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The serious economic crisis that Argentina is facing, as well as the decision of the government to implement reforms that will affect the interests of various sectors, augur a period of enormous social conflict for the coming years. In the last few weeks, several social actors have announced their intention to confront the changes through massive mobilizations and forceful measures that may alter the coexistence in the public space. On December 14, the government responded with the dissemination of a protocol regulating the exercise of the right to protest.
In this context, CADAL considers it necessary to remind the government of Javier Milei that international human rights doctrine is broadly protective of the right to protest, enshrined in Article 21 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. As explained by the United Nations Human Rights Committee in its General Comment No. 37, such protection extends to any peaceful activity carried out by citizens in the public space. The right to protest may only be restricted to prevent violent acts, acts that endanger the safety or freedoms of others, or acts that generate "serious and sustained disturbances". In all these cases, the use of force by the authorities must be strictly necessary and proportionate to the objective of dispersing the assembly or preventing a crime.
Similarly, in times of extreme institutional fragility, CADAL is also obliged to recall that the right to protest must be exercised with the utmost responsibility, minimizing as much as possible its impact on the rights of others, including especially the rights to work, health and education. The right to protest does not authorize the destruction of public or private property or the deliberate promotion of chaos to undermine the governability of a constitutional government. In a democratic society, citizens are free to express their disagreement with the policies implemented by their authorities, but the last word always corresponds to the representative institutions, being these the only depositaries of the democratic will and the only ones legitimized to administer and settle disagreements among groups and individuals.
The preservation of democratic coexistence in the critical situation Argentine going through is not only the responsibility of the government, but also of the opposition parties, labor unions, social organizations, the media, opinion makers, human rights organizations and the citizenry as a whole.
