Conti was appointed undersecretary of human rights on 12 December 1997, prompting her to forgo her job at Buenos Aires University to concentrate on her new post. On 26 December 2001, she stepped down from that position, aiming to become undersecretary for institutional reform and national strengthening of democracy in Argentina (part of the Cabinet Chief's Office), position to which she was appointed on 23 January 2002.
