Human rights leader invited to speak

The leader of an effort to find children who vanished under Argentina’s military dictatorship will describe her experiences during a visit this month to the university.

Estela Barnes de Carlotto, president of Abuelas de Plaza de Mayo, will be the International Institute’s first J. Jobe Soffa and Marguerite Jacqmin Soffa international visitor.

Barnes de Carlotto will speak on “Disappeared Children in Argentina: the Work of the Grandmothers of Plaza de Mayo,” Thursday, March 22, at 4 p.m. at the Pyle Center, 702 Langdon St. During her visit, Barnes de Carlotta will also meet with students and faculty.

As president of the Abuelas de Plaza de Mayo (Grandmothers of May Square), Barnes de Carlotto leads the effort to locate hundreds of children who “disappeared” as a result of actions by the military dictatorship in the mid-1970s. She helped found the association in 1978 while searching for her daughter, who “disappeared” in 1977, and her grandchild, born in detention in 1978.

“Estela Carlotto has been at the forefront of the struggle in Argentina to find the children kidnapped by the military authorities during the dictatorship,” says Louis Bickford, associate director of the Global Studies Program. “Carlotto has become widely recognized in Argentina and the world as an important human rights activist.”

An estimated 30,000 people suspected of opposing the military junta were detained and, in many cases, murdered during Argentina’s so-called “Dirty War.” Abuelas de Plaza de Mayo says many “disappeared” children were kidnapped, born in clandestine detention centers, abandoned or left in institutions with their identities ignored or destroyed.

The organization says the whereabouts of 58 “disappeared” children have been determined, including eight children who were murdered. Thirty-three children have been reunited with their families. (More information.)

A schoolteacher and administrator by training, Barnes de Carlotto serves on boards and committees of a variety of national human rights organizations, and speaks and publishes widely on human rights. She has been recognized throughout the Americas and Europe for her distinguished leadership in this area.

The J. Jobe Soffa and Marguerite Jacqmin Soffa Distinguished International Visitor Fund has been established to provide a regular public lecture on contemporary issues of global significance. This is a program of the International Institute of the UW–Madison. The inaugural event is being co-sponsored by the Women’s Studies Program in honor of its 25th anniversary.

For information, contact Ronnie Hess, director of communications and publications, International Institute, (608) 262-5590, rlhess@facstaff.wisc.edu; or Donna Veatch, outreach coordinator, (608) 262-2042, dlveatch@facstaff.wisc.edu.