UN human rights chief hails landmark agreement with Brazil

BRASILIA (12 November 2009) -- The UN human rights office and the Government of Brazil signed a ground-breaking agreement that is designed to strengthen South-South cooperation on human rights, increase compliance with the UN human rights system, and maximize the promotion and protection of human rights.

 

The agreement – known officially as a Memorandum of Intent – was signed at the Palácio Itamaraty in Brasilia by UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay and Brazil’s Foreign Minister Celso Amorim.

 

“This is an unusual and very important agreement,” said Pillay. “It will allow the Government of Brazil to share its experience and expertise in adopting and implementing human rights standards and practices with countries that have less experience in these matters.”

 

This cooperation model, the first of its kind, envisages three-way partnerships between the Government of Brazil, the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), and other countries that request assistance to improve the protection of human rights.

 

Under the agreement, Brazil will provide cooperation and funds for human rights projects with interested countries, while OHCHR will facilitate the drawing up of agreements between Brazil and other governments, as well as provide training and technical expertise.

 

“This is another good example of enlightened leadership, which is earning Brazil considerable respect in the international arena,” said Pillay. “Brazil has many good practices to share, and we want to make the most of them in helping other countries around the world.”

 

However, the High Commissioner pointed out that the signing of the Memorandum of Intent should not obscure the fact that Brazil still faces enormous challenges of its own on the human rights front. “Undertaking to share good practices is only one side of the coin, and can only have true significance if mirrored by a similar undertaking to tackle the violence, discrimination, impunity, poverty and exclusion that are currently experienced by many Brazilians,” she said.

 

“Another benefit of this agreement is that Brazil itself may develop some useful new practices in its work with other countries which can then be applied at home.”

 

In a separate meeting, the High Commissioner and the President of Brazil, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, discussed the situation of human rights in the country. Among other matters, Pillay shared with President Lula her concerns with the high level of extrajudicial executions in the country, which she considers “unacceptable”.

 

The Brazilian President, told the UN human rights chief that she “can be assured that the Brazilian Government does not have any interest in hiding anything related with human rights” and emphasized “the determination and the strong will (of his Government) to solve the problems of human rights in Brazil”.