Global condemnation
Amnesty International USA and Conectas criticize reduction of age of criminal responsibility
In a statement published this morning, June 29, Amnesty International USA, in conjunction with Conectas, spoke out against the Constitutional Amendment Proposal (Amendment 171/1993) that reduces the age of criminal responsibility from 18 to 16. According to the president of the Lower House of Congress, Eduardo Cunha, the text will be voted tomorrow morning in a full session of the house. If approved in two rounds by at least 60% of the votes, the amendment will proceed to the Senate.
Click here to read the statement in full.
“We call on the Brazilian Congress to not give into the temptation to respond to public security challenges with a misguided populist measure. The threat to the rights of children in Brazil would be a serious setback not only to the country, but to the entire region, undermining the country’s credibility in speaking out for the protection of human rights,” said the organization.
With this statement, Amnesty USA has joined a growing list of international organizations, agencies and authorities that have criticized the measure. Last week, the amendment was the subject of condemnation in the UN Human Rights Council, in Geneva, and of a joint letter signed by 92 human rights organizations around the world.
Click here to watch the condemnation in the UN (13th place).
Click here to read the joint letter in full.
On Friday, in a statement made in Uruguay, Jorge Cardona, a member of the United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child, said “there is not a country in world that has reduced delinquency by applying a strong-handed policy against adolescents”.
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