Brazil: Secret Process To Change Human Rights Policy
February 16, 2021
By Eurasia Review
The administration of Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro should ensure that any discussions about changing the country’s human rights policies occur in a transparent manner, with meaningful consultation with and participation by civil society and particularly affected groups, Human Rights Watch said.
The Bolsonaro administration has established a working group to propose changes to the National Human Rights Program, the most important statement of human rights policy in Brazil. The working group does not include any representatives of civil society, Congress or the justice system, and all its discussions are secret.
“The Bolsonaro administration, which has promoted an anti-rights agenda, has announced it is planning to change the National Human Rights Program in absolute secret, and without the participation of anyone who disagrees with its policies,” said Maria Laura Canineu, Brazil director at Human Rights Watch. “Given the administration’s deplorable human rights track record, there is a real risk that the result of this secret process will be disastrous for the protection of human rights in Brazil.”
. . .
Brazil has put in place three National Human Rights Programs since the end of the dictatorship (1964-1985). All three were drafted after ample, transparent public consultation.
For the last revision, the federal government under then-President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva established in 2008 a working group made up of representatives of civil society, Congress’s human rights commissions, prosecutors, judges, and public defenders, in addition to the executive branch. The working group organized a national conference that examined and updated the previous National Human Rights Program, which dated from 2002. Additional regional meetings were held.
The Lula administration estimated that 14,000 people participated in the discussions.
The current National Human Rights Program was adopted in 2010. One of its results was the creation of a Truth Commission to investigate human rights abuses during Brazil’s dictatorship. President Bolsonaro, then a member of Congress and an overt apologist for the military regime, opposed the Truth Commission.
More:
https://www.eurasiareview.com/16022021-brazil-secret-process-to-change-human-rights-policy/
