Regional and International Mechanisms in the Protection and Defense of Human Rights

ON THE INTERNATIONAL LEVEL, Conectas continues to use regional and international human rights mechanisms, such as the UN Human Rights Council (HRC) and the Inter-American Human Rights System of the Organization of American States (OAS) to denounce and expose human rights violations.

2e-1 In the UN, thanks to a permanent representation in Geneva, Conectas actively participates in the sessions of the HRC to monitor and influence Brazilian foreign policy with regard to the implementation of recommendations and the position of Brazil concerning the protection and defense of human rights by other States, particularly in countries of the Global South. In the OAS, Conectas has engaged in advocacy to pressure Brazil to take firmer action to strengthen the system and, increasingly more so, it has used the system to denounce cases of human rights violations committed in Brazil.

UN Human Rights Council

In 2013, Conectas participated actively in the sessions of the HRC, engaging in advocacy with partners, ranging from side events during the sessions, oral statements on human rights violations, participation on debate panels and other actions, such as:

• Advocacy and online campaign on behalf of the North Korean activist Shin Dong-hyuk, requesting the support of Brazil for the creation of a Commission of Inquiry to investigate the human rights situation in his country (22nd session);

• Side event “World Cup for Whom? Red card to the World Cup and Olympics in Brazil” (23rd session);

• Oral statement with partner organizations against the detention of individuals for indefinite periods and without trial at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba (23rd session);

• Support, through a joint letter signed with organizations from different countries, for two resolutions adopted by the UN at the 24th session on the role of civil society and reprisals against human rights defenders;

• Joint statement with other organizations and a coordinated campaign on Twitter for a resolution that was more committed to the human rights violations taking place in Sudan (24th session);

• Support, in a joint letter with another 23 organizations from the Global South, for the international investigation into the crimes committed in Sri Lanka during the civil war (25th session);

• Advocacy with partner organizations against the amendments weakening the UN resolution on protests and in favor of a ban on the use of lethal weapons by agents of the State during demonstrations (25th session);

• Complaints over the crimes committed in the Pedrinhas prison complex, in the state of Maranhão, the situation of Haitian immigrants in the town of Brasileia and the abusive body searches performed on prison visitors in Brazil (25th session);

• Debate, organized by Conectas and partner organizations, on the influence that NGOs have on the foreign policy of their countries (26th session);

• Publication of an analysis report and delivery of an oral statement on the first three years of the UN Working Group on Business and Human Rights (26th session).

Inter-American Human Rights System

The Inter-American Human Rights System consists of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) and the Inter-American Court of Human Rights, two regional bodies that play a crucial role in the defense of human rights in the Americas, such as in protecting the victims of Latin American dictatorships. Conectas has used this mechanism more frequently to expose and denounce cases of human rights violations in Brazil:

• First thematic hearing of the IACHR on drug policies in Latin America, requested by Conectas and partner organizations;

• Denouncement, with partner organizations, of the more than 200 cases of police abuse committed by officers during the repression of protests that have taken place in the country since June 2013;

• Thematic hearing of the IACHR, in Washington, requested by Conectas and a partner organization, on the situation of Haitian immigrants in the Americas.

IN 2014, CONECTAS will continue to step up its engagement with the regional and international human rights systems, particularly the integrated use of these mechanisms by the organization’s different programs, such as Justice and Foreign Policy. This joint action has strengthened the work of Conectas – as a collective voice – in the defense and protection of human rights.