Memoria Abierta Open Memory Alliance of Argentine Human Rights Organizations

History and Founding

Memoria Abierta (Spanish: 'Open Memory') is an alliance of Argentine human rights organisations founded in 1999 to preserve the documentary and oral heritage of civil society resistance to the last military dictatorship in Argentina (1976–1983). The initiative began when a group of human rights organisations started meeting to coordinate their participation in initiatives related to the memory of state terrorism. The main objective was to contribute to elaborating the memory of what occurred during the dictatorship and to strengthen democratic culture and respect for human rights. Memoria Abierta is constituted as a civil association (Asociación Civil Memoria Abierta) and is currently composed of eight member human rights organisations, including the Permanent Assembly for Human Rights, Relatives of Disappeared and Detained for Political Reasons, the Center for Legal and Social Studies, the Mothers of the Plaza de Mayo (Founding Line), and Service Peace and Justice, among others. Most of these organisations were created during the 1976–1983 dictatorship to denounce its violations and support victims.

Collections and Holdings

Memoria Abierta maintains several interconnected archival collections. Its Oral Archive is among the most significant, comprising over 962 testimonial interviews with survivors of detention, exiled artists, political leaders, and others who lived through or resisted the dictatorship. The Photographic Archive systematises photographs from member organisations and related collections. The Documentary Archive contains institutional records, publications, newsletters, and periodicals produced by member and related human rights organisations, including approximately 1,600 publications dating from the 1970s to the present.

Memoria Abierta also maintains a collection documenting Clandestine Detention Centres (CDCs) across Argentina, with topographic research and mapping of sites used by repression, supporting judicial investigations and memory site recovery processes. All these collections are part of the UNESCO Memory of the World Register as part of the broader inscription of 'Documentary Heritage on Human Rights in Argentina for the Period 1976–1983'.

Journalism and Media-Related Holdings

The collection includes the Magazine of the Permanent Assembly for Human Rights (a newspaper covering politics, human rights, and justice advocacy), the Bulletin of Relatives of the Disappeared and Detainees for Political Reasons, and the periodical 'Paz y Justicia'. These publications are primary sources for the history of human rights journalism and advocacy press in Argentina.

Access and Usage

The oral archive is freely consultable but requires express authorisation from Memoria Abierta for use. The photographic collection requires a permit from the original rights holders for items with a recognised author. Documentary holdings are generally open, with some documents restricted pending judicial processes. Memoria Abierta actively supplies documentation and expert testimony to Argentine courts in human rights trials.