In an unprecedented initiative, NGOs and lawyers are calling on the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights to ensure the protection of election judges, poll workers and other groups subjected to political violence in the October presidential election in Brazil.

The issue was the subject of a meeting this Wednesday between representatives of civil society and the chair of the Americas Commission. Organizations such as the Washington Brazil Office, the Arns Commission on Human Rights, the Brazilian Association of Democracy Lawyers, the Brazilian Election Risk Monitoring Observatory, and the Democracy Judges Association took part in the event.

The request comes at the same time as UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet expressed her concern over Jair Bolsonaro’s risk of hate speech and election violence.

During the meeting with the Commission, the members of the international body were informed about the risk faced by certain categories of people involved in the selection process.

“We are concerned that poll workers may be subjected to some form of violence in constituencies, and if President Bolsonaro loses the election, we do not know whether the police and Armed Forces will be on the side of democracy or fraudulent rhetoric,” told commissioners constitutionalist Estefânia of the Election Risks Monitoring Observatory in Brazil. Barboza said.

It also highlighted the “attacks on the Brazilian Judiciary, particularly the Federal Supreme Court and, more recently, on Electoral Justice”. According to him, these attacks constitute “the tactic of new authoritarian leaders trying to weaken the Judiciary”.

Claudia Maria Dadico of the AJD (Association of Judges for Democracy) classified the situation during the Brazilian election period as “very serious” and expressed “concern about the physical safety of the judges who will serve in the electoral field”.

According to him, “there are no guarantees regarding the behavior of the security forces because most of their members were chosen by Bolsonarism”.

One of the elements highlighted by the commission was the retaliation and threats against the judges who signed the letter in defense of democracy, launched on 11 August at Largo São Francisco in São Paulo.

“Within our organisations, we do not have the ability to mobilize the government alone to prevent these discrediting campaigns and the spread of false news,” said Ney Strozake of the ABJD (Brazilian Association of Lawyers for Democracy). “The support of international organizations that concretely defend the Brazilian electoral system” is now needed.

Wants

The nine-member group still made three requests. One of them is that the Inter-American Commission made a public statement to prevent September 7 from becoming an attack on democratic institutions, STF and TSE.

The issue was also the subject of Bachelet’s statement this Thursday. According to him, there is a concern because of Bolsonaro’s call to his supporters for history.

The parties insist that the Commission make a statement on election day 2 October calling for peaceful elections and respect for human rights and the outcome of the election process. The group still wants the Commission’s rapporteur for Brazil, Joel Hernández, to make a trip to the country following the elections.

In response, members of the Inter-American Commission assured that the organization was closely monitoring the situation in Brazil, creating a “situation room” for continuous monitoring of the context, and that a Brazilian observer delegation would accompany the Brazilian elections. OAS (Organization of American States).