Rollback of trans rights in Argentina: ILGALAC and ILGA World statement on Decree 62/2025

The International Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans and Intersex Association for Latin America and the Caribbean (ILGALAC) and ILGA World express their absolute condemnation of the Necessity and Urgency Decree 62/2025 enacted by the government of Javier Milei, which imposes serious restrictions on the right to gender identity of trans and non-binary people, particularly youth, as well as of the Decree 61/2025, which violates the dignity of trans people deprived of their liberty.

In Argentina, the government of Javier Milei has modified by decree the historic Gender Identity Law, the first in the world to allow the change of name and gender marker under standards of self-identification and the right to comprehensive health.

The decree prohibits access to gender-affirming care for people under 18, and was announced alongside another decree that limits the accommodation of persons deprived of their liberty according to their gender identity.

While legal experts claim that these decrees do not comply with the Constitution, organisations in Argentina warn that the consequences of these discourses have increased cases of violence based on prejudice and that the elimination of national diversity policies has worsened the living conditions of the LGBTI community.

The announcements came just a few days after hundreds of thousands of people demonstrated in Argentina to reject Milei’s statements at the World Economic Forum, in which he slandered the LGBTI and feminist movements. This context demonstrates a systematic strategy of attacking acquired rights, which seeks to dismantle decades of struggle for equality and recognition of diversity.

The decision of the Argentine Executive represents an alarming step backwards in terms of human rights and a direct attack on the principles of equality and non-discrimination enshrined in the National Constitution, international human rights treaties and the Gender Identity Law 26.743 itself, recognised worldwide as a cutting-edge model.

The restriction imposed on trans youth to access essential medical treatments ignores scientific evidence and the recommendations of international organisations such as the World Health Organisation (WHO) and the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR). This measure not only ignores the progressive autonomy of youth, but also exposes trans youth to greater levels of vulnerability, psychosocial suffering and risk of clandestine and unregulated medical practices.

Likewise, the decree regulating the accommodation of trans people in prisons promotes the stigmatisation and criminalisation of diversity, using isolated cases to justify regressive measures that threaten the safety and fundamental rights of the trans population deprived of their freedom.

Argentina was a beacon in the region by recognising the right to gender identity without pathologisation or judicialisation. This regression, imposed by decree without parliamentary debate or the participation of the sectors affected, constitutes an abuse of executive power and a blow to democratic institutions.

From ILGALAC and ILGA World, we urge the international community, human rights organisations and the inter-American system for the protection of human rights to speak out strongly against these decrees and to demand their immediate repeal.

Similarly, we call on the National Congress and the Argentine Judiciary, especially the Supreme Court of Justice of the Nation, to assume their responsibility in the defence of fundamental rights and to guarantee the full enforcement of the Gender Identity Law in its original wording.

We will not tolerate the normalisation of discourses and policies of hatred that endanger the life and dignity of trans people. We will remain steadfast in the fight for equality and justice, and we will support all the legal and advocacy actions necessary to stop this authoritarian onslaught.

Trans lives are not up for negotiation. Rights won cannot be taken away.