The Abuelas de Plaza de Mayo, Grandmothers of Plaza de Mayo, are a group of women with "disappeared" children and grandchildren in Argentina. Since its foundation in 1977, it has been searching for over 200 "disappeared" children, some born in clandestine detention centers during the captivity of their mothers or "disappeared" with their parents after being taken into custody by members of the police or security forces.

The Grandmothers of Plaza de mayo have been instrumental in locating 56 of the missing children. Some of the children located have been returned to their natural families, while others remained with their adoptive parents. A number of located children, whose identities are disputed, are at present before Argentine Courts. On November 1989, the United Nations General Assembly unanimously adopted the Convention on the Rights of the Child. In Article 8, the Convention states the right of the child "to preserve his or her identity, including nationality, name, and family relations". The article establishes the obligation of governments to provide, for any child who has been deprived of his or her identity, "assistance and protection with a view to speedily re-establishing his or her identity."

The Grandmothers now have their own web site, with Spanish-language information about their activities

Excerpts from December Bulletin

Human Rights in Argentina - Derechos Human Rights - Human Rights Links

This page is maintained by Mike Katz-Lacabe and Margarita Lacabe. Last updated Feb. 17, 1997.