UN denounces violations committed by companies in Brazil
Report presented in Geneva highlights cases of Belo Monte and Mariana
Experts from the UN Working Group on Business and Human Rights denounced in Geneva yesterday, June 16, cases of human rights violations related to the energy sector, the extractive industry, agribusiness and civil construction in Brazil. In a report presented to the Human Rights Council, the Working Group made a total of 28 recommendations to the Brazilian government and to the public and private companies that operate in the country.
_______________________________________________________________________________
Click on the photos to understand the most important recommendations:
_______________________________________________________________________________
The group criticized proposed legislation pending in Congress that relaxes the requirements and simplifies the approval process for infrastructure projects, such as Constitutional Amendment 65/12, which would in practice abolish the need for environmental licensing. According to the Working Group, the influence of corporations on the formulation of these laws and regulations is alarming, and is linked to the financing of election campaigns.
- Click here to read the report in full.
For the UN experts, the enormous power of the companies contrasts with the lack of participation by the affected populations in the conception and implementation of the projects and in the development of measures to avoid or compensate human rights violations – which conflicts with international standards such as International Labour Organization (ILO) Convention 169 on Indigenous Peoples.
“The affected communities with which the Working Group met conveyed a sense of vulnerability, isolation and rejection by the decision makers and those with power,” reads the report. “Deeply considering the opinions and experiences of those affected by large development projects is essential to ensure that human rights are not jeopardized in the pursuit of economic growth.”
________________________________________________________________________________
Watch the statement by Dante Pesce, chair of the Working Group (02:00):
________________________________________________________________________________
As examples, the report mentions the lack of consultation with the populations impacted by the construction of the Belo Monte hydropower plant, in the state of Pará, and the lack of participation by the victims of the burst dam in Mariana, in the state of Minas Gerais, in the drafting of the settlement agreement between companies and the State for the recovery of the area affected by the disaster.
The Brazilian ambassador in Geneva, Maria Regina Dunlop, refuted the criticisms of the Working Group, denying the lack of participation by the affected communities and stating that “human rights are part of the rules and obligations for the licensing of large projects”.
“It is incorrect to affirm that projects with environmental impacts lack regulation. Besides the Judiciary, Federal Prosecutors and even international organizations, a large number of governmental bodies are involved in the licensing process for infrastructure projects, including those responsible for issues related to indigenous communities and people of African descent,” said Dunlop.
________________________________________________________________________________
Watch the full statement by Maria Regina Dunlop (30:00):
________________________________________________________________________________
According to Juana Kweitel, program director at Conectas Human Rights, the “Brazilian government, instead of accepting the assessment and changing course, insists on following a path that will clearly lead to more violations”. “The UN experts made concrete and objective criticisms based on real cases. To ignore them is to overlook the urgency with which we need to act,” she added.
Rebuttal
The arguments raised by Brazil during the presentation of the report were contested by Conectas and the Chilean NGO Corporación Humanas during the meeting in the Human Rights Council.
In an oral statement, the organizations urged the Brazilian government to follow the Working Group’s recommendations, “especially those related to the urgent need to incorporate the views and concerns of rights holders into the decision-making processes as a commitment to safeguard their human dignity”.
________________________________________________________________________________
Watch the full statement by the organizations (53:00):
