Misha Klein

José Gregori, Brazilian Secretary of State for Human Rights addressed a multidisciplinary audience at UC Berkeley in the afternoon of Monday, May 3, on the issue of "Human Rights in Brazil." Gregori's Berkeley presentation was followed by comments by Professor Connie De La Vega, of the University of San Francisco and Board Member of Human Rights Advocates, and Professor Naomi Roht-Arriaza, of the University of California, Hastings College of the Law.

From left to right: José Gregori, Fabrizio Rigout, Harley Shaiken.

Following a brief introduction by Professor Harley Shaiken, Director of the Center for Latin American Studies, Secretary Gregori offered an overview of the development of the National Program for Human Rights in Brazil in 1995-6, which led to the creation of a national-level secretariat of Human Rights, and most recently to its elevation to the status of Ministry in January of this year. Secretary Gregori emphasized the interactive nature of the design and implementation of the Program, which was not an exclusively official policy, but involved input and participation from civil society and non-governmental organizations. This ongoing interaction between government representatives and NGOs has resulted in a broad-reaching program, which continues to undergo modifications as the result of suggestions and criticisms from those involved in the process of its implementation in more regions within Brazil and more broadly within Brazilian society.

José Gregori

Secretary Gregori made a distinction between rhetorical programs and the pragmatic approach of the current program, which addresses "intense needs". Seeking results in the form of political and social changes, the Secretary explained that the purpose of his visit to the US and to Berkeley was far more than a question of publicity. He has undertaken to establish networks of support and communication, since the kind of far-reaching program being implemented in Brazil has what he called "inductive" or "contaminating" effect, which is to say that it has an effect on other sectors. He went on to explain that the kind of program being implemented in Brazil has consequences which cross borders of all sorts, a theme which he explored further during his presentation, and which was taken up later by the commentators.

Following 20 years of military rule, during which time the country had turned its back on the human rights movement, Brazil made major efforts early on to prioritize human rights by adhering to all international pacts and initiatives on human rights. Secretary Gregori emphasized the importance of a cooperative effort within the human rights movement internationally, without one country dictating what other countries should do. Since in the 20th century no country is innocent where human rights are concerned, Secretary Gregori underscored the importance of dialogue between countries, and a posture of humility over one of arrogance.

Within Brazil, the first priority has been to publicize the idea of human rights to the Brazilian population. One of the major obstacles to the implementation of the program has been a perception by the general population that a push for human rights has been one which protects the rights of criminals over those of victims, or citizens more broadly. The National Program for Human Rights has been educating the population on the concept of human rights as it is understood today, which includes its incorporation at the personal level, and the concept of leading lives based on the principles of human rights.

Changing attitudes toward human rights in Brazil requires that the "soul" of the general population be reached. Only when these attitudes change will it be possible to bring about a change in conduct. Secretary Gregori explained that this kind of change makes the work of his Ministry very different from that of the other Ministries; building roads and bridges, for example, does not involve changing the behavior and inner self. The transformation of the written form of the program into practice is not a simple, linear task, but requires a dialectic process with advances and set backs.

A summary of the Program is available in a bilingual printed handbook published by the Brazilian Justice Department, which he made available to the audience. Some of the highlighted features of the program include: Making the police less violent; facilitating the judicial process so that it operates more quickly; reducing impunity, especially in the more remote regions of the country; reducing discrimination against the more vulnerable segments of the population (such as women, children, indigenous people, homosexuals, and disabled people); and always following through on any denouncements that reach the Ministry.

An example of the way that the concept human rights is being continuously challenged and redefined through practice and daily life is the inclusion of traffic violence within the purview of the Ministry of Human Rights. With 42,000 deaths and 100,000 injured in the year of 1995, statistics equivalent to those of a civil war, traffic violence warrants consideration as a human rights issue rather than an issue to be solved by police or civil engineering. The new traffic laws reflect this new perspective.

Secretary Gregori also addressed the question of global economic changes and crises and the way in which these required a human rights response. The flight of foreign capital and the "speculation attack" in Brazil were stimulated by distorted international reporting which pictured the country as being on the verge of economic collapse, even though Brazil had not delayed any payments of foreign debts. Since sudden and drastic economic changes have implications for human rights, at a recent international conference Secretary Gregori proposed the establishment of an NGO to study this new global economy and how it affects human rights. He also proposed that research centers like the University of California at Berkeley should study financial topics from the perspective of human rights.

At the end of his presentation, Secretary Gregori returned to the theme of border-crossing, cooperation, and the importance of taking advantage of a shared forum to promote human rights. We have already seen how international cooperation and solidarity have been critical to the pursuit of issues such as the environment, the fight against AIDS, and the problem of drug trafficking. He called for the creation of a new space of social consensus.

Regarding the relationship between global economic changes and human rights, Secretary Gregori concluded by stating that we must "globalize globalization," and that the task of human rights advocates today is to invest this issue with a sense of universality so that globalization does not become a new name for the old imperialism.

Professor Connie De La Vega began her comments by noting that there have been no comparable initiatives in the US, and that the US has ratified very few of the international treaties. She then concentrated her comments on the activities of the Human Rights Advocates organization, which include education on human rights laws, treaty ratification, and human rights violations within the US. The US has been resistant to applying international human rights laws within the US judicial system, such as in the question of the death penalty for legal minors, the US being one of only 6 countries which have a juvenile death penalty.

International efforts are also directed towards eliminating the death penalty entirely, and towards the prevention of extradition to countries in which the death penalty is practiced. The issue of Affirmative Action also finds support in the international treaties on human rights, which call for steps to be taken until racial equality has been attained. Other issues touched on by Professor De La Vega included the trafficking in women and children within the US, migrant worker rights, which are violated all over the world, and the connection between the issues of housing and violence against women.

Naomi Roht-Arriaza

Professor Naomi Roht-Arriaza focused her comments on the Latin American context and underscored the broadening of the nature of how we think about human rights beyond the traditional set of issues which have been associated with human rights over the years. She reiterated many of the issues addressed by Secretary Gregori, such as impunity dysfunctional judicial systems, and police reform, since these themes reappear throughout Latin America. She also added compensation for the victims of the dictatorships to the list of concerns.

According to Roht-Arriaza, one of the distressing concerns which has been repeated throughout the region has been how to deal with common crime within the context of democratic government. The right wing has portrayed the push for increased human rights as leading to policies that "coddle criminals" in a context of increasing crime rates. Under these politicized circumstances, the ratification of human rights treaties and their inclusion in the international human rights system becomes increasingly important.

The new notion of human rights--what Professor Roht-Arriaza called the "hallmark of our time"--includes more than just traditional civil and political rights. Economic, cultural, and social rights figure prominently in human rights' latest incarnation. Other issues which are increasingly placed under the rubric of "human rights" are health, a healthy environment, land reform, and drug trafficking, among others. This broader spectrum of issues makes new integration possible, with cooperation between organizations like Amnesty International and the Sierra Club taking place in the interest of preventing the repression of environmental activists. Like Gregori, Professor Roht-Arriaza included financial markets, corporations, and trade and global finance in the new human rights issues.

One example of the kind of expanding international dialogue on human rights which was brought up in response to a question from the audience is inclusion of women's rights within human rights, and the implementation of the UN treaty on women's rights which was drawn up in Beijing during the 1995 international women's conference. The participation of representatives from Brazil in the conference resulted in the creation of women's police stations in São Paulo, and then in the rest of Brazil, a model which is now being implemented in San Francisco, California. Secretary Gregori credited the Brazilian feminist movement with transforming the status of women from that of legal minor only 17 years ago to near juridical equality with men today. The establishment of the women's police stations is a further step towards addressing other kinds of inequalities expressed in violence against women. He also stressed the importance of women's participation in the struggle for human rights, since women activists are able to bring with them their knowledge from participation in feminist causes.

Another question addressed the role of the district attorneys in the pursuit of the end of impunity. Secretary Gregori expressed concern about recent events which evidenced the need for careful implementation of new policies. The final question came from the Brazilian Consul, José Lindgren, about the new voluntary civil service for those over 18 who have not performed military service. This new program has the double benefit of providing young people with training and work experience and bringing assistance to communities in need throughout Brazil. These kinds of programs have human rights implications when human rights is understood to encompass the broader categories of economic and social justice discussed by Secretary Gregori and the commentators.

In December 1998, on the 50th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, Secretary Gregori received the prestigious United Nations Human Rights Award in recognition of a lifetime of commitment and achievement on Human Rights in Brazil. For more than a decade, Gregori campaigned against torture and killings associated with the military regime's repression of political opposition. Having worked cooperatively with NGOs, Secretary Gregori's efforts resulted in several programs which complement public policy in the area of citizenship rights. Previous award winners include Nelson Mandela, Jimmy Carter, Martin Luther King, Jr., and Eleanor Roosevelt. Gregori has been the principal architect of the government's current human rights policy and has headed the human rights office since its inception in March 1997.

From left: panelist Connie De La Vega responds to a question as Naomi Roht-Arriaza, José Gregori, and Fabrizio Rigout look on.