Las Abuelas de Plaza de Mayo are not only looking for their sons and daughters, but for their grandchildren as well. It is estimated that approximately 500 children were kidnapped as a consequence of the National Reorganization Process enforced by the military dictatorship. In 1977, the grandmothers formed their own NGO as they tried desperately to find their grandchildren.
They write,
“As mothers our search is two-folded because we are demanding the restitution of our grandchildren while simultaneously searching for these children’s parents, our sons and daughters… The disappeared children were deprived of their identity, their religion, and their right to live with their family, in order words, all of the rights that are nationally and internationally recognized as their universal human rights.”
One of their most impressive accomplishments was a direct result of a petition they organized to have the Argentinian government create CONADI, the National Committee for the Right to Identity, in 1992. The goal is “to assist young adults who doubt their identities by investigating all existing documents and referring them for blood analysis. Blood analyses are conducted by the National Bank of Genetic Data, which has the power to perform such analyses without legal intervention.”
Madres de Plaza de Mayo 