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This year, the conference was held at the German Club, in Buenos Aires, and included the following panel discussions: “The Iranian influence in Latin America”, “Mental scars: Freedom and responsibility in the biographies of politically traumatized citizens of the GDR”, “30 years after the constitutional reform in Argentina: The importance of incorporating the main international human rights instruments” and “It's happening again: Crimes against Humanity in Latin America and the Caribbean”. Moreover, the event featured the book launch of “The country of Vinylon: My journey to North Korea” and the award ceremony of the 2024 Graciela Fernández Meijide Prize for the Defense of Human Rights.
The Conference’s opening was in charge of Gabriel Salvia, General Director of CADAL; Susanne Käss, Representative of the Konrad Adenauer Foundation in Argentina; and Sybil Rhodes, President of CADAL.
The first discussion panel, which analyzed Iran's influence in Latin America, was moderated by journalist Carolina Amoroso and had as speakers Sergio Castaño and Ariel Gelblung. Castaño holds a PhD in social sciences from the University of Valladolid, is a professor at the International University of La Rioja and author of the report “Iran's Soft Power in Latin America: HispanTV”. Gelblung has been directing the Simon Wiesenthal Center's office for Latin America since 2015, is a lawyer from the University of Buenos Aires Law School, a member of the Advisory Body of the OAS Commissioner to Monitor and Combat Anti-Semitism author of the book “ANTISEMITISMO: Definir para Combatir – Un manual apto para todo público” (“ANTISEMITISM: Define to Combat - A manual suitable for all audiences”).
Afterwards, Karl-Heinz Bomberg spoke in English on Mental Scars: Freedom and Responsibility in the Biographies of Politically Traumatized GDR Citizens, while the talk was moderated by journalist Mayara Paixao. Bomberg is a medical doctor, singer-songwriter and author, born in Thuringia (Germany) in 1955. Between 1976 and 1982 he studied medicine in Leipzig; later he specialized as an anesthesiologist, in psychotherapy and psychoanalysis. In 1984 he was imprisoned for three months because of some of his songs. Today, Bomberg lives and practices in Berlin and has a family with 2 children. He published several books about his work as psychotherapist with former political prisoners.
In the second part of the conference, the book “El país de vinalón: Mi viaje a Corea del Norte” (“The country of Vinylon: My journey to North Korea”) was presented in a dialogue between the author, María de los Ángeles Lasa, and journalist Jorge Sigal. Lasa has a Licentiate Degree in International Relations from the Catholic University of Córdoba, a Master's Degree in Public Policy from the University of Oxford and a PhD in Political Science from the Università degli Studi di Camerino. She has worked in the Argentine public sector, in international organizations and for civil society organizations. She was Visiting Researcher at the University of Texas at Austin and at the Universidad de Los Andes, and Visiting Professor of State and Public Policy at the Universidad Torcuato Di Tella. She has been a TEDx speaker at the Catholic University of Córdoba and at the National Library of Buenos Aires. She traveled to North Korea in March 2018 and, in 2021, presented the photographic exhibition “The Last Frontiers of Socialism” at the Usina Cultural of the National University of Villa María. Sigal authored the book “El día que maté a mi padre: confesiones de un ex comunista” (“The day I killed my father: Confessions of an ex-Communist”) (Sudamericana, 2020). At the age of seventeen he traveled to Moscow to study Marxism-Leninism at an institute under the Central Committee of the Union of Communist Youth of the USSR (Komsomol). In 1984, when he was a member of the Executive Committee of the Communist Party's youth organization, he resigned his party affiliation and went into professional journalism. He was collaborator of La Razón and El Periodista de Buenos Aires; editor of Semana Gráfica, Acción y Somos; director of the monthly magazine of the Asamblea Permanente por los Derechos Humanos; editorial secretary of Gente; editor of Página/12 and Perfil and editor-in-chief of the magazine 3 Puntos. He then ventured into the world of books as editorial director of the imprint Capital Intelectual. In 2014 and 2015 he worked as a current affairs analyst in Fernando Bravo's program in Radio Continental and was a member of the Board of Directors of Club Político Argentino. In December 2015 he took office as Media Secretary of the Argentine government, a position he fulfilled until October 2018. He writes opinion pieces for the newspaper La Nación.
After a short break, there followed a dialogue between Norma Morandini and Leandro Batalla on “30 years after the constitutional reform in Argentina: The importance of incorporating the main international human rights instruments”. Morandini is a writer and award-winning journalist. She is a columnist for the newspapers La Nación and Clarin and collaborates with the Spanish newspaper El País. She was a foreign press correspondent, covering the Trial of the Military Juntas in Argentina for the Brazilian newspaper O Globo. From 2005 to 2009, she was a national congresswoman and between 2009 and 2015 senator. Her legislative work was dedicated to Human Rights and Freedom of Expression. Between 2015 and 2019 she headed the Human Rights Observatory of the Argentine Senate. In 2011 she was a candidate for Vice President. She is the author of several books and Vice President of CADAL. Batalla is a lawyer from the National University of Rosario (UNR). He specialized in Supranational Protection of Human Rights (Universita degli Studi di Perugia-Italy), and holds a Master’s Degree in Constitutional Theory and Human Rights (UNL). Today, he is Professor of Argentine Constitutional History and Constitutional Law at the Law School of the UNR.
The last panel discussion was moderated by Rubén Chababo: “It's Happening Again: Crimes against Humanity in Latin America and the Caribbean”. The speakers were Alain Espinosa, Rigoberto Lobo, Azahálea Solis and Jimena de la Torre. Espinosa is an attorney at CUBALEX. He has a law degree from the University of Havana and a law degree from the National University of La Plata, Argentina. He has practiced law in Cuba, Chile and Argentina. Lobo is a researcher and human rights defender, founder of the Venezuelan NGO Promedehum, Esto es El Post and collaborator in other organizations. Solís Román is a Nicaraguan lawyer, feminist and activist, member of the Legal Defense Unit and the Autonomous Women's Movement of Nicaragua. She has a law degree from the Universidad Centroamericana. As member of the Center for Constitutional Rights, she has worked as facilitator of legal training processes and consultant in constitutional law, municipalism and citizen participation. She has been part of legislative formulation teams and has promoted the rights of children and adolescents. In addition, she has stood out as an activist for democratic institutionality and has facilitated community empowerment processes. In 2023, after being stripped of her nationality by the Ortega regime along with 93 other Nicaraguans, she was forced into exile and all her belongings were confiscated, which has not stopped her struggle for a more just and democratic Nicaragua. De la Torre is a member of the National Council of the Judiciary representing Argentine lawyers. She is Vice-president of the Commission for the Selection of Magistrates and Judicial School, a lawyer specialized in taxation and fiscal policy and founding partner and former President of the civil association Bases Republicanas.
In the final part of the conference, the 2024 edition of the Graciela Fernández Meijide Prize for the Defense of Human Rights was awarded. At the beginning, Pamela Malewicz, Undersecretary of Democratic Culture and Human Rights of the City of Buenos Aires referred to the Day in Remembrance for Victims of Totalitarianism and to the figure of Fernández Meijide. Then, the Buenos Aires legislator Sebastián Nagata handed to CADAL's President, Sybil Rhodes, the certificate of the declaration of interest of the City of Buenos Aires to the Graciela Fernández Meijide Prize for the Defense of Human Rights. After that, Vicente Palermo, one of the three members of the jury of the Award, gave the special mention to Fundación Trípido from Colombia, which was received by Diana Arévalo; Pamela Malewicz presented the plaque for the Venezuelan activist Javier Tarazona, who is in political prison, to Rigoberto Lobo; Norma Morandini, a member of the jury, presented the plaque to Venezuelan FUNDAREDES activist Clara Ramírez; and Rubén Chababo, the third member of the jury, to the representative of the Mexican organization Brigada Nacional de Búsqueda, Juan Carlos Trujillo.
To close the event, Karl-Heinz Bomberg performed five songs. So far, Bomberg has performed more than 1500 concerts as a singer-songwriter in Germany (in all regions), Austria, Switzerland, England, France, Hungary, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Italy, Senegal, Mali, South Africa, Japan and the USA.
The Cuban musicians of the Atemporal Trio, Mario Miguel García Piña, Noslen Porrúa and Jessica Zequeira, performed “Forbidden Songs”, closing the 2024 edition of the conference on the Day of Remembrance for Victims of Totalitarianism.
