Recommendations under analysis

Lower House committee debates the 246 recommendations received by Brazil at its UN review

The Committee on Human Rights and Minorities of the Lower House of Congress will stage a public hearing on Wednesday, August 9, to debate the 246 recommendations received by Brazil in the third cycle of the UPR (Universal Periodic Review), in the UN Human Rights Council.

At 2 pm, in Plenary Hall 9, Annex II, of the Lower House of Congress, civil society organizations and government bodies will assess the recommendations and discuss which ones should be accepted, rejected or partially accepted by the Brazilian State.

The UPR is one of the UN’s main review mechanisms, wherein every four and a half years all member countries are evaluated by their peers on human rights issues.

Brazil was reviewed by the UPR in May this year and it has until August 25 to submit its response to the UN. The recommendations address a series of rights violations, such as the excessive use of force by the police at protests, and they suggest the ratification of international treaties such as the Arms Trade Treaty and accountability for the companies responsible for the Rio Doce disaster.

“Now the government has to take a position. Several countries identified the shortcomings of the Brazilian State in areas such as the prison system and indigenous rights. Other recommendations called for the expansion of pre-trial hearings and the implementation of the new Immigration Law. It would be a disgrace if the government does not fully accept all the positive recommendations made at the hearing,” said Camila Asano, coordinator of the Foreign Policy program at Conectas Human Rights.

The public hearing will be attended by representatives of the Brazilian Human Rights and Foreign Policy Committee, the Federal Attorney General’s Office for the Rights of the Citizen, the National Human Rights Council, the Ministry of Foreign Relations and the Ministry of Human Rights.