“from the Dark Night, to the Bright Light...” Sport and Human Rights in Argentina

The dictatorial period that Argentina went through in 1976-1983 is internationally known. Once democracy was restored, those responsible for atrocious crimes were tried and imprisoned based on the collection of data carried out by a commission created for this purpose; the “CONADEP”. In recent years, investigations into athletes who “disappeared” in the same period came to light. Many of them were born, studied or lived in the city of La Plata; converting it, along with other indicators, into the national capital of “Sports and Human Rights” of Argentina. That is why the UNESCO Chair of “Economic Systems and Human Rights” belonging to the National University of La Plata, has created a Sports and Human Rights Observatory. The purpose of this is to deepen investigations into the recent past, but fundamentally to ensure that the rights to access and practice sports of citizens as a whole and, in particular, of vulnerable sectors, are not violated in the future.

The central objective of this work is to share with other colleagues the strategies to be developed and the design of policies to be carried out to guarantee access and sports practice that dignifies the general well-being of the community. The purpose of the Observatory's actions is directed towards women, people with disabilities, aboriginal peoples and other vulnerable groups.

The theoretical referential framework of our research, and the design of policies to carry out the aforementioned actions, is based on the UN/UNESCO objectives for the subject; and works by Peter Donelly, Bruce Kidd, Richard Giulianotti and others.