The government of Jair Bolsonaro has been the target of a number of allegations of violations at the UN. This Tuesday, Brazilian organizations attended a meeting to prepare the Universal Periodic Review, a mechanism created to examine the human rights situation in the country and assess the situation of countries. However, the meeting mirrored a deep crisis in many industries.
The greatest impact at the meeting came when Erileide Domingues, the indigenous representative of the Guarani Kaiowá Grand Assembly, took the floor. “Indigenous peoples have been suffering for decades, massacred and the target of a lot of violence because they don’t have land,” he said. “We are discussing what is ours with agriculture. We are risking our lives,” he said.
According to him, however, the situation took on a new dimension under the government of Jair Bolsonaro. “The crisis has become aggravated and naturalized. Enough, don’t lie,” he attacked.
“We exist. We are real. The state is blind, deaf and dumb for indigenous peoples,” he accused. “The blood that exists is spilling,” he said. “They grind hate into dust,” he insisted.
While talking to foreign governments, he asked officials outside of Brazil to advise the country. “What we are experiencing is serious. Brazil is indigenous land,” he said. Addressing Brazil’s ambassador to the UN Tovar Nunes directly, he insisted on asking for the resumption of the border. “This is what will bring peace,” he explained.
Anielle Franco, from the Marielle Franco Institute and sister of murdered councilor Marielle Franco, also condemned the human rights crisis in Brazil. “Keep an eye on Brazil,” the activist asked foreign governments. Remembering that her sister’s death remained unanswered for five years, Anielle said, “We will fight for democracy and survival.”
In his speech, he denounced the massacres perpetrated by police operations in Rio de Janeiro and the rest of Brazil. According to him, 5,000 young children, 75% of whom were black, were killed in 2019. According to him, the government justifies these deaths by not taking action.
Fernanda Lapa, representative of the Institute for Development and Human Rights, took the floor that 80% of the recommendations Brazil received at the UN in 2017 to reassess the human rights situation were ignored.
The condition of the woman attracts the attention of the being. According to her, while the budget reduced the budget allocated to contraceptives by 17%, violence against women increased.
Cristina Zahar, representing Abraji (Brazilian Investigative Journalism Association), described the current situation in Brazil as “the most complex since 1985”. According to him, there was a 350% increase in attacks against journalists between 2019 and 2021, with a total of 453 cases in one year. Between January and July 2022, there were 291 attacks.
Michele dos Ramos of the Igarapé Institute denounced the shrinking space for civil society and noted how Bolsonaro abolished dozens of participatory councils and secretly set up a review of the National Human Rights Programme.
Brazil’s Ambassador to the UN Tovar Nunes did not speak about human rights abuses in the country, choosing only to report that a document containing all the government’s programs was presented to the United Nations. The country’s review is taking place in November, and according to him, the report was prepared based on broad consultation.
According to him, the document was made “in a transparent way”. “We have the same goal of protecting human rights and we want to work together.”
source: Noticias
