Brazil fulfills just 1 of 190 international recommendations on human rights
A report by the UPR Brazil group assesses compliance with the recommendations made by UN Member States during the review of the human rights situation in the country in 2016
The group UPR Brazil released this Thursday, November 12, in Brasília during the special session of the National Human Rights Council, the special report by civil society entitled “Universal Periodic Review of Human Rights in the context of Covid-19”. The report is the result of five months of work by the group monitoring the recommendations made by the other UN Member States to Brazil.
The UPR Report analyzed twelve topics related to human rights in Brazil, grouping the topics by level of vulnerability and specific social sectors, in accordance with the recommendations of the Universal Periodic Review:
- Indigenous Peoples and Environment;
- Prison System, Combating Torture and Public Security;
- Health;
- Gender and Sexuality;
- Education;
- Racism, Setbacks, Inequalities, Austerity and Rights;
- Urban Housing, the City and Adequate Food and Nutrition;
- Business and Human Rights;
- Human Rights Defenders, Right to Transparency and Information and Democracy;
- Migrants and Refugees;
- Labor and Income;
- Children and Adolescents.
Based on an analysis of official databases and cross-referencing with studies produced by organized civil society, of the 190 recommendations assessed, 47 are considered partially complied with and just 1 is fully complied with. The majority, 142, are considered not complied with.
Of these, the UPR Brazil group also considers that 64 of the issues have faced setbacks. This means that, in addition to not complying with more than half of the recommendations, Brazil has gone in the opposite direction with regard to at least 26.44% of the recommendations of the 3rd UPR cycle.
The report identified that the dismantling of the federal government’s environmental and social programs, with severe cuts in several areas due to Constitutional Amendment 95/2016, of 9 November 2020 – otherwise known as the spending cap – is one of the decisive reasons for the setbacks and stagnation in compliance with human rights in the country.
The UPR (Universal Periodic Review) is a monitoring mechanism of the UN Human Rights Council, created in 2006, in which Member States, based on reports submitted to the Council, make recommendations to each other to improve the human rights situation around the world.
The review and submission of reports occurs every four and a half years, according to a cycle. However, governments and civil society are also encouraged to submit mid-term reports (every two years) to ensure the timely consistency of the monitoring.
Starting in 2018, an engaged group formed by 26 Brazilian non-governmental organizations, social movements and networks, including Conectas, began to monitor the human rights situation in the country using the debate that takes place at the multilateral body in Geneva as a roadmap.
The UPR Brazil group is formed by 30 organizations from all regions of the country, including Conectas, and since 2018 it has been monitoring the human rights situation in the country using the debate that takes place at the multilateral body in Geneva as a roadmap.
