Emilio Fermín Mignone (July 23, 1922 - December 21, 1998) Argentine lawyer and founder of the Centre for Legal and Social Studies (CELS), was a "central figure of the most transcendental social movement of the last quarter of the twentieth century in Argentina, the human rights movement"[1] that strengthened and developed in the struggle against Argentina's military dictatorship of 1976-1983 and its aftermath.
This pivotal information proved crucial to subsequent investigations concerning the era of the "Dirty War" against leftist guerrillas and those believed to support them.
[12] In February 1981, Mignone and five other center directors faced arrest, and their offices were subjected to searches but international protests led to their release one week later.
After the reinstatement of democratic governance in Argentina in December 1983, the CELS persisted in its role of monitoring and releasing reports concerning the status of human rights and civil liberties within the nation.
In 1998, he actively participated in protests against the government's proposal to demolish the Navy Mechanics School, a location where no less than 4,000 individuals had suffered torture and lost their lives.