Genetics and Human Rights in Contemporary Argentina

This paper aims to analyze the socio-historical relationships between genetics and human rights in recent Argentine history, focusing on health policies, justice, and identity from the 1980s to the present. Our research examines the inter-institutional network, the main trajectories of actors involved in promoting, designing, implementing, and managing these policies, and the procedural practices employed in various cases over time. Additionally, the paper seeks to unravel the beliefs and meanings that accompany or challenge these processes and the hybridization between these fields.

To achieve this, we conduct a comparative analysis of cases in three areas of genetics: human rights, public health, and identity. Specifically, we analyze:

1. The National Genetic Data Bank
2. The Argentine Forensic Anthropology Team (EAAF)
3. The National Center for Medical Genetics (CENAGEM), the National Network of Medical Genetics and Congenital Anomalies, and hospital-based genetics services
4. The National Genetic Data Registry for Sexual Offenses, established by Law 26.879 on July 3, 2013, and its provincial predecessors, including genetic data banks within judicial systems and provincial forensic genetics laboratories.

Through this comprehensive, multi-layered investigation, the paper aims to shed light on the evolving intersection of genetics, human rights, and identity in Argentina.