Experts of the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women Praise Argentina’s Record in Promoting Women’s Leadership, Ask about the Elimination of the Women’s Ministry and Weakening of Services for Violence Victims
The Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women today concluded its consideration of the eighth periodic report of Argentina. Committee Experts praised Argentina’s record in promoting women’s political and public leadership, and raised questions about the elimination of the Ministry of Women, Gender and Diversity and weakening of the State’s gender-based violence prevention programmes and services for victims.
One Committee Expert commended the State party on its record in promoting women’s political and public leadership. Some 41.2 per cent of members of the Chamber of Deputies were women, as were 45.8 per cent of members of the Senate. The Expert welcomed that the State had a law guaranteeing equal access to party positions and penalising non-compliance.
Yamila González Ferrer, Committee Expert and Rapporteur for Argentina, also welcomed that, during the reporting period, the State party had consolidated a raft of policies aimed at strengthening substantive equality.
However, Ms. González Ferrer said there was an institutional pivot in 2024 that led to the elimination of the Ministry of Women, Gender and Diversity, reductions in gender-based violence prevention programmes, the elimination of specific budget items on women’s rights, and regressive legislative amendments. In this new context, how would the State party guarantee the effective implementation of laws and public policies for women and girls?
Another Committee Expert raised concerns about the weakening of crucial services to support victims of gender-based violence, such as hotline 144, which had lost half of its staff and two-thirds of its budget in 2024. There had also been a drop in funding for the programme that supported women to move out of abusive relationships. How was the State ensuring protection for women in this context?
Introducing the report, Joaquín Mogaburu, Undersecretary of Human Rights, Ministry of Justice of Argentina and head of the delegation, said Argentina had initiated a profound change, backed by the vote of the majority of Argentines, after years of interventionist policies that had systematically failed. The current Government complied with the international commitments it had assumed, while upholding the primacy of the Constitution, respect for the State’s reservations and interpretative declarations, and full validity of equality before the law.
The delegation said that the Ministry of Women, Gender and Diversity had been overhauled to ensure that its goals were implemented most effectively. Public policies related to violence were now being implemented by the Ministry of Justice, and policies related to human rights were being implemented by the Sub-Secretary of Human Rights. This reorganisation process did not mean the elimination of different operations, but rather their strengthening. Many services for women were now being implemented closer to women by regional bodies.
On violence against women, Mr. Mogaburu said Argentina was fighting against all its forms. Two national laws and more than 26 provincial laws on violence against women were in force, with care offices and shelters set up to provide personalised and interdisciplinary attention to victims. A programme for economic reparation of child and adolescent victims of violence was also being implemented.
The delegation added that large investments had been made in measures to protect victims, training programmes for officials working on protecting victims, and reparation measures. There was a mobile phone app and hotlines for reporting violence, a national website with information on violence, and conciliation and child protection services in each province.
In closing remarks, Ursula Basset, Legal Advisor in the National Directorate of Legal Affairs in Human Rights, Undersecretariat of Human Rights, Ministry of Justice of Argentina, thanked the members of the Committee for the dialogue and their carefully crafted questions, which demonstrated their interest in promoting the rights of women and girls in Argentina.
In her concluding remarks, Nahla Haidar, Committee Chair, thanked the delegation for its passion and energy. She commended the State party for its efforts and encouraged it to take all necessary measures to address the Committee’s various recommendations for the benefit of all Argentine women and girls.
The delegation of Argentina consisted of representatives from the Ministry of Justice and the Permanent Mission of Argentina to the United Nations Office at Geneva.
The Committee will issue the concluding observations on the report of Argentina at the end of its ninety-second session on 20 February. All documents relating to the Committee’s work, including reports submitted by States parties, can be found on the session’s webpage. Meeting summary releases can be found here. The webcast of the Committee’s public meetings can be accessed via the UN Web TV webpage.
The Committee will next meet at 10 a.m. on Wednesday, 11 February to consider the seventh periodic report of the Czech Republic (CEDAW/C/CZE/7).
Report
The Committee has before it the eighth periodic report of Argentina (CEDAW/C/ARG/8).
Presentation of Report
JOAQUÍN MOGABURU, Undersecretary of Human Rights, Ministry of Justice of Argentina and head of the delegation, said Argentina had initiated a profound change, backed by the vote of the majority of Argentines, after years of interventionist policies that had systematically failed. The current Government complied with the international commitments it had assumed, while upholding the primacy of the Constitution, respect for its reservations and interpretative declarations, and full validity of equality before the law.
The Government was working to solve structural problems that affected access to rights for all citizens. Although the administration started with 52.9 per cent of people in poverty, this dropped to 31.6 per cent in the first half of 2025, the lowest level since 2018. This was closely linked to the reduction in inflation, the recovery of real wages, and the normalisation of basic macroeconomic variables. It was estimated that more than 12 million people had been lifted out of poverty in this period. In this context, Argentina reaffirmed its historical commitment to human rights. The State’s legal and constitutional framework recognised that there was no room for discrimination on the basis of sex. The State actively worked in favour of equality before the law for all people. It had given the Convention constitutional status and had also signed its Optional Protocol.
For different reasons, previous governments did not appear before this Committee to be held accountable. Today, after 10 years, Argentina was appearing again, demonstrating the State’s respect for equality before the law and policies focused on results. Argentina scored 75 out of 100 in the legal frameworks 2.0 indicator of the World Bank's women, business and the law 2024 index, placing the State in the top third of the economies evaluated.
Quotas tended to entrench an unfair stereotype that a woman occupied a position by a positive action measure and not by her ability, merit and career. The right path was to ensure impartial rules, transparent competitions and real opportunities for all, so that each person could access leadership positions on their merit, without preferential treatment on the basis of sex. Argentina noted with concern the growing tendency to reinterpret article 15.1 of the Convention on equality between men and women from ideological perspectives, which ended up promoting unequal legal treatment and introducing inequalities before the law.
Under the Constitution, Argentina protected women from conception to death. There was no right to abortion enshrined in international law. On the contrary, what was protected was the right to life for every human being and the recognition of juridical personality without discrimination. The State had a law on palliative care and had ratified the Inter-American Convention on the Human Rights of Older Persons, and its work for the creation of a working group for an instrument of universal scope.
The National Constitution incorporated in the 1994 reform affirmative action measures for real equality of opportunities for women, the elderly and persons with disabilities, especially promoting the protection of children during pregnancy and up to school age. Law 27.611 on comprehensive health care during pregnancy and early childhood established special protection for mothers of children from conception until the first 1,000 days of their existence.
In Argentina, all citizens were guaranteed the right to education and access to quality training, without distinction or privilege on the basis of sex. Some 36.4 per cent of women had enrolled in higher university studies, compared to only 29.3 per cent of men. The Convention did not oblige the State to provide “comprehensive sex education”. Argentina had lodged an interpretative declaration to article 24 (f) of the Convention, establishing that the State's obligation related to family planning matters was limited to guidance for parents and education for responsible parenthood.
In Argentina, evidence-based health policies guaranteed comprehensive health for women. The Ministry of Health exercised its leading role in the definition, articulation and strengthening of the competencies of each of the provinces and municipalities and had policies aimed at working on women's health on a biological, social, cultural and territorial basis. Argentina had developing numerous plans for the protection of early childhood and mothers during pregnancy.
Argentina was fighting against all forms of violence against women. The State was a member of the regional monitoring mechanism for women's rights, and two national laws and more than 26 provincial laws on violence against women were in force, with care offices and shelters set up to respond to all forms of violence with personalised and interdisciplinary attention. Aggressors were excluded from the proximity of victims and the State implemented protective measures such as a panic button, seizure of weapons, psychological support, and, if appropriate, accommodation of the victim in a shelter.
In some cases, the criminal justice system could intervene and additional measures could be ordered, including detention of the aggressor. A programme for economic reparation of child and adolescent victims of violence was being implemented, which provided monthly economic compensation equivalent to the amount of two minimum pensions, as well as comprehensive physical and psychological health coverage for beneficiaries.
The State was taking appropriate measures, including legislative measures, to suppress all forms of trafficking in women. Through law 25.632, it had acceded to the Palermo Protocol. The State was also a signatory to the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court. At least 65 cases of possible trafficking for the exploitation of surrogacy had been identified between 2018 and 2024. Argentina would continue to work to include language in international law that safeguarded the rights to a life free from trafficking, violence and exploitation.
Argentina appeared before the Committee with a clear conviction that equality between women and men was built on respect for the equal dignity of every human being, the validity of the rule of law, and the fulfilment of the legal commitments freely assumed. Argentina renewed its commitment to cooperate in good faith within the mandate of the Convention, convinced that a respectful, legally rigorous and results-oriented approach was the best way to advance in the full realisation of women's rights.
Questions by a Committee Expert
YAMILA GONZÁLEZ FERRER, Committee Expert and Rapporteur for Argentina, said that, during the reporting period, the State party consolidated a raft of policies aimed at strengthening substantive equality, including measures for the prevention of gender-based violence and access to rights, including mandatory gender training, care mechanisms, data production and monitoring tools. However, there was an institutional pivot in 2024 that led to the elimination of the Ministry of Women, Gender and Diversity, reductions in gender-based violence prevention programmes, and the elimination of specific budget items on women’s rights. There had also been regressive legislative amendments to key regulations such as the Micaela act, the 1,000 days act, and legislation on sexual and reproductive rights.
In this new context, how would the State party guarantee the effective implementation of laws and public policies for women and girls and ensure sustained resources for policies on women’s rights and mainstreaming of the Convention? How was the State party training members of the judiciary and public officials on the Convention?
What measures had the State party taken to urgently designate the head of the Ombudsperson’s Office and to establish an effective complaints mechanism in the Office for cases of gender-based violence? How did the State party ensure that women victims of violence and discrimination had access to specialised legal assistance, protection and redress? How did it guarantee access to justice systems in rural areas? What mechanisms guaranteed the effective participation of civil society organizations in the development of equality policies? How did the State party prevent violence against the most vulnerable population?
Responses by the Delegation
The delegation said Argentina was interested in effective, efficient guarantees of women’s rights. Previously, so-called “protection policies” had not been effective in preventing violence against women. The National Council of Women and the Ministry of Women, Gender and Diversity had been overhauled to ensure that their goals were implemented most effectively. Public policies related to violence were now being implemented by the Ministry of Justice, and policies related to human rights were being implemented by the Sub-Secretary of Human Rights. This reorganisation process did not mean the elimination of different operations, but rather their strengthening through inter-institutional coordination. Many services for women were now being implemented closer to women by regional bodies. Localised roundtables had been set up on issues related to women’s rights, including on the Micaela act and laws on access to leadership positions.
The judiciary’s power to tackle violence against women had been bolstered. In Chaco province, the first popular justice system had been launched, and a mobile justice system had also been established in several regions, which helped to reach vulnerable women in remote regions. Further, there was a mobile phone app and hotlines for reporting violence, a national website with information on violence, and conciliation and child protection services in each province. Immediate protection measures were implemented within 24 hours after a report of violence was received. Some provinces had specific domestic violence offices.
Each national university also had officers who received complaints of discrimination from female students. A programme promoting access to justice was in place, which included measures to provide legal information in indigenous and minority languages. Legal assistance offices across the country provided free access to victims of violence, and there were specialised judges across the country dealing with violence.
Judges who ruled on cases related to women’s rights needed to have undergone multiple training sessions. More than 5,000 public officials had been trained on the Micaela act, including more than 1,700 senior officials.
The National Statistics Office collected comprehensive, disaggregated data on women, including their living conditions, female-headed households, and hours spent on care work, as well as statistics on violence, femicide, and access to health. There was an increase in cases of femicides and violence against women from 2020 to 2023, but the number of these cases had since decreased.
The Ombudsperson was an autonomous body, the officers of which were assigned by a dedicated commission. The commission had rejected nominations for members of the Ombudsperson presented by the Government, stalling the appointment process. However, the Ombudsperson was working well, despite not being fully staffed.
Questions by Committee Experts
A Committee Expert said women and girls continued to be underrepresented in the labour market, justice sector, foreign service, political and public life and access to social programmes. What temporary special measures could the State party establish to guarantee parity in women’s representation in all areas of public life? Could the State party share data on the effectiveness of such measures? How was it engaging with civil society in monitoring policies promoting gender equality?
YAMILA GONZÁLEZ FERRER, Committee Expert and Rapporteur for Argentina, said that the Committee had received reports of the closing of local justice access centres. Would the State party work on strengthening those centres? Between 2020 and 2023, 200,000 people had received capacity building training, but only 44,000 training certificates had been issued in 2025.
NAHLA HAIDAR, Committee Chair, said that current global gender imbalances were the cumulative result of centuries of unequal social norms and institutional bias. If special measures were not implemented, it would probably take another 60 or 70 years before equality was reached. Temporary special measures were time-bound and were no longer needed once their objectives were achieved. Would the State party consider this issue?
Ms. Haidar said that the Committee used the concept of “intersectionality” to address women who were vulnerable due to multiple factors, such as disability, age and ethnicity.
Responses by the Delegation
The delegation said that the programme on access to justice aimed to bolster access to justice for vulnerable persons, protect victims from violence, and prevent 200,000 cases of violence. Large investments had been made in measures to protect victims, provide training programmes for officials working on protecting victims, and ensure reparation measures. There had also been an increase in shelters for victims over the reporting period. Although some local justice access centres had been closed, the State party had established institutions that travelled to where women were, including in remote areas, to provide support.
Argentina believed that temporary special measures could perpetuate stereotypes and renew forms of paternalistic dominance, which undermined women’s equality. However, such measures were included in the Constitution and were being put in practice. There was a 55 per cent quota for access to political roles and a 30 per cent quota for access to union roles. However, there needed to be exit strategies from these paternalistic measures, so women were not seen as having reached high positions solely due to their gender. Quotas were not to be enforced when they were not necessary, as they prevented progress.
The State party welcomed participation from all members of civil society in policymaking. It regularly held dialogue with civil society organizations and responded to their information requests promptly.
The State party was concerned by the limiting role of the concept of “intersectionality”, which prevented the State from getting close to victims and vulnerable people. It sought theoretical instruments that allowed the State to get close to all rights bearers and address specific vulnerabilities.
Questions by Committee Experts
NAHLA HAIDAR, Committee Chair, said the Convention was a living instrument and the Committee had developed general recommendations and other guidance to develop it based on what its members had learned. It was through this process that it had developed its guidance on intersectionality.
A Committee Expert said Argentina had made significant legislative headway in addressing violence against women, including through the Micaela act and the significant drop in cases of violence. However, the Committee had received information about the weakening of crucial services to support victims of gender-based violence, such as hotline 144, which had lost half of its staff and two-thirds of its budget in 2024, and was no longer accessible for women with disabilities. What measures were in place to ensure the accessibility and quality of this service?
There had also been a drop in funding for the programme to support women move out of abusive relationships. How was the State ensuring protection for such women in this context? The Committee was also concerned about initiatives aimed at punishing false reports for gender-based violence, which promoted mistrust in women’s testimonies; could the delegation comment on this?
Was the State party implementing multi-sectoral reviews of policies to prevent femicide? The National Agency for Controlled Materials, which worked to register armed weapons, had been eliminated; what impact had this had? What measures had been implemented to tackle femicides of transgender women, the rate of which was 12 times higher than that of the general rate of femicide? How was the law aimed at guaranteeing reparation for the victims of femicide being implemented? What was the rate of prosecution for cases of violence against women? How was the State party addressing digital violence?
Another Committee Expert asked about concrete measures being implemented to harmonise municipal and federal legislation on trafficking and prostitution. What gender-sensitive identification and referral mechanisms currently existed and how many victims were identified between 2023 to 2025? How many investigations, prosecutions and convictions had been carried out for cases of sexual, labour and child exploitation? How would the State party investigate and punish public officials who were complicit in cases of trafficking, and address underlying factors related to sexual exploitation of girls, including poverty and access to education?
Responses by the Delegation
The delegation said Argentina had signed up to the Belém do Pará Convention and participated in its follow-up mechanism. In each jurisdiction, there were mechanisms in place to address violence against women. The State party sought to address violence and its underlying factors, including consumption of drugs, and support victims effectively. A judicial office had been established to support victims who had made a judicial complaint.
The National Secretariat for Children, Adolescents and the Family of the Ministry of Human Capital was implementing the law on economic reparation for child victims of violence. Around 1,360 minors received reparations through this law as of June 2025. The number of beneficiaries had increased by 9.5 per cent between 2024 and 2025.
The State party had specialised units addressing digital violence and had implemented laws prohibiting and punishing digital violence. There was a complaints mechanism that provided responses to complaints of online abuse within 24 hours, and a body on cyber security within the police force covered online threats, coercion and harassment. Argentina had signed the Budapest Agreement and the Cybercrime Convention.
The State party had a national programme to tackle exploitation and coordinate the search for missing persons.
Questions by Committee Experts
A Committee Expert commended the State party on its record in promoting women’s political and public leadership. Some 41.2 per cent of members of the Chamber of Deputies were women, as were 45.8 per cent of members of the Senate. The State had a law guaranteeing equal access to party positions and penalising non-compliance. However, only 30.8 per cent of ministries were headed by women, there were no female governors, most provincial cabinets did not achieve 30 per cent female participation, and women held only 30 per cent of high judicial positions.
What measures would the State party take to ensure effective compliance with rules on women’s participation in provincial and municipal administration? What national policies prevented, investigated and punished political violence against women? Why was resolution 2030, which established parity criteria for the nomination of candidates for international positions, repealed in 2025? What measures were in place to increase the representation of women in the executive branch and in unions?
Another Committee Expert said Argentina had progressive nationality laws which conformed with article nine of the Convention. Citizenship was available through birth and was equally available to women and men following two years of residence, and to children born abroad to Argentine nationals. However, the Committee was concerned by emergency decrees issued in 2017 and 2025, which implemented more restrictive citizenship and migration policies, including new financial requirements for accessing citizenship. Indigenous women faced linguistic barriers in the birth registration process. Did the State party plan to establish and strengthen mechanisms to support indigenous and other vulnerable women to access national identity documents and birth registration? Were there plans to eliminate the need for the Argentine national identity card to access citizenship?
One Committee Expert asked whether the State party was assessing the multi-sectoral responses that other countries were implementing to address femicide?
A Committee Expert asked the delegation how it assessed its actions to tackle trafficking and exploitation of women. The minimum age for obtaining a firearms permit had recently been lowered from 21 to 18, the application procedure had been simplified, and civilians had been granted access to semi-automatic weapons. How would this affect the State’s fight against violence, trafficking and femicide?
Responses by the Delegation
The delegation said detailed disaggregated data on femicides was collected by the State, as was data on cases of trafficking, which was compiled in a robust database. The national arms control body was active in Argentina; it aimed to comply with State laws and policies on regulating arms and preventing violence. The body investigated whether aggressors held firearms in cases of violence against women. In cases where security officials acted violently against members of their families, the State party confiscated those officials’ weapons.
At the sub-national level, 22 of the State’s 24 jurisdictions and the autonomous city of Buenos Aires had legislation that guaranteed parity in the makeup of men and women in their respective legislatures. The Tierra del Fuego and Tucumán provinces had quota systems with requirements for at least 30 per cent female candidates. The Minister of Security was a woman and half of the provinces had Vice-Governors who were women. The Council of the Judiciary, the Ministry of Defence and the Prosecutor’s Office had all implemented measures, including preferential selection processes, to ensure that women held senior posts.
The State party recognised that access to identification documents was a right and had strengthened mechanisms for accessing identification documentation across the country. There was a documentation system established in all hospitals so that every birth could be registered within the hospital, and administrative mechanisms ensured the processing of late applications for birth registration. The State sought to improve the territorial implementation of birth registration programmes.
Questions by Committee Experts
A Committee Expert congratulated the State party on the high rate of enrolment of Argentine girls in secondary school education and on its implementation of legal measures to prevent the exclusion of pregnant pupils and pupils who were mothers. However, the Committee was concerned by the unequal and insufficient implementation of comprehensive sex education in various provinces. In 2023, no national budgetary line was allocated to comprehensive sex education, and in 2026, a minimum budget line was adopted that was below the 2025 level.
What measures would the State party adopt to guarantee the effective implementation of comprehensive sex education in all provinces? How would it ensure ongoing teacher training on sex education, and ensure that schools were free from censorship and stigmatisation? The Committee was alarmed by reports that the national action plan to prevent and reduce unwanted pregnancy had been discontinued. Had the State party assessed the impact of this?
Another Committee Expert said the Government had achieved positive results in promoting women’s access to business and regarding poverty indicators. However, women’s labour participation rate was 17 per cent lower than that of men. Informal employment of women was on the rise, with over half of women working in informal situations, and the gender wage gap was at 26 per cent. What measures were in place to address this gap? How did the Government promote the integration of women in the formal economy?
How did Government policies address persistent gender inequalities in care work? Women spent almost twice as long performing care work compared to men. Around 85 per cent of domestic workers were women; they had precarious working conditions and no protection against dismissals. How was the State party collecting data on domestic workers, preventing their exploitation, and ensuring that domestic workers benefited from decent working conditions?
Responses by the Delegation
The delegation said more university degrees were completed by women than men in Argentina. The State party promoted access to education within the frameworks of the international conventions it had adopted and its interpretive declarations thereto. Argentina had an interpretive declaration to the Convention on the Rights of the Child regarding the implementation of family planning programmes in line with the State party’s Constitution. The State sought to ensure access to information on family planning, while promoting the right of parents to determine the education of their children and to object to the education that their children were receiving when it ran counter to their beliefs. Argentina provided access to comprehensive sex education through its national education programme, which had a scientific, evidence-based approach and sought to prevent violence.
The national action plan to prevent and reduce unwanted pregnancy had not been discontinued. There had been a drop in the teenage pregnancy rate over the reporting period, but there had not been a significant difference in teenage pregnancy rates between provinces that had implemented the plan and those that had not. There was support available for children and university students who fell pregnant and a law that prevented educational exclusion due to pregnancy. The State had reached maximum coverage with its capacity building programme for teachers, which addressed early pregnancy.
Argentina had been a pioneer in protecting labour, maternity and family rights. Care activities needed to be considered not as labour but as a responsibility that emerged from family relationships. The State party sought to avoid stigmatising women who chose to care for their families and pushing women out of their legitimate role in the care space. However, the State party was also promoting shared responsibility and parenthood, and the National Social Security Office had a support mechanism providing monthly transfers to young mothers and pregnant women to support them to integrate into the labour market.
Questions by a Committee Expert
A Committee Expert welcomed the efforts made by the State party in the sphere of social protection, particularly during the COVID-19 pandemic. However, Argentine women spent more time doing unpaid domestic tasks than their male counterparts, which restricted their access to a full pension. Some migrant women needed to wait up to 15 years before they could access non-contributory pensions. How many women were affected by the end of the retirement adjustment scheme in March 2025? What steps had been taken to protect affected women from old-age poverty, and to incorporate women who carried out unpaid domestic tasks into the social security system? How would the State party tackle the discrimination faced by migrant women regarding social security?
Responses by the Delegation
The delegation said Argentina was concerned about the future of older women. The State had free-of-charge public hospitals where older women could access high-quality services and free university courses that could be accessed universally, including by older women. In 2026, a non-contributory universal pension system for the elderly was adopted; it replaced the former scheme. A code had also been adopted recently that enshrined the obligation of children to provide maintenance for their elderly parents. The State party gave particular attention to persons in vulnerable situations. It guaranteed access to social security benefits on the basis of equality and non-discrimination. Migrants could access non-contributory schemes when they met the legal requirements.
Questions by Committee Experts
A Committee Expert said Argentina had decided to withdraw from the World Health Organization as of March 2026. How would the State party guarantee the specific programmes it had with the Organization, including programmes related to HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis, vaccination, and maternal and child health? Older women and women with disabilities found it difficult to pay for medicines and health services. How was the State addressing this? How did the State party guarantee free, prior and informed consent for all medical operations performed on institutionalised women? The child and neonatal mortality rate had increased by half a point in 2024 for the first time in years. Some 60 per cent of those deaths were the result of obstetric causes. Also in 2024, less than half of children under the age of five had received the vaccinations that they needed. How was the State party addressing these issues?
The national plan to reduce child pregnancy had succeeded in reducing child pregnancies by 57 per cent. Why had this plan, which had been so successful, been suspended, with hiring of staff under the plan cancelled? What plans were in place that promoted sexual and reproductive health? Why was the distribution of abortion medicines suspended in 2024? How many successful abortions had been carried out over the reporting period and how was the State party promoting access to safe abortions? What measures were in place to prevent child suicide and forced sterilisation of persons with disabilities?
Another Committee Expert asked how the State party would engage rural women in the energy and mining sector? There was a gender gap regarding access to land rights and land tenure, which impacted rural and indigenous women’s financial autonomy. The Inter-American Court of Human Rights had called on Argentina to prevent illegal logging and extractive industries on indigenous territories; how was this ruling being implemented? How were indigenous women involved in data governance?
Responses by the Delegation
The delegation said no vaccination programme had been eliminated due to Argentina’s withdrawal from the World Health Organization. The State party was strengthening its vaccination programme, having added a vaccination for pregnant women in 2024, and strengthening data collection on vaccinations.
Argentina believed that there was no international treaty that established the right to abortion and that life needed to be protected from conception. However, the State party had a law regulating access to abortion, which was free up to 14 weeks of gestation. The law on reproductive health care included measures supporting the health of infants and maternity rights. Prisons and institutions had protection programmes to protect women from obstetric violence. Persons needed to give expressed consent for all medical procedures performed on them.
Argentina had signed International Labour Organization Convention 169, which regulated consultation processes with indigenous communities regarding extractive projects. Indigenous communities were participating actively in such consultations. The State party was complying with the ruling of the Inter-American Court of Human Rights mentioned by the Committee; the National Institute for Indigenous Policies was responsible for its implementation.
Questions by a Committee Expert
YAMILA GONZÁLEZ FERRER, Committee Expert and Rapporteur for Argentina, asked about resources devoted to supporting women involved in civil and family legal processes. What mechanisms were in place for assessing biases in family court rulings? What compensation measures were in place to ensure financial equality post-divorce, recognising domestic and care work? How did the State party ensure access to inheritance for women? What data had the State party collected on early marriages, and what measures were in place to eliminate this practice? How was the State responding to cases of children being separated from their mothers or given up for adoption after divorce?
Responses by the Delegation
The delegation said divorce proceedings were easily accessible in the State party. These processes determined how estates were distributed and whether alimony and child support were required. Judges implemented rulings on the basis of gender equality, taking into account the situation of mothers. Women and men had equal access to inheritance in Argentina, and persons in de facto unions could lodge claims to live in shared houses two years after the death of a partner.
Argentina had a four per cent rate of child marriage. Child marriages were prohibited in the State but could be allowed from age 16 with judicial authorisation. Argentina complied with international standards regarding child marriage.
The Supreme Court had handed down a ruling on a case related to the right of a mother with a disability to care for her children. Argentina ensured the right to identity and children’s right to have contact with their mothers. Children were only separated from their mothers in exceptional cases.
Concluding Remarks
URSULA BASSET, Legal Advisor, National Directorate of Legal Affairs in Human Rights, Undersecretariat of Human Rights, Ministry of Justice of Argentina, thanked the members of the Committee for the dialogue and their carefully crafted questions, which demonstrated their interest in promoting the rights of women and girls in Argentina.
NAHLA HAIDAR, Committee Chair, thanked the delegation for its passion and energy. The Committee commended the State party for its efforts and encouraged it to take all necessary measures to address the Committee’s various recommendations for the benefit of all Argentine women and girls.
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CEDAW26.008E