Concept in Definition ABC

After a seven-year period of dictatorship military in Argentina, in 1983 a investigation to find out the truth about what had happened in relation to all the crimes committed during this stage and, in a very special way, with the thousands of disappeared. This investigation was promoted by President Raúl Alfonsín and received the name of CONADEP, whose acronym stands for Commission National on the Disappearance of Persons.

The content of the report Definitive is also popularly known with two terms: "Never again" and "Informe Sabato" (the Argentine writer Ernesto Sabato was the one who chaired the different work commissions of the CONADEP).

Main elements of the investigation

The military repression that took place from 1976 to 1983 produced consequences in all spheres of society and for this reason CONADEP investigated different sections. Some of them are the following: the location of the detention centers, the torture systems used, the issue of anti-Semitism, the

launch of detainees to the sea, the identification of mass graves and the record of missing.

Conclusions of the National Commission on the Disappearance of Persons

In September 1984, Ernesto Sabato delivered the CONADEP report to President Raúl Alfonsín. The findings of the document were not intended to replace the work of the courts of Justice, since the purpose of it was to relate in detail everything that happened between 1976 and 1983 in relation to the military repression. The report highlighted that the number of missing persons counted was close to nine thousand.

With regard to the detention centers, they were found throughout the territory national and it is estimated that the approximate number was 340 centers. In relation to torture there were specialized premises known in military jargon as "operating rooms". On the other hand, in the document the names and surnames of the reprisals and disappeared and various testimonies were specified in detail about the daily life of the prisoners.

One of the episodes investigated by CONADEP was the theft of babies

The military authorities kidnapped pregnant women who were taken to clandestine centers, where after the childbirth their newborn children are taken from them to be given up for adoption to couples with some connection to the military.

All the information collected has allowed Argentine society to learn the truth about a sinister stage in its recent history.

Photo: Fotolia - dwd

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