IACHR takes to Inter-American Court case concerning Argentina about discrimination that affected a police officer’s career

February 5, 2026

Washington, DC—The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) filed on December 10, 2025, an application before the Inter-American Court of Human Rights in Case 13,072, with regard to Argentina. This case concerns the discrimination that Luis Antonio Herrera Corsi was subjected to by the authorities of the province of Santiago del Estero, which prevented him from moving up in rank during his career in the provincial police.

The petition that was submitted to the IACHR in August 2003 said that Herrera Corsi had joined the provincial police in Santiago del Estero in 1979. Between 1996 and 2002, he reportedly received positive assessments from various promotions and evaluations boards, which ranked him among the top candidates on merit-based promotion lists. In 1998, however, he was excluded from the list of officers promoted to the rank of deputy commissioner, while officers with inferior qualifications were promoted. The petitioning party noted that Herrera Corsi was the brother of two provincial opposition party leaders and that he had started to be systematically relegated in his police career after refusing to join the province’s ruling party.

According to the allegations made in the petition, moves to deny Herrera Corsi promotion included repeated transfers to police facilities far away from his home, as well as surveillance and tracking in his work and private life, after having been identified as a “political enemy.” Herrera Corsi pursued administrative complaints, judicial remedies, and complaints for discrimination filed before the National Institute against Discrimination, Xenophobia, and Racism (INADI), which found that he had been a victim of discrimination. However, none of those actions led to a reversal of his situation, and in 2006 he was discharged, due to mandatory retirement.

In Admissibility and Merits Report 155/23, the IACHR looked into all measures taken against Herrera Corsi and found that they had been politically motivated. The IACHR noted that the State had failed to provide information that might have undermined this conclusion and that the State had failed to provide alternative justification, beyond invoking administrative discretion. The IACHR noted that these practices had had a serious impact on Herrera Corsi’s career and had proved incompatible with the principles of a democratic society.

The IACHR also examined the measures taken by administrative and judicial authorities and noted that domestic regulations on police promotions had been interpreted and applied without sufficient oversight, with effects in violation of the applicable inter-American standards.

The IACHR said that the victim’s appeals had not been adequately resolved, that administrative discretion had been understood as exemption from oversight, and that there had been no effective mechanisms available to address potential arbitrariness. The IACHR also found deficiencies in procedures to notify judicial decisions and unwarranted delays in proceedings, which had prevented an adequate assessment of the allegations and a timely resolution in this case.

Based on these considerations, the IACHR found that the State of Argentina was liable for violations of the rights held in Articles 8.1, 11.1, 11.2, 23.1(c), 24, 25.1, and 26 of the American Convention, in keeping with the obligations held in Articles 1.1 and 2 of that instrument, against Herrera Corsi.

The IACHR therefore asked the Inter-American Court of Human Rights to demand that the State take the following redress measures:

1. Provide comprehensive reparation for all rights violations mentioned in the report, including financial compensation for the harm that was caused
2. Adopt guarantees of non-recurrence, changing and adequately implementing regulations concerning police promotions to prevent discrimination based on political orientation; strengthening the legal framework to ban arbitrary intelligence procedures; and providing training within police institutions concerning equality, non-discrimination, and respect for political debate in democratic societies

The IACHR is an autonomous body of the Organization of American States (OAS) whose mandate is based on the OAS Charter and the American Convention on Human Rights. Its mission is to promote and defend human rights throughout the Americas and to serve as an advisory body to the OAS in this area. The IACHR consists of seven independent members elected by the OAS General Assembly who serve in a personal capacity and do not represent their countries of origin or residence.

No. 022/26

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