In the first international measure against the Brazilian government for the disappearance of Bishop Phillips and Bruno Pereira, the Commission on Human Rights of the Americas (IACHR) decided on precautionary measures after assessing that the victims “are in a situation of serious and urgent risk. After their disappearance to date in Brazil irreparable damage to them”.
by UOL Organizations advocating freedom of expression and press freedom, which were announced privately on Friday, made a request to the international body. Petitioners also included Article 19, Reporters Without Borders, the Vladimir Herzog Institute, and the Washington Brazilian Office.
The international organization’s move comes a day after the UN publicly criticized the government’s delay in taking action to recover the missing.
Now, international printing takes on a new dimension. As part of all regional agreements, the Brazilian State recognizes the jurisdiction of the commission and an injunction adopted by the body must be complied with. However, without a way to demand its implementation, the action works as an international diplomatic pressure and restraint.
“According to the petitioners, the disappearance of the two will be framed in the context of worsening violence against human rights defenders, journalists and social communicators,” the commission said. Said.
The petition warns that the State’s efforts were not immediate and only started after intense mobilization of civil society, the national and international press and social networks. The Inter-American Commission argues that “given the size of the region and other technical difficulties, the measures taken so far will be insufficient.” Said.
According to a statement released on Saturday, the commission noted that the status of the proposed beneficiaries will be widely known by national organizations, while there are internal judicial decisions at different levels determining that all necessary measures be taken promptly to locate the two missing persons. And yet, it’s still missing.
“After reviewing the information in the petition, the IACHR considered that the violation of the proposed beneficiaries’ rights would be imminent. As a result, no relevant information was previously requested from Brazil in the present case,” he said.
Urgent action requirement
A rare occurrence is when the commission demands immediate compliance with the decision. It is only adopted where it considers it to be very serious and the State’s negligence is evident. Normally, the commission gives the State seven days to present itself and present its arguments. This time, commission decided to enforce the judgment immediately, based on the information provided by the petitioning organisations.
Considering the situation, the Commission for the Americas requests from Brazil:
- redouble the efforts of Bruno Araújo Pereira and Dom Phillips to protect their right to life and personal integrity and to determine their status and whereabouts so that they can continue to pursue their human rights work or journalistic activity, as the case may be;
- Report on actions taken to diligently investigate the alleged facts that led to the taking of this injunction and thus avoid its repetition.
source: Noticias
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