Argentina, as set out in article 1 of its Constitution, has adopted "the representative, republican and federal form for its government", and has a presidential regime with separation of powers. Executive Power is held by the President who is directly elected by universal suffrage under a compulsory secret ballot. The presidential term is 4 years and re-election is permitted once by the constitution. Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner was elected in 2007 with 45.29% of the vote and the next elections are due to take place in 2011.

The Legislative Branch is made up of a Chamber of Deputies with 257 seats, 99 of which are held by women (38.5%) and the Senate with 71 seats, 25 of which are held by women (35.2%) . The Chamber is re-elected by halves every two years. The Senate is a representative body for 23 provinces, with each of these having 3 senators. The Autonomous City of Buenos Aires is the capital of the republic and also has 3 senators. The term for senators is 6 years, after which time they may be re-elected.

The judiciary is elected by the Nation's Supreme Court of Justice and minor courts. The judiciary is independent although some reports suggest that it is subject to pressure by a number of groups, such as the security forces, who have been accused of attempts to intimidate the judiciary. Charges have been pressed against the police in some areas, but in other parts of the country, they continue to act with impunity. The judiciary is responsible for cases involving human rights violations committed during the period of State Terrorism (the military dictatorship, 1976-1983). The Supreme Court of Justice has determined that crimes against humanity, such as the forced disappearance or kidnapping of children are not subject to the statute of limitations. However, there are court officers who blocked trials and delaying decisions because of and logistical difficulties. This was also the case in Buenos Aires at the start of the trial against those with greatest responsibility for the crimes committed in the Escuela Superior de Mecanica de la Armada (ESMA) and in the clandestine detention centres Atico, Banco, Olimpo (ABO) and Vesubio. These trials were significant both for the high number of cases included and the severity of charges against the accused.

One of the first measures adopted by President Fernandez was the creation of the Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation in Productivity. The measure was complemented by the announcement of the creation of a science and technology centre in Buenos Aries, comprising three institutes: Humanities and Social Sciences; Biomedical and Biotechnological Sciences; and Exact and Technological Sciences.

The government continues with Plan Patria Grande, initiated under the government of Nestor Kirchner, which seeks to provide immigrants with documentation. In 2008, documents were provided to 144,549 people, adding to the 714,907 immigrants who have been regularised since the initiative was launched in 2006. The figure represents almost half of the foreign people recorded in the 2001 census (1,531,940). The mass regularisation of immigrants and the consequent possibility that they will defend their rights by joining unions or making labour demands has had a significant impact on the labour market, since foreign workers often occupy the informal positions found at the lowest levels of the pay scale. This means that any improvement at these levels would have a direct impact on the pay scale as a whole.

In 2009, President Cristina Kirchner approved Decree 1602/09, establishing a universal child allowance for all children under 18 whose parents are unemployed or working as part of the informal economy whose pay does not exceed the adjustable living minimum wage. In order to receive the benefit, parents must show they have complied with a vaccination programme for their children up to the age of 4 and that they have been in compulsory education, from the age of 5 to 18.

In terms of freedom of expression, two important advances took place in 2009: the approval of the Audiovisual Communication Services Law and the decriminalisation of libel and slander. The central principal of the measures is the fundamental right to freedom of expression. The approval of the act resulted from a process which began 26 years earlier with the restoration of democracy. The demand for new regulations after the dictatorship was one of the fundamental aspects around which various civil society organizations, unions and universities have formed. They continue to fight for the democratisation of communication as a basic requirement for exercising freedom of expression. Independent media are active and express a wide variety of views without restriction, although public access to government information is legislated.

In 2010, Act 23.618 was approved and modified the Civil Code to allow same sex marriages, making Argentina the first country in South America to legalise homosexual marriage.

The Argentine Federal Education Act reaffirms the role and obligation of national government in the provision of education services. Educations national budget was raised to 6% of the countrys GDP, and inequalities between provinces are being eradicated. Education is free, universal and compulsory for ages 5 to 15, although adequate schooling options are unavailable in some rural areas. 98% of school-age children have access to a school, yet problems remain with school drop outs in the interior of the country due to deprivation and poverty. The problem of keeping children in school is greater than that of providing access.

1,428,599 children aged 3 to 5 are enrolled in a two year ECE programme. 28% of ECE is provided through private education and 53,501 teachers (97% women) are employed in ECE, with a pupil/teacher ratio (PTR) of 24:1.

Education is compulsory from the age of 5 to 14. 49% of total enrolment is female and 20% of primary education is private. There are 283,403 primary teachers (86% female), and the PTR is 16:1. In primary education 6% of students repeat years (7% of boys, 5% of girls). 90% of children complete primary education and 94% of these continue to secondary school.

Secondary education begins at the age of 12 and lasts for 6 years. There are 2.5 million students in secondary education programmes, 52% of which are female adolescents. 25% of secondary education is private. There are 229,159 secondary teachers, 128,739 (67% female) in lower secondary and 100,420 (64% female) in upper secondary. The PTR is 19:1 in lower secondary and 16:1 in upper secondary.

2,026,735 students (60% female) are enrolled in tertiary education. At this level 22% of education is private. 3,261 students from other Latin American and Caribbean countries study in Argentina and there are students from Argentina studying abroad in the USA (3,644), Cuba (102), the UK (79), Canada (41) and Jamaica (26). The law prohibits any act that may hinder the access to or continuity of studies for pregnant or breastfeeding students.

The law prohibits discrimination against people with a disability in the workplace, in education and other public services, however compliance is not effectively enforced. Accessibility laws and an employment quota reserving 4% of national government jobs for disabled people are often not respected.

Minors are required to be separated from adults in detention centres, however overcrowding in prisons makes such separation difficult and children who are held in these facilities receive extremely limited education.

The law provides for refugee status to be granted in accordance with the 1951 UN Convention on the Status of Refugees and its 1967 Protocol. The government has established a system of protection for refugees although there are no reports indicating the quantity or quality of education available for refugee children.

The Constitution recognises the ethnic and cultural identity of the indigenous community and protects their right to a bilingual education, amongst others. However, a lack of sufficiently trained teachers for indigenous education impedes the provision of bilingual education to native communities. The main indigenous groups the Kollas, the Mapuches, the Wichis and the Tobas represent less than 5% of the national population. Indexes for poverty, illiteracy, chronic illnesses and unemployment amongst the indigenous population are above the national average.

In November 2010, Amnesty International condemned the forced eviction of and violence against the Toba Qom La Primavera community in the province of Formosa. Following fourth month of peaceful protest for their ancestral land, members of the La Primavera community were violently evicted in a process which resulted in two deaths (an indigenous person and a police officer), a number wounded and around 35 arrested, at least 6 of which involved minors. Houses were also burnt during the attempted forced eviction. Following days of hunger strike, the Toba Qom leader was received by functionaries of the Ministry of the Interior, who gave their commitment to finding a solution to the conflict.

The government does not restrict academic freedom or Internet access. However, as CONADU (The Argentine Federation of University Teachers), a member organisation of EI, points out, approval of a new law to guarantee academic freedom to universities and the negotiation of the University Teacher statute is still pending.

Women have legal equality although there are signs of economic discrimination, with women occupying a disproportionate number of low paid, part-time jobs. By law, women must be paid the same for a job of equal or equivalent value, although in practice women continue to be paid less for carrying out the same job. Some 70% of women employed outside the home are employed in unskilled labour and 46% of employed women do not have social security or contribute to pension plans. A Tripartite Committee on Equal Opportunity for Men and Women in the Workplace chaired by the Ministry of Labour promotes equal treatment and opportunities in the labour market. The position occupied by women in the labour force, a product of historical power relations in which genders are fixed, continues to work against them. The Tripartite Commission is working to facilitate womens access to the labour market and to raise awareness of persistent gender inequalities. The pay gap and the glass ceiling which prevents women reaching positions of leadership are just some indicators of the problem. The Trade Union Membership Quota Act, the new gender clauses contained in Collective Bargaining Acts, legal bills which attempt to correct certain gaps in the law (such as the situation of workers in the domestic service sector) are just some examples of advances whose practical implementation still encounters difficulty.

Domestic violence and sexual harassment against women continue to be serious problems in society and have not been sufficiently tackled by the State. In particular, an appropriate infrastructure and sufficient resources are missing for victims of violence and mistreatment.

The trafficking of women for sexual exploitation takes place with border countries.

In spite of the National Plan of Action for the eradication of the worst forms of child labour, it continues to be a problem. The minimum age for employment is 14 although the Ministry of Education may permit one minor to work as part of a family unit. Children aged 14 to 18 may work in certain job categories if they have completed compulsory schooling up to the age of 15. It is estimated that 7.1% of children between 5 and 14 and up to 1.5 million children under 15 work in some capacity, with the rate being higher in rural areas. Although it is difficult to find statistics, there are cases of children being exploited for prostitution, sex tourism and drug trafficking. CTERA (the Confederation of Education Workers of the Argentine Republic), a member organisation of EI, forms part of the National Commission on Child Labour and has worked intensively for a number of years towards the eradication of this problem and the reincorporation of children into schooling.

With the exception of members of the military, all workers have the right to form trade unions and approximately 35% of the active population are unionised. The rights to negotiate collective bargaining agreements and recourse to conciliation and arbitration services are guaranteed. Collective bargaining agreements cover roughly 75% of the formally employed work force. The ILO has stated that the ratification process makes free collective bargaining difficult because the Ministry considers not only whether a collective agreement contains clauses which violate public order standards but also whether the agreement complies with criteria for productivity, investment, technology and vocational training. However, to date the government has not refused approval of any collective bargaining agreements based on the above criteria. Forced or compulsory labour is prohibited although there are some reports that such practices do occur. The national minimum wage remains insufficient to provide a decent standard of living for a worker and their family. The maximum working day is 8 hours and the maximum working week 48 hours.

Towards the end of 2008, a law was passed which ended the privatisation of the pensions and retirement system, giving rise to SIPA, the Argentine Integrated Welfare System.

This year, unemployment has declined from 8.4% in the first quarter to 7.3% in the fourth, its lowest rate since 1992, according to figures from the National Institute of Statistics and Census. In the same period, informal work fell to 37.3%, after having reached a peak of 49.50% in the first quarter of 2003.

The EI member organisations in Argentina are CTERA (Confederation of Education Workers of the Argentine Republic), CEA (Confederation of Argentine Educators) and CONADU (The National Federation of University Teachers).