Human Rights Brief
Fall 1995
ALUMNUS PROFILE
Alumnus Works to Change Argentina's Human Rights Policy
by Alexandra Wisotsky
Martín Abregu, a 1994 graduate of the WCL LL.M. program, is now Executive Legal Director of the Centro de Estudios Legales y Sociales (CELS) in Buenos Aries, Argentina. CELS is the only organization in Argentina working to develop and change Argentina's institutional policy on human rights. "Although the dictatorship in Argentina ended years ago," said Abregu, "we are still trying to move the country's policy toward a new democratic methodology." CELS publishes an annual report on the state of human rights in Argentina, covering such issues as legal protection, discrimination, and inquiries into the disappearances that occurred during the dictatorship. CELS is also working to improve relations with the Argentine government to change the country's human rights policies. For example, CELS recently held a conference in conjunction with the Association for the Prevention of Torture, a Swiss NGO, at which members of the current administration discussed proposed improvements in prison conditions.
Before coming to WCL, Abregu worked as an attorney for CELS. While at WCL, he assisted Professor Claudio Grossman, now Dean of the law school, in his work as member of the Inter-- American Commission on Human Rights. Abregu found this experience invaluable in learning how the Commission functions. He is now applying the knowledge he gained to bring cases before the Commission. It also makes the international law course he teaches at the University of Buenos Aires more interesting for his students, who value the opportunity to learn from his experience.
Abregu was also one of the founding editors of The Human Rights Brief. Although The Brief s readership has expanded, Abregu and his colleagues initially focused on "what former LL.M.s could gain by reading the articles back in their own countries." Through his work on The Brief and his studies at WCL, Abregu acquired knowledge and contacts, which he applies in his everyday work with CELS.
The proper citation for this article in the Human Rights Brief Volume 3, Number 1, beginning at page 22 is: 3 No. 1 Hum. Rts. Brief 22 (1995).
