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This News Service is posted by the
International Secretariat of Amnesty International,
1 Easton Street, London WC1X 8DJ
(Tel +44-71-413-5500, Fax +44-71-956-1157)
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BRAZIL: HUMAN RIGHTS PROGRAM UNDERMINED BY SENATE VOTE


Amnesty International welcomed today the launch of a
comprehensive program to increase human rights protection and
promotion in Brazil but questioned whether the government
would make the implementation of the program a high priority.

      ~Last week~s vote in the Brazilian Senate thwarting
legislation to transfer jurisdiction for military police
crimes to civilian courts strikes at the heart of the
reforms,~ the human rights organization said.
      ~The government failed to secure the support of its own
congressional allies for such a fundamental element of the
human rights program. Unfortunately, this speaks louder than
its declarations of outrage in relation to the recent
massacre of landless peasants in Para, and the fanfare for
the launch of the Human Rights Program.~

      Flagrant obstructions in the investigation of the 17
April massacre of 19 peasants in Eldorado dos Carajas, Para
State, demonstrated how urgent the reforms are. These reforms
should include:

~     federal investigation of certain human rights crimes;
~     the inclusion of torture as a crime in the penal code;~     a  
witness protection program;
~     an independent forensic service; and
~     independent investigation and civilian trials of
      military police crimes.

      President Fernando Henrique Cardoso eloquently backed
the program and civil society is poised to monitor its
implementation. Amnesty International therefore urges the
Government and congress to seize the moment and ensure that
the reforms are passed promptly.

       ~Only then can confidence be restored that the Program
will be a working instrument to curb impunity rather than
just a wish-list,~ the human rights organization said.

ENDS/                                                fax.: 44 171
413 5815/5835

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