Briefing note on Brazil

Spokesperson for the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights: Rupert Colville
Location: Geneva
Subject: Brazil prosecution

In Brazil this week, prosecutors announced that they will bring criminal charges against a retired army colonel for the disappearance of five individuals during the military dictatorship in the country between 1964 and 1985. This is the first time that Brazil is prosecuting human rights violations committed during that period – previous attempts have been blocked by interpretations of the 1979 amnesty law.

We welcome the prosecution of the retired colonel, Sebastião Curió Rodrigues de Moura as a first and crucial step in fighting the impunity that surrounds the period of military rule in Brazil. Curió will be charged with aggravated kidnapping in relation to the disappearance of five members of the Araguaia guerrilla movement who were detained in 1974. The charges must still be approved by a judge before the case can go to trial.

It is worth noting that in 2010, the Inter-American Court of Human Rights ruled that the amnesty law in Brazil is invalid and that criminal investigations and prosecutions must proceed.

This is a long-awaited development towards accountability for the hundreds of people who were disappeared during the 21-year dictatorship and who remain unaccounted for. We are hopeful that the Brazilian judiciary will uphold the fundamental rights of the victims to truth and justice by allowing this very important criminal prosecution to go forward.

In response to questions from journalists on the amnesty law:

In this case, prosecutors have argued that disappearances are not covered by the amnesty law, given that the victims’ bodies have not been found, and thus amount to continuous violations under international human rights law. So essentially the crime is ongoing.

Under international law there should never be an amnesty for serious international crimes.

In November 2011, the High Commissioner welcomed the creation of a Truth Commission to investigate human rights abuses committed during military rule, while encouraging Brazil to take measures to facilitate prosecutions and abrogate the amnesty law. In general, there is a positive trend in the region towards justice for crimes against humanity committed during military regimes. For example, Guatemala recently announced it will try a former military ruler and just this week sentenced a former special forces soldier to prison on charges of murder and crimes against humanity committed in 1982. Uruguay has overturned a de facto amnesty law and Argentina has handed down hundreds of rulings to perpetrators of gross human rights violations.

ENDS

For more information or media requests, please contact spokesperson Rupert Colville (+41 22 917 9767 / rcolville@ohchr.org) or press officers Ravina Shamdasani (+ 41 22 917 9310 / rshamdasani@ohchr.org) and Xabier Celaya (+ 41 22 917 9383 / xcelaya@ohchr.org).

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