Faced with the risk of political violence in elections, human rights organizations will begin receiving complaints from victims starting this Monday. Lawyers and activists can seek support from a network of organizations and social movements that will monitor cases and provide assistance to people at risk.
The work will be led by the Brazilian Committee of Human Rights Defenders, which launched the service to mark the National Day of Lesbian Visibility. “The aim is to help human rights defenders find solutions to these threats and support the authorities, as well as monitor political violence in the 2022 Elections,” says Taraf.
According to them, the use of violence to silence defenders is not a new phenomenon in Brazil, but a frequent tool in the country’s history. However, in recent years, the rise in political violence against defenders who use the spaces of political representation to advance their struggles has come to the fore on the national stage.”
What frightens the group is that activists’ candidacy and mandates are increasingly met with hostility as they grow and manage to bring visibility to demands and struggles for collective rights.
“The rise in cases of political violence against human rights defenders has prompted the Committee to consider taking action,” said Luciana Pivato of the National Rights and Policies Program Coordination, a Committee member organization.
“Recently, our organizations held a course for parliamentarians, advisors, and leaders of popular movements to create conservation strategies. The scenario is particularly devastating for black and LGTQIA+ advocates,” he explains.
“Despite the efforts of civil society, most of the cases regarding the investigation of threats and the taking of protective measures by the Brazilian state remained unanswered,” he warns.
“Therefore, one of the conclusions we reached was that the Brazilian Committee should contribute to the systematization of cases and dialogue with areas of the justice system, seek legal assistance and subsidize cases in the fields of national and international human rights”, emphasizes Pivato.
According to them, political violence can be understood as “acts of physical, psychological and/or discriminatory intimidation, aggression, hate speech and the dissemination of offensive content against groups that have historically been discriminated against, particularly elected persons, candidates, candidates or candidates”. designated to exercise its role of public and/or political representation with the aim of suspending, interrupting, restricting or destabilizing the practice of free and full representation and political participation”.
The definition is taken from the Guide to Political and Electoral Violence in Brazil, edited by Terra de Direitos e Justiça Global, the organization that created the Committee.
The web of beings fear is that the intensification of political violence could jeopardize the political participation of women, blacks, indigenous people, and LGBTIQIA+ people who have historically already been excluded from spheres of power.
With complaints, the purpose of the network is to express opinions with State bodies so that they can receive and act on these cases.
source: Noticias
