Operation Condor · Accountability for Transnational Crimes in Uruguay
Horizon 2020 — Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions
- Duration
- 2016-08-01 → 2020-08-31
- EU contribution
- €212,463
- Participants
- 3
- Scheme
- MSCA-IF-GF
Lines connect the coordinator with its partners.
Results in brief
Operation Condor: Accountability for Transnational Crimes in Uruguay
"Confronting mass atrocities is essential to the consolidation of democracy and the protection of human rights. States must investigate the truth about what happened and bring to justice individuals responsible. Until now, accountability for human rights violations adopted a state-centric lens: addressing transnational crimes remains a pending issue in both scholarship and practice. The project ""Operation Condor: Accountability for Transnational Crimes in South America"" begins to fill this gap, by tackling transnational crimes in South America. In 1975, Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Paraguay, and Uruguay established a secret transnational network of intelligence and joint operations to persecute political opponents in exile. Codenamed ‘Operation Condor,’ this alliance of criminal states purposed abducted, murdered or disappeared hundreds of individuals. The project analyses the different ways in which these transnational atrocities were investigated after democracy returned in South America. The problem being addressed relates to how to achieve accountability for transnational human rights violations. The project’s main objectives are: (1) studying transnational crimes, by focusing on the victims of Operation Condor and transnational repression; and (2) probing the response of Argentina and Uruguay’s justice systems towards cross-border atrocities. This research agenda is important for society in two respects. First, theoretically, this project contributes to elucidating the extent of states’ responsibility for human rights violations committed beyond state borders. This issue has not yet received the attention it deserves. Second, practically, the research will impact upon policy-making and practice with regard to access to justice, human rights, and cross-border crimes. This is an especially pressing matter in light of contemporary manifestations of transnational crimes, such as the illegal smuggling of migrants in the Mediterranean Sea, which are some of the key challenges facing the European Union today."
Data: CORDIS, © European Union
Project objective
Confronting past atrocities is essential to consolidate democracy and human rights protection. Truth and justice initiatives investigating crimes perpetrated at the national level have long been occurring. Yet, accountability for transnational crimes is a pending issue in scholarship and practice. This project fills this gap and addresses the transnational dimension of past atrocities in South America. In 1975, the dictatorships of Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Paraguay, and Uruguay established a secret transnational network of intelligence and counterinsurgency operations to persecute political opponents in exile called Operation Condor, kidnapping and murdering hundreds of people. The project aims to study transnational crimes, by focusing on Operation Condor’s Uruguayan victims, and probe the response of Uruguay’s national justice system to transnational atrocities. Uruguay was selected to analyse Operation Condor: one Uruguayan was kidnapped in each Condor country; thus, investigating its Uruguayan victims permits to also study the entire network and its modus operandi. The project creatively adopts a regional focus and uses data from recently opened archives. The broader question behind the research agenda is: how can we respond to atrocities that transcend state borders? Studying accountability for Operation Condor crimes will offer lessons of potential application to past and present forms of transnational crimes, such as the smuggling of migrants across the Mediterranean Sea. The outputs include three articles, a book, a policy brief, op-eds, a workshop for legal professionals, seminar and conference presentations, and training sessions for PhD students and early career researchers. The Fellowship will directly benefit Dr Lessa’s career prospects, equipping her with new skills, knowledge, and specialised training in archival research and analysis of case files, placing her at the forefront of her field as an established interdisciplinary researcher.
Original text from CORDIS.
Participants
- THE CHANCELLOR, MASTERS AND SCHOLARS OF THE UNIVERSITY OF OXFORD · OxfordCoordinatorUnited Kingdom
- UNIVERSIDAD DE BUENOS AIRES · Buenos AiresArgentina
- UNIVERSIDAD DE LA REPUBLICA · MontevideoUruguay
Links
Data: CORDIS, © European Union