Led by former Argentine Ambassador Alicia Castro and released before Iran and the United States agreed to a two-week cease-fire, the statement rallied former ambassadors, academics, and activists under the slogan “No to War” and condemned Argentina’s Middle East policy and government alignment with the United States and Israel, warning of its institutional and geopolitical consequences.
The document expresses its rejection of the position taken by the government of Javier Millei regarding the Middle East conflict and warns of a possible break with the historical principles of Argentina’s foreign policy. The statement has more than 20 signatures, including a former Argentine diplomatic representative and human rights leaders including Nobel Peace Prize laureate Adolfo Pérez Esquivel and Tati Almeida. The signatories expressed “deep concern” over statements attributed to the president, Foreign Minister Pablo Kirno, and defense minister, which the document says suggest the country is engaging in war without institutional authorization.
Seriousness is not rhetorical. Phrases such as “Iran is our enemy” and “We are going to win the war” imply a level of commitment in political and legal terms that is incompatible with Argentina’s formal status. In other words, the country is not at war and has not followed the necessary constitutional procedures to declare war. The warning is clear. Decisions of such nature require the intervention of the National Assembly pursuant to Articles 75, 22 and 25 of the Constitution. The document also charges that automatic alignment with the United States and Israel lacks parliamentary support, undermining the country’s strategic autonomy and conditioning sovereign decision-making. In this regard, it questions the Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ support for military action in the region, arguing that such a position contradicts core principles of international law: the prohibition of the use of force and the obligation to resolve disputes by peaceful means. But this criticism goes beyond legal concerns.
The signatories warn of political drift towards abandoning diplomatic traditions based on non-intervention, peaceful resolution of disputes and respect for national sovereignty. What is at stake is not just a particular situation, but a change in paradigm. Concerns have been further heightened by reports of the possibility of deploying troops or conducting military exercises without legal permission. In this context, the statement describes official statements that downplay the risks of involvement in the conflict as “irresponsible.” The document also places this change in a broader context: the government’s position on the situation in Gaza and its silence on other acts of violence in the region. Here, the accusations become even sharper. This is not only a diplomatic aberration, but also a potential discursive collusion with state violence. The statement concludes with a direct appeal to Congress, society, and Argentina’s political history. In this context, it ceases to be a slogan, but a call to reaffirm principles that become an urgent need.
The first signatories are: Adolfo Pérez Esquivel – Alicia Castro – Jorge Taiana – Rafael Bielsa – Victorio Tacchetti – Carlos Tomada – Nilda Galleguillermo Carmona – Juliana Marino – Eduardo Valdes – Carlos Raimundi – María Cristina Percival – Sabino Vaca Narvaja – Ariel Busteiro – Maria del Carmenskuf – Oscar Laborde – Julia Perrier – Patricia Baca Narvaja – Gabriel Fax – Eric Calcagno – Enrique Baca Narvaja – Jorge Erlbaum – Carlos Castor – Tati Almeida – Jorge Rivas Maximiliano Rusconi – Hugo “Cachorro” Godoy – Atilio Bolon – Victor Hugo Morales – Cynthia Garcia – Claudio Lozano – Ramon Torres Molina – Eduardo Balcesatto – Carlos Rozanski – Rafael Kreitzer – Stella Caroni – Rocco Carbone – Ernesto Alonso – Mario Volpe – Edgardo Esteban – Maria Eva Koutsovitis – Jonathan Baldivieso – Alejandro Olmos Gaona – Paula Cratico (Red de Intellectuales and Artists) Defensa de la Humanidad, Argentina) – Beverly Keene (Dialogo 2000, Jubileo Sul Argentina)