President Jair Bolsonaro’s son, Senator Flávio Bolsonaro, rescinded the commitments proposed by the current Brazilian government at the UN (United Nations). By seeking justice to prevent the publication of a report by the UOL detailing the purchase of real estate for cash, he threatens a resolution presented by Brazilian diplomacy that recommends countries commit to combating censorship.
The document was presented to the United Nations Human Rights Council in July this year and approved.
text obtained by UOLIt states that governments that have signed the commitment will “refrain from imposing new restrictions on the free flow of information and ideas and removing existing restrictions that are incompatible with Article 19 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.”
This includes condemning “online censorship to deliberately prevent or interrupt online access or dissemination of information”.
Governments also agreed to refrain from “prohibition or closure of broadcasts or other means of communication and abuse of administrative measures, criminalization and censorship, and restriction of access to or use of information and communication technologies such as radio, television and the Internet, inter alia.” “.
Today, Brazil’s proposal at the UN is nothing but a fiction.
Brazil’s text, along with countries like Germany, commits governments to “take all necessary measures to promote, protect, respect and ensure and end the full exercise of the right to freedom of thought and expression, both online and offline”. to prevent violations and abuses of the right to freedom of thought and expression”.
According to the text, countries “strongly condemn” any restriction on the flow of information. The document further underlines that “a democratic society depends on respect for human rights, including the right to freedom of thought and expression, and that excessive restrictions on the freedom to seek, receive and impart information undermine democracy and the rule of law.”
In proposing the text, the government of Jair Bolsonaro also committed to “respect the right to freedom of opinion and expression in the media, particularly editorial independence, to promote a pluralistic approach to information and multiple perspectives, to promote, inter alia, a diversity”. promoting the economic sustainability of information resources and media, including media ownership and the mass media”.
The resolution calls on governments to ensure that “any limitations on the right to freedom of expression are only those provided by law and are necessary to ensure respect for the rights and dignity of others or the protection of national security”. However, it must be “in full compliance with international human rights obligations, including the principles of legality, legitimacy, necessity and proportionality”.
Finally, the text commits governments to allow “everyone to exercise their right to freedom of thought and expression, including journalists and other media workers and human rights defenders.”
This will include taking measures “to protect the confidentiality of journalists’ sources, including whistleblowers, in law and practice, recognizing the essential role of journalists and those who provide them with information in promoting journalists and government accountability and an inclusive, democratic and peaceful environment”. .
source: Noticias
