Political prisoners in Argentina who have obtained a visa to go into exile
Recommendation 908
(1980)
- Author(s):
- Parliamentary Assembly
- Origin
- See Doc. 4644, report of the Committee on Migration, Refugees and Demography. Text adopted by the Standing Committee, acting on behalf of the Assembly, on 25 November 1980.
- Thesaurus
The Assembly,
2. Emphasising its attachment to parliamentary democracy and human rights ;
3. Greatly disturbed by the continuing violations of human rights in Argentina, as in certain other Latin American countries ;
4. Noting that, since 6 November 1974, the Argentinian Government has maintained a state of martial law under which habeas corpus is suspended, and which allows persons to be imprisoned in the absence of any formal charge or incriminating evidence, to be placed at the disposal of the National Executive Power (PEN) and to be detained arbitrarily for unlimited periods, unless the detainee requests exile by virtue of the "right of option to leave the country", recognised by Article 23 of the Constitution ;
5. Noting that politically motivated arrests are continuing in Argentina ;
6. Noting that on 1 September 1977 an order of the military junta established new provisions restricting the right to choose exile, thereby preventing the prisoners detained in the absence of any formal charge or incriminating evidence, or kept in prison after serving their sentences, from travelling to the countries which have granted them visas ;
7. Considering that at least eighty of these prisoners, mentioned in the list appended to the report of its Committee on Migration, Refugees and Demography,
Doc. 4644, find themselves in the situation described above ;
8. Noting that a large number of those visas have been granted by Council of Europe member states,
9. Recommends that the Committee of Ministers :
9.1 invite the governments of all the member states to facilitate the admission and settlement of Argentinian political prisoners and refugees on their territory ;
9.2 invite the governments of the member states, in particular those which have granted visas to the Argentinian political prisoners named in the list appended to the report,
Doc. 4644, to bring pressure to bear, using all appropriate political, diplomatic or economic means at their disposal, on the Argentinian authorities to allow these detainees to leave the country as soon as possible.
