Behind the Disappearances: Argentina's Dirty War Against Human Rights and the United Nations (Pennsylvania Studies in Human Rights)

Behind the Disappearances: Argentina's Dirty War Against Human Rights and the United Nations (Pennsylvania Studies in Human Rights) by Guest, Iain. Paperback edition. ISBN: 9780812213133.

Drawing on confidential Argentinian documents and memoranda, Behind the Disappearances documents a seven-year diplomatic war by one of the twentieth centurys most brutal regimes. It relates how, starting in 1976, Argentinas military government tried to cripple the UNs human rights machinery in an effort to prevent international condemnation of its policy of disappearances. Initially this attempt succeeded, but in 1980—with encouragement from the Carter administration—UN officials regained the initiative and created a special working group on disappearances that rejuvenated the UNs efforts. This progress was abruptly halted in 1981 when the Reagan administration sided with the Argentinian regime. The result, claims the author, not only undercut the UNs actions against disappearances but also weakened its chances of playing a positive role in aiding Latin Americas transition from dictatorship to democracy.