professionals who wish to be trained in feminist strategic litigation strategies on sexual and reproductive rights in order to develop as leaders in their communities and environments. The Center for Legal and Social Studies (CELS) and the MxM Foundation support the initiative.
The Diploma will be free of charge and will be developed virtually between March and October 2024 through synchronous meetings and will culminate with a practical and face-to-face litigation experience in the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires, for which scholarships will be granted.
In addition, those students who have obtained a certificate of approval will be able to apply for a legal internship in the organizations coordinating the Diploma, so that they can apply the knowledge, skills and tools they have acquired.
Registration in this form
Brochure – information about the schedule, modules and teachers.
For more information: diplomaturalitigiofeminista@gmail.com