Demagogic proposal
In the UN, Brazil pledges to reduce prison population by 10% by 2019
At a hearing in the UN, the Minister of Human Rights Luislinda Valois announced a commitment of the Brazilian government to reduce the prison population by 10% by 2019. According to data from 2014 from the Ministry of Justice, there are 622,000 people behind bars in Brazil. The statement by Valois was made during the third cycle of the country’s UPR (Universal Periodic Review) in the Human Rights Council in Geneva, Switzerland. The UPR is the main international mechanism for reviewing the human rights situation in UN Member States and it takes place every four and a half years.
In all, 109 countries registered to make comments to the Brazilian government. The situation in the country’s prisons was one of the highlights of the session. At least 17 recommendations on prison conditions and access to justice were made to Brazil by countries such as the United States, Spain, Italy, Thailand, Japan, South Africa, Sweden, United Kingdom and Denmark.
Germany, for example, recommended that the government expand its custody hearing program by approving Bill 554/11 and suggested that judges and prosecutors who serve in these hearings receive specific training on the Istanbul Protocol, which deals with the prevention and combat of torture.
The announcement by Brazil that it will reduce the number of prisoners was met with skepticism by some civil society organizations. “This pledge is incompatible with the size of the challenges facing the prison system. Brazil imprisons nearly 40,000 people per year, so by the time the announced ‘target’ is met, the country will have imprisoned another 120,000 people,” said Camila Asano, coordinator of the Foreign Policy program at Conectas.
“The way it was presented, the commitment is demagogic. There is nothing to indicate that the current policy is changing. On the contrary: the National Security Plan that was described by Minister Valois as a ‘success’ merely reinforces the militarization that supports the mass incarceration of black youth from poor neighborhoods,” she added. “This debate cannot begin without a review of the current Drug Law, one of the main causes of imprisonment.”
The pledge to reduce the prison population was made by Valois during one of the responses by the Brazilian delegation, which was formed by representatives of the Ministry of Human Rights, the Ministry of Foreign Relations, the Ministry of Education and other federal government agencies. There was no participation by representatives of the Ministry of Justice, which is responsible for indigenous policies, the prison system and public security. The pledge had already been mentioned at a meeting organized by the Brazilian diplomatic mission with civil society organizations that are accompanying the review process in Geneva, among them Conectas.
Also in the field of public security, police violence featured prominently in the hearing. The United States, for example, said that cases of extrajudicial killings should be investigated. Slovakia recommended that the Brazilian police adopt a code of conduct on the use of force at protests.
Economic reforms
Most of the statements made by the Brazilian authorities during the hearing were focused on defending the economic reforms under discussion in Congress.
In her opening speech, Valois said that “the times require sacrifices in the short term”. “Brazil needs vital major reforms to restore its credibility,” said the minister. “We have approved an amendment designed to balance the books and preserve social programs,” she added, in reference to Constitutional Amendment 95 that freezes primary public spending for 20 years, including on health and education.
In December 2016, before its approval in Congress, the amendment was harshly criticized by the UN special rapporteur for extreme poverty, Philip Alston, who said the spending freeze in these areas will primarily affect the poorest in society and that it is “entirely incompatible” with Brazil’s human rights obligations.
Asano considered it positive that at least seven countries recommended that Brazil ratify the Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, according to which any person in Brazil can denounce setbacks in social rights directly to the UN.
Indigenous peoples
Other issues that received various recommendations from UN Member States were slave labor and indigenous peoples. The Brazilian government was careful to condemn the violence against indigenous populations, given the international repercussions following the attacks against the Gamela Indians in the state of Maranhão on April 30.
“The government condemns in the strongest terms the violence against indigenous peoples,” said Minister Valois. “We are committed to holding consultations in good faith with representatives of indigenous peoples to set up projects that can affect them. The São Luís project on the River Tapajós is a case in point.”
The statement did not instill confidence in civil society organizations that work with the topic. At least nine of the 53 reports sent by civil society to contribute to the review deal with the situation of indigenous peoples, the environment and rural violence.
In March, 30 organizations notified UN experts of at least 13 measures adopted by the federal government that violate international commitments made by the country in this area – among them Constitutional Amendment Bill 215, which transfers to Congress the responsibility for the demarcation of indigenous lands. At least 34 recommendations were made on this topic by countries such as Germany, France, Australia, Austria and Russia.
Click here to read all the recommendations made by the countries registered for the review of Brazil that have been posted on the UN website.
The review
The Universal Periodic Review is applied to all UN Member States alternately every four and a half years. During the hearing, the country under review receives recommendations and reports on what it has done to implement commitments made in previous cycles and to respond to new threats and violations that emerged over the period.
The country also responds to the report prepared by the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights and to the reports produced by civil society. This year, 53 reports were submitted to the UN by Brazilian and international organizations for the country’s review – a record participation.
The Brazilian government has until September to decide which recommendations it will accept and implement by the next review cycle. According to Camila Asano, “it is essential that civil society participates in the process of assessing the recommendations together with other bodies of the State itself, such as the National Councils [for dialogue between civil society and government] and the Legislative”.
“The primary value of the Universal Periodic Review is to make the country assume international political commitments that will be monitored and reviewed. At a time of clear threats of setbacks on practically all fronts, it is extremely symbolic to see that the international community is aware of the situation in Brazil and that the government will have to give concrete answers to the recommendations that have been made, particularly those involving the prison system, public security, protection of indigenous peoples, slave labor and social rights such as education and health,” she added.
Click here to learn more about the Universal Periodic Review of Brazil
Click here to read the report prepared by the UN
Click here to read the official report produced by the federal government
Click here to read the reports submitted by Conectas
