More than 100 Brazilian organizations are urging the elected government of Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva to break with the ultra-conservative alliance that President Jair Bolsonaro has brought Brazil into. The group advocates an anti-abortion stance, with governments like Saudi Arabia and far-right populists like Hungary.
The alliance, called the Geneva Accords, was formed between Donald Trump and Jair Bolsonaro in hopes of stopping any progress in the abortion debate in organizations like the WHO or the UN. When Joe Biden took over the US presidency, he ordered his government to withdraw from the bloc on the first day of his reign. In Colombia, Gustavo Pedro did the same.
While names such as Celso Amorim in Brazil advocated the country’s exit from the alliance, UOL saw that there was pressure from Evangelicals to prevent Lula from following Biden’s footsteps.
But in a letter to the transition team and its elected vice president, Geraldo Alckmin, more than 100 Brazilian sides insist this breakout must happen.
The signatories of this document respectfully request the elected government to withdraw Brazil’s commitment to the “Geneva Consensus” and to uphold the international commitments of the Brazilian State on gender equality, sexual and reproductive issues,” they write.
According to them, the international alliance “advocates a restrictive concept of family, restricts reproductive rights, violates the right to abortion even in legal situations”.
“It consists of only 36 countries, including ultra-conservative states that have been deemed to violate women’s rights and the LGBTI population,” they note.
“While it lacks the force of international agreements, the Declaration taints the course of Brazilian foreign policy in terms of human rights. Based on this, Bolsonaro’s government has legitimated a position aimed at restricting mentions of sexual and reproductive rights in documents discussed in 2018 multilateral forums. , these rights by the Brazilian State. points to the misalignment of Brazil with the historic commitments undertaken to protect and develop”, points out the groups.
Brazilian Association of Lesbians, Gays, Bisexuals, Transvestites, Transsexuals and Intersex, Judges of Democracy, National Historical Society, ARTICLE 19, Casa Sueli Carneiro, Catholics Right to Decide, Central Única dos Trabalhadores – CUT , Black Rights Coalition, Conectas Human Rights, Marielle The Franco Institute, the Observatory on Sexuality and Politics (SPW), the Medical Network for Decision-Making, the Brazilian Society for Cinema and Audiovisual Studies (SOCINE), dozens of university centers and groups of professionals from different fields.
“Announcing the country’s departure from this ultra-conservative alliance means restoring Brazil’s respectable position on the international scene. Renunciation means we will continue to conduct our foreign policy based on international principles and norms,” they say.
“For the world community, Brazil’s persistence could be a negative sign of a breach of commitments undertaken since the 1990s,” the groups said.
“Therefore, Brazil’s departure from this articulation with ultra-conservative governments is an urgent measure to contain the negative effects of the global far-right’s attacks on gender equality policies and will strengthen the country’s international commitment to the rights of girls, women and the LGBTI population. paves the way for the resumption of Brazil’s historic leadership in promoting their agenda,” they concluded.
In the text, the groups highlight how the alliance, of which Brazil is a part, has had an impact on their policies abroad and at home.
In 2019, Brazil abstained from voting on parts of a resolution discussed at the UN Economic and Social Council aimed at ensuring sexual and reproductive health for people affected by humanitarian crises. In 2020, the Brazilian government again abstained from voting on gender discrimination rules at the UN Human Rights Council and requested that information be removed from the text, particularly in the section on access to contraception.
“This regrettable stance was repeated in 2021 when the government refused to participate in a Declaration prepared within the framework of the International Women’s Day Council, calling on States to include sexual and reproductive health services in their plans to combat the epidemic,3 and in 2022 the government again vetoed another Council resolution containing provisions to that effect. when you try to” is highlighted.
During the UN Human Rights Council’s Universal Periodic Review last week, the government rejected 10 recommendations made by other countries on the issues of sexuality, reproductive and gender rights, as a final card to trample on the political transition.
According to the parties, Brazilian foreign policy has also had “detrimental effects” internally, with an emphasis on attacks on the right to terminate a pregnancy where prescribed by law.
“In a deplorable event in 2020, there were allegations that Damares Alves, the former Minister of Women, Family and Human Rights at the time, would take action to prevent an 11-year-old girl from having a legal abortion. “His family has been harassed and threatened, and they are now under the guardianship of the witness protection program.”
Later, the Ministry of Health passed a Regulation setting out the obligation for doctors and health workers to notify the police when seeking legal abortion services, shifting its focus from protection and assistance to criminalization and repression. Also, the Regulation required doctors to inform the person concerned about the possibility of imaging the fetus or embryo using ultrasound.
Under pressure from the Federal Supreme Court’s ADPF 737 argument, which contests such measures, the Department of Health has issued a new Regulation, still in effect, that changes some points but retains the illegal provisions that restrict victims of sexual violence.
“Brazil’s international stance over the past four years, whose position has been reinforced through active participation in the Geneva Accords, goes against the country’s diplomatic history in advocating for gender equality and sexual and reproductive rights,” they say.
“Brazil’s departure from the Geneva Accords also represents the country’s commitment to abandon the reproduction of racial violence, as there have been multiple violations of the rights of black and indigenous peoples in the past 4 years, reproductive and sexual health,” they insist.
source: Noticias
Mark Jones is a world traveler and journalist for News Rebeat. With a curious mind and a love of adventure, Mark brings a unique perspective to the latest global events and provides in-depth and thought-provoking coverage of the world at large.