Brazilian Green Party denounces Brazilian State in international court for crimes against humanity
In the petition, Brazilian Green Party affirms that the poor conduct of the Bolsonaro administration vis-à-vis COVID-19, which has already killed 100,000 people, is a serious violation of international human rights agreements.
On Monday (10), the Green Party protocol a complaint against the Brazilian State for Crime Against Humanity at the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights of the Organization of American States – OAS. Among the accusations, Brazilian Greens affirm that the neglect of the federal government, which has already claimed the lives of 100,000 Brazilians, demonstrates the clear non-compliance with articles of the pact of the American Convention on Human Rights (San José Pact).
In the extensive document, which shows a compilation of complaints made to the government, Brazilian Greens present facts that constitute violations of the American Convention on Human Rights (Pact of San José), in particular to Articles 4 (right to life) and 5 (right to integrity personnel), combined with the provisions of article 1.1 (obligation to respect and guarantee the rights established in the Convention), and the Protocol of San Salvador, in particular to article 10 (right to health).
The denouncement listed a terrible and regrettable record of the Presidency of the Republic in managing the health crisis. Since the declaration of the world pandemic, by the World Health Organization, President Bolsonaro has adopted a series of behaviors contrary to health security protocols; from public walks that hurt social isolation and without proper health care (wearing masks and not agglomeration), systematic demonstrations to encourage non-compliance with isolation, as well as decrees from the president that included activities such as religious services, beauty salons and gyms to the essentials roll.
The president’s attitudes directly reflect on the management of the bodies involved in combating the new coronavirus. It is worth mentioning that research coordinated by the Center for Epidemiological Research at the Federal University of Pelotas (UFPel) indicates that the number of people infected in Brazil by the coronavirus is about 6.5 times greater than the official data show. Currently, more than 1% (one percent) of the population has already been infected by viruses and the number is escalating.
The petition also presents the resignation of the then Minister of Health Luiz Mandetta, and the consequent appointment of Panzuello, on an interim basis, which resulted in the resignation of the technical team that was part of the previous administrations, which compromised the continuation of the work carried out by the agency. With the increase in deaths, which today add up to more than 100 thousand, one of the main concerns of the Brazilian government was the acquisition of the drug “Chloroquine”, whose effectiveness has not been proven by scientific studies in the fight against COVID-19 and, even thus, it was recommended for use by the population by the president.
Inter-American Court
With the complaint presented, the PV requires the Commission to condemn the Brazilian State for the violations, as well as to determine that the Brazilian State adopts the measures that it is competent to remedy the situation under examination.
Created in 1959, the IACHR is an autonomous body integrated with the OAS, an entity that involves the countries of the Americas. The 35 OAS member countries that signed the American Convention are observed by the IACHR, which also guides and inspects crimes against human rights in the territories of the signatories.
Entities and citizens can submit complaints to the Commission, however the suspension of one OAS country occurs in the event that one State denounces the other for violations of human rights. In this sense, the Green Party intends to sensitize OAS member states to the reckless and serious situation in Brazil.
In case of denunciation by another State, the complaint is sent to the Inter-American Court of Human Rights (HDI), in San José, Costa Rica.