Development and Human Rights Go Hand in Hand

Forced evictions, inadequate housing, and excessive police force. These are just some of the topics Amnesty International secretary-general Salil Shetty (left) has been discussing with Brazilian civil society and government officials during his visit this week. The human rights activist said the organization plans to open an office in Brazil within the next six months. Its location—São Paulo or Rio de Janeiro—is not yet decided, but Shetty says the organization is interested in monitoring human rights in the country especially as it gears up for the 2014 World Cup and the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro.

"Amnesty International is very strongly committed to adequate housing as a fundamental human right. And we run a very strong campaign for adequate housing in many different parts of the world," said Shetty. On Tuesday, Shetty (left) met with favela residents to discuss forced evictions from space that will be used for the games. Residents from several communities complained that they were being evicted with little notice and with poor options for alternative housing. 

In October, Amnesty International visited communities in Restinga, where 150 houses will be removed in order to clear space for construction of a highway connecting western Rio to the rest of the city in preparation increased traffic. The following month, the organization issued an urgent action on behalf of the community. "We are very committed to supporting communities when authorities are trying to remove many of them from their living places and livelihood without going through the proper legal procedures," he said. 

While residents are being offered some recompense, Shetty called most measures inadequate: "If you offer alternative housing 70 km away, that's not a very good alternative. Most of these people work near where they live. If you're going to move them 70 km away, then you also need to offer alternatively livelihood.  Also, the compensation figures we've seen are very small—they're not in line with existing policy."

Shetty warned not to let human rights fall by the wayside as Brazil prepares for the games and emerges as a major economic power. "The choice is not between development, economic growth, and public security and human rights. It's very unfortunate, and I've noticed this in Brazil, that there's a real discourse here that you have to choose between human rights and having security. Similarly now, there's a discourse that you have to choose between human rights and the World Cup or human rights and the Olympics."

"In fact it's quite the opposite," he added.” If the people in the favelas and in very difficult situations don't support the Olympics, and their rights aren't respected, we're not going to have successful World Cup or Olympics."

When asked about Amnesty International's position on Rio's Pacifying Police Units (UPPs), Shetty voiced cautious optimism. "We welcome the UPPs, but it's early and the scale is still too small. We do need permanent police presence [in favelas], and they need to be trained better and paid better. But the problems are much deeper. People need employment and livelihoods. You need police forces to be integrated. So quite a lot of reform is needed."

On Tuesday evening, Shetty left for Brasília to meet with government officials. He had requested, but had not yet been granted, a meeting with President Dilma Rouseff. He planned to return to Rio on Thursday to participate in the World Economic Forum. Earlier this week, Shetty and other Amnesty International officials met with leaders from Rio's civil society at ISER (Institute of Religious Studies) in Viva Rio's headquarters to discuss human rights concerns in the city. 

Amnesty International, which was founded in 1961, has monitored human rights in Brazil for nearly four decades. In addition to housing rights, the organization has campaigned for indigenous rights, press rights and journalists' protection, and against impunity for state crimes committed during the country's military dictatorship, among other issues.

Pedro Strozemberg (right), executive-secretary of ISER, Institute of Religious Studies, and a member of Rep. Marcelo Freixo's Human Rights Commission, says the opening of an Amnesty International office in Brazil represents a clear recognition of Brazil's importance in the international scene, and its place in the policy debate on human rights:

"The office has two purposes: to strengthen human rights work in Brazil, and to monitor human rights on an international level." Strozemberg added, however, that the Amnesty International's arrival does generate some tension in Brazilian civil society. "The organization is very strong and powerful, our concern is that there is room for everyone to be involved—that they do not come with templates, but that the arrive ready for dialogue. We hope that they recognize and respect the local culture."

There are signs that Amnesty International comes with such care. According Strozemberg, during his visit to ISER in Rio de Janeiro, Shetty said he was seeking a Brazilian candidate to head AI's office in Brazil, which will also be overseen by a local board of directors.

Amnesty International's concern about the impact of urban transformations in Rio de Janeiro is an indication of Shetty's priorities, echoing concerns that he voiced as coordinator of the United Nations Millenium Development Goals.

Lúcia Cabral (below), a community leader from Morro do Alemão, longtime member of Amnesty International, founder of the NGO Educap, and a member of Viva Rio's Viva Comunidade welcomes the opening of AI's office in Brazil. "Bringing Amnesty International to Brazil empowers our struggle against human rights violations. When our struggle receives international attention, our quest for justice is becomes more effective," said Cabral. In 2008, she participated, along with Marcelo Freixo, in the documentary “Elas da Favela” about the mothers of victims of police violence in Morro de Alemão; Amnesty International issued a report on extrajudicial killings in Brazil and released the film the following year in Europe.

During his busy visit to Brazil, Shetty has spoken little about the 2010 occupation of Complexo de Alemão, where Cabral is an active community leader (she has worked on a campaign to prevent the transmission of sexually transmitted diseases among young drug traffickers, became a public legal educator through Cesec, and attended the first Brazilian Forum on Public Security).

Cabral hopes that AI's move to Brazil will not only bring international attention to Brazil's human rights challenges, but that it will also help create awareness among Brazilians about their rights. "The human rights movement is part of practicing full citizenship. If people know that their rights are guaranteed in the constitution, they will gain more autonomy to fight for them. When I see myself as a citizen, I know I have rights," she says.