Roundtable - 50 Years after Operation Condor (Hybrid event)

UCL Institute of the Americas

Brings together lawyers and academics to reflect on the 50th anniversary of the transnational terror network

Room 103, 51 Gordon Sq

UCL  Americas Public Seminar Series

We are thrilled to announce our upcoming seminar series exploring  the rich and complex histories, politics of the Americas.

This is a hybrid event, please select the correct ticket type depending on how you will be joining the event, with in-person tickets limited due to the size of the venue. This roundtable brings together lawyers and academics to reflect on the 50th anniversary of the official founding meeting of Operation Condor. Set up in November 1975 by Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Paraguay, and Uruguay, this transnational terror network facilitated the persecution of political dissidents living in exile in South America and beyond, with a legacy of 800+ victims. The discussion will focus on recent developments in the investigations on Operation Condor, including judicial proceedings and the use of digital technologies to democratise access to information. Speakers:Karinna Fernández Neira, lawyer in the Chilean Operation Condor trials and human rights defenderProfessor Philippe Sands, Professor of Law and Director of the Centre on International Courts and Tribunals, UCLDr Sebastián Smart, Senior Research Fellow, ARUDr Francesca Lessa, Associate Professor in International Relations of the Americas, UCL (chair) Speakers' biographies:Karinna Fernández Neira is a leading Chilean lawyer and human rights defender. She has a wealth of experience litigating cases relating to the Chilean dictatorship, contemporary human rights violations, and corruption before Chilean courts, the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, and the Inter-American Court of Human Rights.Professor Philippe Sands (UCL) is the author of <a href="https://eur01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.weidenfeldandnicolson.co.uk%2Ftitles%2Fphilippe-sands%2F38-londres-street%2F9781474620741%2F&data=05%7C02%7Csudershana.dave%40ucl.ac.uk%7C8b514d8196e64d92622b08ddef99d2e3%7C1faf88fea9984c5b93c9210a11d9a5c2%7C0%7C0%7C638930166127761296%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJFbXB0eU1hcGkiOnRydWUsIlYiOiIwLjAuMDAwMCIsIlAiOiJXaW4zMiIsIkFOIjoiTWFpbCIsIldUIjoyfQ%3D%3D%7C0%7C%7C%7C&sdata=TMTDlKaHnzFbaeJKMQHtzKOar70HuE61LlHNkBCM4Mo%3D&reserved=0" title="https://eur01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.weidenfeldandnicolson.co.uk%2Ftitles%2Fphilippe-sands%2F38-londres-street%2F9781474620741%2F&data=05%7C02%7Csudershana.dave%40ucl.ac.uk%7C8b514d8196e64d92622b08ddef99d2e3%7C1faf88fea9984c5b93c9210a11d9a5c2%7C0%7C0%7C638930166127761296%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJFbXB0eU1hcGkiOnRydWUsIlYiOiIwLjAuMDAwMCIsIlAiOiJXaW4zMiIsIkFOIjoiTWFpbCIsIldUIjoyfQ%3D%3D%7C0%7C%7C%7C&sdata=TMTDlKaHnzFbaeJKMQHtzKOar70HuE61LlHNkBCM4Mo%3D&reserved=0" target="_blank" data-msys-clicktrack="0" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer">38 Londres Street - On Impunity, Pinochet in England and a Nazi in Patagonia</a> (Weidenfeld &amp; Nicolson, 2025) and <a href="https://eur01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.weidenfeldandnicolson.co.uk%2Ftitles%2Fphilippe-sands%2Feast-west-street%2F9781474601917%2F&data=05%7C02%7Csudershana.dave%40ucl.ac.uk%7C8b514d8196e64d92622b08ddef99d2e3%7C1faf88fea9984c5b93c9210a11d9a5c2%7C0%7C0%7C638930166127826947%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJFbXB0eU1hcGkiOnRydWUsIlYiOiIwLjAuMDAwMCIsIlAiOiJXaW4zMiIsIkFOIjoiTWFpbCIsIldUIjoyfQ%3D%3D%7C0%7C%7C%7C&sdata=g5JSeGK2HMI8UvCGWX%2FUWtJlN213ecD2%2FbqUq8%2B0HBI%3D&reserved=0" title="https://eur01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.weidenfeldandnicolson.co.uk%2Ftitles%2Fphilippe-sands%2Feast-west-street%2F9781474601917%2F&data=05%7C02%7Csudershana.dave%40ucl.ac.uk%7C8b514d8196e64d92622b08ddef99d2e3%7C1faf88fea9984c5b93c9210a11d9a5c2%7C0%7C0%7C638930166127826947%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJFbXB0eU1hcGkiOnRydWUsIlYiOiIwLjAuMDAwMCIsIlAiOiJXaW4zMiIsIkFOIjoiTWFpbCIsIldUIjoyfQ%3D%3D%7C0%7C%7C%7C&sdata=g5JSeGK2HMI8UvCGWX%2FUWtJlN213ecD2%2FbqUq8%2B0HBI%3D&reserved=0" target="_blank" data-msys-clicktrack="0" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer">East West Street</a> (Weidenfeld &amp; Nicolson, 2016). He represented Human Rights Watch in the landmark proceedings against Chilean dictator Augusto Pinochet following his arrest in London in 1998.Dr Sebastián Smart (ARU) is a Chilean lawyer who has worked in academia, NGOs, and the Chilean National Human Rights Institution on state violence, memory, and accountability. He has also collaborated with various regional and international organisations. He is the editor of <a href="https://eur01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Flink.springer.com%2Fbook%2F10.1007%2F978-3-031-89828-0&data=05%7C02%7Csudershana.dave%40ucl.ac.uk%7C8b514d8196e64d92622b08ddef99d2e3%7C1faf88fea9984c5b93c9210a11d9a5c2%7C0%7C0%7C638930166127883611%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJFbXB0eU1hcGkiOnRydWUsIlYiOiIwLjAuMDAwMCIsIlAiOiJXaW4zMiIsIkFOIjoiTWFpbCIsIldUIjoyfQ%3D%3D%7C0%7C%7C%7C&sdata=jW5e6oQ%2BqAStFNpqGg7W9xozhCgvRKtMpd95vwQpf5I%3D&reserved=0" title="https://eur01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Flink.springer.com%2Fbook%2F10.1007%2F978-3-031-89828-0&data=05%7C02%7Csudershana.dave%40ucl.ac.uk%7C8b514d8196e64d92622b08ddef99d2e3%7C1faf88fea9984c5b93c9210a11d9a5c2%7C0%7C0%7C638930166127883611%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJFbXB0eU1hcGkiOnRydWUsIlYiOiIwLjAuMDAwMCIsIlAiOiJXaW4zMiIsIkFOIjoiTWFpbCIsIldUIjoyfQ%3D%3D%7C0%7C%7C%7C&sdata=jW5e6oQ%2BqAStFNpqGg7W9xozhCgvRKtMpd95vwQpf5I%3D&reserved=0" target="_blank" data-msys-clicktrack="0" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer">Business, Human Rights, Technology, and Transitional Justice in Latin America</a> (Palgrave Macmillan, 2025).Dr Francesca Lessa (UCL) is the author of <a href="https://eur01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fyalebooks.co.uk%2Fbook%2F9780300254099%2Fthe-condor-trials%2F&data=05%7C02%7Csudershana.dave%40ucl.ac.uk%7C8b514d8196e64d92622b08ddef99d2e3%7C1faf88fea9984c5b93c9210a11d9a5c2%7C0%7C0%7C638930166127944298%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJFbXB0eU1hcGkiOnRydWUsIlYiOiIwLjAuMDAwMCIsIlAiOiJXaW4zMiIsIkFOIjoiTWFpbCIsIldUIjoyfQ%3D%3D%7C0%7C%7C%7C&sdata=cyVBo9Y3NeUjAAjDkAAybtBj4KUjqaBjY0MPKFNgKHQ%3D&reserved=0" title="https://eur01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fyalebooks.co.uk%2Fbook%2F9780300254099%2Fthe-condor-trials%2F&data=05%7C02%7Csudershana.dave%40ucl.ac.uk%7C8b514d8196e64d92622b08ddef99d2e3%7C1faf88fea9984c5b93c9210a11d9a5c2%7C0%7C0%7C638930166127944298%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJFbXB0eU1hcGkiOnRydWUsIlYiOiIwLjAuMDAwMCIsIlAiOiJXaW4zMiIsIkFOIjoiTWFpbCIsIldUIjoyfQ%3D%3D%7C0%7C%7C%7C&sdata=cyVBo9Y3NeUjAAjDkAAybtBj4KUjqaBjY0MPKFNgKHQ%3D&reserved=0" target="_blank" data-msys-clicktrack="0" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer">The Condor Trials: Transnational Repression and Human Rights in South America</a> (Yale University Press, 2022) and <a href="https://eur01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.penguinlibros.com%2Fuy%2Ftematicas%2F338026-ebook-plan-condor-9789915681177&data=05%7C02%7Csudershana.dave%40ucl.ac.uk%7C8b514d8196e64d92622b08ddef99d2e3%7C1faf88fea9984c5b93c9210a11d9a5c2%7C0%7C0%7C638930166127995216%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJFbXB0eU1hcGkiOnRydWUsIlYiOiIwLjAuMDAwMCIsIlAiOiJXaW4zMiIsIkFOIjoiTWFpbCIsIldUIjoyfQ%3D%3D%7C0%7C%7C%7C&sdata=SFBB1q5uztrYOjj6C9i6KTOhL2g1zeeOsJYNXHL5m14%3D&reserved=0" title="https://eur01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.penguinlibros.com%2Fuy%2Ftematicas%2F338026-ebook-plan-condor-9789915681177&data=05%7C02%7Csudershana.dave%40ucl.ac.uk%7C8b514d8196e64d92622b08ddef99d2e3%7C1faf88fea9984c5b93c9210a11d9a5c2%7C0%7C0%7C638930166127995216%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJFbXB0eU1hcGkiOnRydWUsIlYiOiIwLjAuMDAwMCIsIlAiOiJXaW4zMiIsIkFOIjoiTWFpbCIsIldUIjoyfQ%3D%3D%7C0%7C%7C%7C&sdata=SFBB1q5uztrYOjj6C9i6KTOhL2g1zeeOsJYNXHL5m14%3D&reserved=0" target="_blank" data-msys-clicktrack="0" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer">Plan Cóndor: Viejos secretos y nuevos hallazgos</a> (Reservoir Books, 2025, 2nd edition) with Sebastián Santana Camargo. She is the coordinator of the Plancondor.org Project at UCL. This event is co-sponsored by the <a href="https://eur01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fsections.lasaweb.org%2Fsections%2Fhistoria-reciente-memoria%2F&data=05%7C02%7Csudershana.dave%40ucl.ac.uk%7C8b514d8196e64d92622b08ddef99d2e3%7C1faf88fea9984c5b93c9210a11d9a5c2%7C0%7C0%7C638930166128044725%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJFbXB0eU1hcGkiOnRydWUsIlYiOiIwLjAuMDAwMCIsIlAiOiJXaW4zMiIsIkFOIjoiTWFpbCIsIldUIjoyfQ%3D%3D%7C0%7C%7C%7C&sdata=4GHyWXyrgiSVH%2FcunxZJEOexy3%2F%2BZIn3M4r%2F3FghOiY%3D&reserved=0" title="https://eur01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fsections.lasaweb.org%2Fsections%2Fhistoria-reciente-memoria%2F&data=05%7C02%7Csudershana.dave%40ucl.ac.uk%7C8b514d8196e64d92622b08ddef99d2e3%7C1faf88fea9984c5b93c9210a11d9a5c2%7C0%7C0%7C638930166128044725%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJFbXB0eU1hcGkiOnRydWUsIlYiOiIwLjAuMDAwMCIsIlAiOiJXaW4zMiIsIkFOIjoiTWFpbCIsIldUIjoyfQ%3D%3D%7C0%7C%7C%7C&sdata=4GHyWXyrgiSVH%2FcunxZJEOexy3%2F%2BZIn3M4r%2F3FghOiY%3D&reserved=0" target="_blank" data-msys-clicktrack="0" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer">Recent History and Memory Section</a> of the Latin American Studies Association (LASA) and the <a href="https://plancondor.org/" title="https://plancondor.org/" target="_blank" data-msys-clicktrack="0" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer">Plancondor.org</a> Project.