BESIDES MONITORING Brazilian foreign policy as member of the Brazilian Human Rights and Foreign Policy Committee (CBDHPE), in Brasília, Conectas has stepped up other courses of action in order to give more visibility to Brazil’s position in its foreign policy, particularly in cases of human rights violations. Therefore, actions such as direct dialogue with public officials and key stakeholders in Brasília, engagement with partners and strategic use of the media have been valuable tools for exposing and increasing the political cost for the Brazilian government, as well as raising transparency, in cases that involve human rights, such as:
Human Rights: The world in 2013
At the end of 2013, Conectas published a map identifying some of the main human rights crises experienced over the course of the year, together with the concrete steps taken by the organization. Read more here and here.
Podcast on the main points of the speech given by President Dilma Rousseff at the opening of the UN General Assembly
Conectas analyzed the main points of the speech given by Dilma Rousseff at the opening of the UN General Assembly, in New York. In her speech, the president criticized the United States for spying on confidential Brazilian correspondence and expressed her opposition to any military action in Syria. Read more here.
Confirmation hearing of the Brazilian ambassador in Geneva
Prior to serving as the Permanent Representative of Brazil in Geneva, Ambassador Regina Maria Cordeiro Dunlop attended a confirmation hearing with senators in the Foreign Relations and National Defense Committee of the Federal Senate. At the time, Conectas submitted seven suggested questions on Brazil’s role in the human rights forums of the UN. Of the seven suggested questions, two were posed to Dunlop by the senators. The involvement of civil society in these confirmation hearings guarantees more transparency and dialogue with civil society regarding Brazil’s cooperation at the international level. Read more here.
Minister, #IWantToKnow
To raise public participation in the dialogue on human rights and foreign policy, Conectas launched its first online campaign Minister, #IWantToKnow. During the four days the campaign was online, Conectas received 30 questions submitted by the public, via Facebook. All the questions were sent, in writing, to the members of the Senate Foreign Relations and National Defense Committee of the confirmation hearing of the then appointed minister Antônio Aguiar Patriota. The #IWantToKnow campaign demonstrated that there is significant interest among Brazilians in foreign policy, particularly concerning human rights. A second edition of the Minister, #IWantToKnow campaign was held in February 2014, for the hearing of Foreign Minister Luiz Alberto Figueiredo. Of the five senators who took to the floor during the hearing, four mentioned the questions compiled and submitted by Conectas.
Campaign for Brazil´s support in the investigation of crimes in North Korea.
In North Korea, nearly 200,000 people live in forced labor camps. In March 2013, the UN Human Rights Council created the Commission of Inquiry to investigate decades of abuse and impunity by the North Korean regime against its citizens. Conectas launched a campaign calling on Brazil to support the adoption of the resolution and to not repeat the ambiguous position taken in 2009, when it abstained from the vote. Nearly 200 people supported the campaign, sharing messages on social networks and sending emails to the Brazilian Embassy in Geneva. The appeal for support from the Brazilian people was made by the North Korean Shin Dong-hyuk, who in a video recorded by Conectas asked for the support of the Brazilian delegation in the UN Human Rights Council. Shin was born in a forced labor camp for political prisoners in North Korea and was subject to torture at age of 14, hung by the skin of his stomach by an iron hook and suspended over a fire.
IN 2014, CONECTAS will continue to defend and promote human rights in Brazilian foreign policy, primarily to increase the involvement of society in this discussion and to act as a control mechanism in Congress (checks and balances), whether through advocacy and engagement or pressure using media strategies to guide the debate and give visibility to the foreign policy actions of the Brazilian government that are at odds with human rights.
