Brazilian elected to OAS Inter-American Commission on Human Rights

Criado em 07/06/13 10h56 e atualizado em 07/06/13 11h23
Por Luana Lourenço and Renata Giraldi Edição:Aécio Amado / Nira Foster Fonte:Agencia Brasil

Brasília – A former Minister of the Human Rights Secretariat ("SDH"), housed in the Office of the Presidency, Paulo Vannuchi, has been elected to the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) of the Organization of American States (OAS). In the election that took place this week for three places on the commission, the other successful candidates were James Cavallaro, from the United States, and José de Jesús Orozco Henríquez, from Mexico.

The IACHR consists of seven members and is part of the Inter-American System for the Protection of Human Rights.

According to Brazil's Ministry of Foreign Relations, Vannuchi's election will strengthen Brazil's commitment to the Inter-American Human Rights System.

Paulo Vannuchi, aged 63, headed the SDH between 2005 and 2011, under former president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva. He is a journalist and holds a master's degree in Political Science.

Vannuchi was chiefly responsible for Brazil's third and most comprehensive Human Rights Program that was launched in 2010 while he headed the SDH.

His activities in favor of human rights go back into history. In fact, he was arrested and tortured while the generals ruled Brazil. He was also one of the authors of a famous 1975 dossier on torture and deaths during the dictatorship forwarded to the country's Bar Association (“OAB”). The document mentioned 233 names of torturers and gave details on methods and locations where torture took place. It is considered one of the most comprehensive accounts of crimes committed during the military regime in Brazil (1964-1985).

Edition: Aécio Amado / Nira Foster
Translation: Mayra Borges / Allen Bennett