WHO WE ARE

Our mission

CADAL (Center for the Opening and Development of Latin America) a private, non-partisan foundation based in Buenos Aires, Argentina whose core mission is to promote Human Rights and international democratic solidarity.

Our mission is likewise guided by the Universal Declaration of Human Rights as by the principles enshrined in the Universal Declaration of Democracy. Thus, we consider democracy as the best form of government to guarantee people’s dignity and fundamental rights, create a climate conducive to international peace, and assert that democracies should uphold democratic principles in international relations and express solidarity with other democracies and victims of human rights violations in non-democratic regimes.

Our story

CADAL’s core mission has drawn inspiration from the solidarity shown from human rights activists, politically persecuted people, families of the detained and disappeared, and independent journalists during the military dictatorship in Argentina (1976-1983). Having received these expressions of international democratic solidarity, we consider it our moral obligation to be the voice of those who currently live in authoritarian rule.

Members

CADAL's members work in different fields, such as academia, journalism, consulting and human rights activism. Among our staff and the invaluable support of our network of academic advisors and consultants, a plural space where members share the unrestricted defense of democratic institutions and the universality of human rights is formed. Given its stateless nature, CADAL has adopted a set of principles of political independence for its members.

Alliances and networks

As part of its work to promote human rights, CADAL is part of several coalitions, forums and organizations, a founding member of the Coalition for Freedom of Association and an active member of the International Tibet Network.

Recognitions

In October 2022, the DECyT Research Project “The impact of International Human Rights Law in Foreign Policy” of the School of Law of the University of Buenos Aires recognized CADAL's work for its historic, coherent and courageous defense of human rights in the area of foreign policy.

In October 2024, the General Director and founding member of CADAL, Gabriel C. Salvia, received the Gratias Agit Award granted by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Czech Republic, mainly for his involvement in the activities of the Václav Havel Institute.

Funding

CADAL is financed with contributions from international cooperation, public and private foundations through the signing of agreements, individuals and companies for its general sustainability or specific projects and initiatives. For more information, click here.

CADAL FOUNDATION INC

In order to provide global projection to the work started in 2003 by CADAL Argentina, in 2020 CADAL Foundation was established in the United States.

WHAT WE DO

CADAL brings together analysis, political advocacy, outreach and training activities. Through the projects International Relations and Human Rights Observatory and Democratic Governance Watch, it alerts about cases where freedom of association, expression, reunion and political participation in  repressed countries, and about democracies whose institutionality and civil and political liberties are threatened, and the rule of law is eroded. It also analyses political, economic, and social realization in democracies, respectively.

At the same time, the project of the Václav Havel Institute integrates educational and cultural activities, while spreading the first Czech Republic's president’s legacy, the memory of dictatorships, and the global defense of democracy and human rights.

Featured initiatives

Since 2011, CADAL has organized the Annual Conference on Remembrance, Human Rights and International Democratic Solidarity. It takes place every August 23rd, Day of Remembrance for the Victims of Totalitarianism.

During the conference, which first took place in 2023, the Graciela Fernandez Mejide Award for the Defense of Human Rights is presented. 

CADAL is an active voice in the public debate on human rights, in international relations and democratic institutionality.

Through volunteering and international internship programmes, CADAL provides the opportunity to gain experience in human rights and democracy quality analysis for college students, as well as in the logistics of organizing events, communication and institutional relations. 

To get to know more about CADAL’s work, you can access our projects and their respective initiatives.