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Reports and Publications / Brazil / 2010 / October

Brazil: A Follow-up Report to the UN Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights on the Economic, Social and Cultural Root Causes of Torture and Other Forms of Violence in Brazil

Follow-up Report to UNCESCR on Root Causes of Torture and Other Forms of Violence in Brazil
45 pages / 757 KB

Introduction
Addressing the links between violence and the denial of economic, social and cultural rights
This follow-up report has been produced in the context of the OMCT project “Preventing Torture and Other Forms of Violence by Acting on their Economic, Social and Cultural Root Causes” funded by the European Union’s European Initiative for Democracy and Human Rights, the Karl Popper Foundation, the InterChurch Organisation for Development Cooperation (ICCO) and the Foundation for Human Rights at Work.
 
This project is founded on the principle of the interdependence of human rights and seeks to develop human rights responses that address the links between poverty and marginalisation on the one hand, and torture and violence on the other.[1] If torture and cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment and other forms of violence – including violence against women and children - are to be effectively eliminated, then their economic, social and cultural root causes must be understood and effectively addressed.[2] The converse equally applies: acting to reduce levels of violence in a given society is a fundamental step towards ensuring the widespread enjoyment of economic, social and cultural rights.


How the denial of economic, social and cultural rights is related to torture and other forms of violence

  • The poor, excluded and other vulnerable groups are often the first and most numerous victims of violence, including torture and cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment.
  • Levels of violence in a given community or society can be such that individuals or groups are unable to enjoy their economic, social and cultural rights.
  • Violence is inflicted on persons because they demand respect for economic, social or cultural rights – their own or those of others.
  • Policies and programmes by governments, private actors or development and financial institutions can exacerbate poverty and inequalities and lead to increased levels of official, criminal and domestic violence.

 
 
The Alternative Report on Brazil
An important activity foreseen under OMCT’s project involves working with UN Treaty Body Committees and the submission of alternative reports to assist their reflections.
 
On 6 and 7 May 2009, The Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights considered the second periodic report of Brazil on the implementation of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights. In order to support the Committee’s work and to make available complementary information, the secretariat of the World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT) in Switzerland joined with Justiça Global and the National Movement of Street Boys and Girls (MovimentoNacional de Meninose Meninas de Rua - MNMMR) in Brazil to develop an Alternative Report. This report - The Criminalisation Of Poverty. A Report on the Economic, Social and Cultural Root Causes of Torture and Other Forms of Violence in Brazil - was submitted for the Committee’s consideration in April 2009.
 
In order to prepare this Alternative Report, a mission to the state of Pernambuco was carried out by MNMMR and OMCT from 9 to 15 February 2009. Justiça Global and OMCT subsequently carried out a mission in the city of Rio de Janeiro from 15 to 17 February. The resulting Alternative Report was not intended to offer an exhaustive appraisal of the denial of economic, social and cultural rights in Brazil. Rather, it addressed some of the key areas where there is a clear and direct link between violations of economic, social and cultural rights and violence, or the threat of violence in this country and offered recommendations in this regard.
 
At the heart of the Alternative Report is the assertion that violence is an inherent element of poverty in Brazil: it disproportionately affects the poorest communities, in urban and rural areas alike, and in turn reinforces this poverty. Furthermore, State actors engaged in law enforcement tend to “profile” the poor, and particularly the poor residents of Brazil’s favelas, as “criminals”. This identification is reinforced by media reports, and even statements by public figures. In turn, the criminalisation of the poor justifies public security strategies that violate a range of human rights, including the right to life, as police engage in arbitrary actions against favela residents, particularly young, black males. Identified as criminals by the police, the poor are at the same time also victims of crime, and organised gangs control much of the economic resources in Brazil’s poor urban neighbourhoods.
 
The Alternative Report by Justiça Global, MNMMR and OMCT makes concrete recommendations as to how the Brazilian Government should address the issue of violence against its poorest and most vulnerable citizens (see appendix 5). Several of these recommendations – and particularly those dealing with policing strategies - are echoed in the programmatic actions proposed under Brazil’s Third National Human Rights Programme (Programa Nacional de Deraitos Humanos – PNDH-3, Decree no. 7.037), approved on 21 December 2010 (see below).
 
Follow-up activities
OMCT’s project on “Preventing Torture and Other Forms of Violence by Acting on their Economic, Social and Cultural Root Causes” not only foresees the production of alternative reports, but also includes provisions for follow-up missions to assess the progress of State parties in implementing the recommendations produced by UN Treaty Body Committees. It was in this context that OMCT conducted a five-day follow-up mission to Brazil from 14 to 19 March 2010. The purpose of this mission was twofold: to assess developments in the enjoyment of economic, social and cultural rights in the light of the Committee’s recommendations to the Government of Brazil following the submission of the State Party’s second periodic report – and in particular those recommendations most closely linked to the issue of violence in Brazilian society - and to assist in the launch and dissemination of the Alternative Report on Brazil prepared by OMCT, Justica Global and MNMMR in April 2009.
 
This follow-up mission was carried out in Rio de Janeiro by a representative of OMCT, with important support provided by the staff of Justiça Global. The mission schedule is reproduced in appendix 1 to this report. Appendix 2 provides details of the launch of the report and the associated public debate, appendix 3 reproduces the statement by OMCT at this event, and appendix 4 provides examples of media coverage.



[1] See OMCT, Attacking the Root Causes of Torture: Poverty, Inequality and Violence – An Interdisciplinary Study, Geneva, 2006, www.omct.org. In his role as UN Special Rapporteur on the question of torture, Sir Nigel Rodley noted: “as long as national societies and, indeed, the international community fail to address the problems of the poor, the marginalized and the vulnerable, they are indirectly and, as far as the exposure to the risk of torture is concerned, directly contributing to the vicious circle of brutalization that is a blot on and a threat to our aspirations for a life of dignity and respect for all”, Interim Report of the Special Rapporteur of the Commission of Human Rights on the question of torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment, UN Doc. A/55/290, 11 August 2000, para. 37.
[2] Of course, many other measures must be taken to eliminate torture in addition to addressing its economic, social and cultural root causes. These are dealt with in OMCT-sponsored alternative reports to the UN Human Rights Committee, the UN Committee Against Torture, the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child and the UN Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women. 

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Date: October 1, 2010
Activity: Economic, Social and Cultural Rights
Type: Reports and Publications
Country: Brazil

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