Conectas Human Rights - Annual Report 2017 by Conectas Direitos Humanos

ANNUAL REPORT

2017

CONTENTS LETTER FROM THE DIRECTORS INSTITUTIONAL CHANGES

DEVELOPMENT AND SOCIOENVIRONMENTAL RIGHTS STRENGTHENING DEMOCRATIC SPACE

INTERNATIONAL HUMAN RIGHTS COLLOQUIUM

SUR- INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL ON HUMAN RIGHTS CONECTAS IN NUMBERS FINANCIAL REPORT

TEAM Executive Director: Juana Kweitel Legal and Financial Director: Marcos Fuchs Coordinators: Caio Borges - Development and Socioenvironmental Rights Coordinator Camila Asano - Program Coordinator Fernanda Mioto - Administrative and Financial Coordinator Leonardo Medeiros - Communications Coordinator Rafael Custรณdio - Institutional Violence Coordinator

Governing Board: President: Margarida Genevois Anamaria Schindler Andre Degenszajn Darci Frigo Denise Dora Fabio Caruso Cury Flavia Regina de Souza Malak Poppovic Marcelo Furtado Sandra Carvalho Sueli Carneiro Theodomiro Dias Neto Oscar Vilhena Vieira (on leave)

Audit Committee: Vacant Emilio Martos

Text: Sara Baptista e Teresa Ferreira Revision: Leonardo Medeiros (Mtb: 59.511) Image Editor: Joรฃo Paulo Brito Graphic Design: BeArts Printing: FM Impressos

Conectas | Annual Report 2017

LETTER FROM THE DIRECTORS

fter reviewing our programs, methods and engagement strategies in 2016, Conectas implemented a new multiyear plan. The organization’s activities are now concentrated around three main issues: Development and Socioenvironmental Rights, Strengthening Democratic Space and Institutional Violence. Conectas’ new strategic plan,

which will be in place through 2020, aims to make the organization more permeable and agile in order to best respond to the current scenario of the setbacks we are seeing to human rights. Another result of this review process was a communications strategy that takes Conectas’ messages on equality and justice to new audiences, engaging more people in our fight to defend and promote rights for all. Conectas’s logo change is also part of this process. More than a simple visual change, the new logo symbolizes our desire for a more open communication and reaffirms our commitment to strengthening the human rights movement from the standpoint of the Global South. At the start of 2017, a series of violent rebellions broke out in prisons in the north of Brazil. Scenes from the rebellions shocked the world yet again and showed Brazil’s prison system, which has the third largest incarcerated population on the planet, in collapse. Conectas demanded urgent measures from the authorities and exposed the ticking time-bomb of Brazilian prisons on an international scale. The complicity of the justice system with many of the violations was also a focus of our work with the report “Shielded Torture,” in which we showed that pre-trial detention hearings are failing to uphold one of their chief missions of identifying and curbing torture by police forces. Socioenvironmental rights became the preferred target of the “rural lobby”, which represents the interests of agribusiness in Congress and has a considerable influence on the Executive branch. Together with our partners, Conectas acted quickly to bar attempts to weaken a best practice tool for combating slave-like working conditions called the “Dirty List.” Indigenous and people living in quilombolos, or former slave communities, had no peace this year. A case taken to the Supreme Court sought to restrict the interpretation of indigenous land rights, conferring them only to people that occupied their lands on the date the 1988 Constitution was ratified. Fortunately, not everything moved backwards. In 2017, Brazil adopted a cutting edge migration law. Law 13.445/2017 substituted the out-dated Foreigner’s Statute, which was based on a national security framework, and instead began treating migration as a human rights issue. The new law came at the right time: the humanitarian crisis in Venezuela caused a large migratory flow from Venezuela to many countries in the Americas. In Brazil, the majority of Venezuelans entered through the border with Roraima State. Conectas has worked to put the new law into practice and to formulate local and national policies capable of responding to this emergency. Conectas continues to use international forums to denounce rights violations that happen in Brazil. In 2017, Brazil went through the third cycle of UN Universal Periodic Review. Conectas worked to strengthen civil society participation in the process, seeing it as another opportunity to expose violations and to demand more robust human rights policies from the Brazilian government. This short summary of 2017 illustrates the relevance of organizations like Conectas in the defense of human rights, especially of the most vulnerable populations. We are sure that the changes we implemented will reinvigorate and strengthen our work. We thank our funders and partners for the support and trust in our work. We also thank the members of the Governing Board and Audit Committee for their constant guidance and encouragement. Finally, we thank our team of professionals for sharing our mission and values, and for materializing this struggle through your day-to-day work.

Juana Kweitel Executive Director Marcos Fuchs Legal and Financial Director

Conectas | Annual Report 2017

Institutional Violence

INSTITUTIONAL

VIOLENCE

THE TICKING TIME-BOMB OF THE PRISON SYSTEM A series of violent rebellions in prisons in the north of Brazil reveals failures in prison management 2017 began with the exposure of management failures in the prison system. While the population celebrated New Year, violent rebellions spread throughout prisons in the north of the country. In Amazonas, 56 people were killed in the Anísio Jobim Prison Complex (Compaj) and four others in the Puraquequara Prison Unit (UPP). In the state of Roraima, over 30 people died in the Monte Cristo Agricultural Prison, in Boa Vista, in conditions of extreme violence. The crisis in these prisons was an “announced tragedy”. Conectas promoted a report by the National Mechanism for the Prevention and Combat of Torture, published the previous year, which warned of the situation of overcrowding, the degrading conditions of the facilities and of the tense climate in Compaj. The UN Subcommittee for the Prevention of Torture’s report from November 2016 had also alerted the public of the risk of deaths in the unit. Alongside partner organizations, Conectas carried out an in loco mission to confirm the situation in these prisons and demand that the federal and local authorities implement measures to guarantee the prisoners’ security, diminish mass incarceration and hold public agents responsible. A proposal calling for the creation of a special commission on the prison system was also sent to Justice Cármen Lúcia, the president of the National Justice Council.

Inspection performed by Conectas, Justiça Global e Pastoral Carcerária at Compaj (Anísio Jobim Penitentiary Complex), in Manaus (AM), a few days after the rebellion that left 56 dead. Photo: Rafael Custódio / Conectas

Visceral reality According to Justice Ministry data from June 2016, Brazil has the third largest incarcerated population in the world. With nearly 727,000 prisoners, it falls only behind the United States and China. The overcrowding of prison units around the country is a major challenge. Currently there is a deficit of 358,000 beds in the system. To bring visibility to this situation, the Criminal Justice Network (RJC), of which Conectas is a part, conducted the “Mass Incarceration is not Justice” campaign. As part of the campaign, RJC organized the “Visceral Reality” exposition, simulating in virtual reality what it is like inside a prison cell. The 360o video of the campaign made a strong impact on social media. On Conectas’s page alone, the video was viewed more than 21 million times. Access the campaign page here: www.prisaonaoejustica.org.

Watch the video that went viral on the internet:

Institutional Violence

Conectas | Annual Report 2017

INCARCERATED WOMEN Conectas’s work in the realm of strategic and incidental litigation had important victories in 2017. In April, women charged with a first offense of drug trafficking that have a clean record and are not a part of a criminal organization were given access to a pardon. An amicus brief that Conectas submitted to the Federal Supreme Court led to the 2016 decision removing felony-status from this category of drug trafficking (‘privileged trafficking’). Conectas has pressured the Executive and Judicial branches for many years to grant rights to people convicted of privileged trafficking. Another decision in the São Paulo judicial system benefitted incarcerated women. Along with partner organizations, Conectas filed a class action suit in 2012 demanding night classes for nearly 2,000 prisoners in the Santana Women’s Prison. In November, the 10th House of Public Law of the São Paulo State Court levied a daily fine of R$500 per day until the measure is implemented up to a R$500,000 limit.

Infopen Women notes that, in June 2016, 42,355 women were arrested in Brazil, surpassing Thailand (41,119) and only behind the United States (211,870), China (107,131) and Russia (48,478). Photo: Press Release / CNJ

Conectas | Annual Report 2017

Institutional Violence

PRE-TRIAL DETENTION HEARINGS PERPETUATE TORTURE A Conectas report revealed that the Justice System failed to prevent torture during pre-trial detention hearings in São Paulo

n February 2017, Conectas launched the “Shielded Torture” report, which analyzed how judges, prosecutors and public defenders in São Paulo handle reports of torture and mistreatment in pre-trial deten-

tion hearings. The team analyzed more than 500 cases and found that, even though the Public Prosecutor’s Office has a constitutional responsibility for external control of the police, in 80% of the analyzed cases prosecutors did not question detained individuals on the matter, even when there was clear evidence of torture. The report received widespread media coverage and was also launched in Rio de Janeiro and Brasília. In May, Conectas presented the report at a parallel event to the 34th session of the UN Human Rights Council, in Geneva. The Inter-American Human Rights Commission decided to include a specific chapter on the findings of the research in its most recent report on imprisoned people in the Americas.

Access the full report:

Rafael Custódio, coordinator of Conectas’ Institutional Violence program, denounces the practice of torture in Brazilian prisons at a hearing of the IACHR (Inter-American Commission on Human Rights) held in Washington. Photo: Daniel Cima / IACHR

LICENSE TO KILL In 2017, Congress approved a bill altering the Military Penal Code to provide special legal protection to members of the armed forces involved in the killing of civilians during operations to protect law and order. Conectas acted to try and block the project, which represents a significant step backwards for human rights. Alongside partner organizations, Conectas organized the campaign “License to Kill”, which included an online petition that received more than 10,000 signatures. Launch event of the Shielded Torture research on February 21, 2017 at the Memorial of Resistance in São Paulo (SP). Photo: João Paulo Brito / Conectas

Institutional Violence

Conectas | Annual Report 2017

CONECTAS’ ACTIONS AT THE O E A During the sessions of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR), Conectas denounced violations and demanded responses from the Brazilian government. See some of the topics that we worked on in 2017:

Drugs In May 2017, the IACHR organized a hearing on human rights violations directly related to Brazilian drug policy. The IACHR rapporteur, James Cavallaro, affirmed, “the logic of the war on drugs failed and Brazil should abandon it.” The hearing happened amid a joint state and municipal police operation in a region known as a “crack-land” in São Paulo. Conectas and other entities present at the hearing called for the authorities to immediately interrupt the violent police actions in the area and return to the policies of social assistance for drug users living there. Conectas and the Brazilian Drug Policy Platform called the hearing.

Juvenile detention and re-education centers In another hearing, Conectas and representatives from 25 other organizations exposed practices of torture in juvenile detention and re-education centers.

They also denounced

bills moving through Congress seeking to reduce the age of legal responsibility or increase the maximum amount of time that juvenile offenders can be detained. As a result, the IACHR rapporteurs James Cavallaro and Esmeralda Arosemena Troitiño organized a mission to Brazil to assess human rights violations in some of these prison units. During the visit, Conectas organized a meeting between Cavallaro and São Paulo civil society representatives.

Combined case In an unprecedented decision, the Inter-American Court of Human Rights Court (OAS) combined reports on four cases — the Pedrinhas (MA) and Curado (PE) prison complexes, the Socio-Educational Internment Unit (ES) and the Plácido de Sá Carvalho prison (RJ) — and demanded explanations from the Brazilian government. Conectas participated in the hearings, arguing that the Brazilian prison system had reached an alarming level of degradation and calling for the Brazilian government to take action.

Constitutional debate - Conectas in the Supreme Court Conectas has a strong presence in the Brazilian judicial system, presenting arguments in the most relevant human rights cases currently under review in the Supreme Court and other high courts. Among the most emblematic cases from 2017 is IDC 9 (a motion to transfer), in which Conectas successfully argued that the Bristol Park killings, carried out during the “May Crimes” of 2006, met the requirements for transfer. Another significant case is the amicus brief presented to the Supreme Court alongside the Land, Work and Citizenship Institute (ITTC) in support of ADPF 442, a case that decriminalizes abortion up to 12 weeks. See all the cases for which Conectas submitted amicus briefs in 2017: • ADI 5708 - Decriminalization of cannabis for medicinal use

• PSV 125 - Privileged trafficking: progression of sentence after felony

• ADPF 347 - Unconstitutional state of affairs in the prison system

• ADPF 442 - Decriminalization of abortion

• RE 806339 - Freedom of meeting and prior notice

• IDC 9 (STJ) - May Crimes

Conectas | Annual Report 2017

Development and Socioenvironmental Rights

DEVELOPMENT

AND SOCIOENVIRONMENTAL RIGHTS B R A Z I L M OV E S B AC KWA R D O N F I G H T AGA I N S T S L AV E L A B O R Federal ordinance transfers responsibility for deciding which companies should be put on the “dirty list” to Ministry of Labor

U N R E C O M M E N DAT I O N S I N P R AC T I C E In 2017, Conectas began a project to monitor Brazil’s implementation of the 28 recommendations of the UN Working Group on Business and Human Rights. These recommendations were elaborated after the Working Group’s visit to Brazil in 2015. The monitoring of the recommendations is divided into the fol-

2017 was a year of setbacks for Brazil’s policies combatting slavery-like

lowing four categories: government policies, business policies,

working conditions. In March, the Superior Labor Court (TST) complied

regulatory framework, and concrete cases of human rights viola-

with a petition from the Brazilian government calling for the suspension

tions by businesses, specifically the businesses that the Working

of a “dirty list” until the conclusion of a related lawsuit. The decision

Group cited in its report (Belo Monte, Rio Doce/Mariana, Suape,

was overturned a few days later.

Vila Autódromo/Olympics etc.).

In November of the same year, Ministry of Labor ordinance 1.129/17 yet

At the Annual Forum on Businesses and Human Rights, Conectas

again targeted the “dirty list”. In addition to changing the definition of

led discussions on the implementation of the environmental disas-

slave labor and limiting the cases that can be tried, the ordinance trans-

ter agreement after the Fundão dam collapse in Mariana (MG). The

ferred the responsibility for deciding which companies to include on the

organization also supported the participation of a representative

list to the Ministry of Labor. Additionally, it drastically reduced the bud-

from fishing communities from the Rio Doce waterfalls in Espírito

get for regulation. After widespread pressure from civil society, the Su-

Santo state.

preme Court suspended the ordinance. Conectas had a strong role in the fight against these changes, filing complaints at the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva on the government’s attempts to suspend publication of the dirty list as well as on the funding

FINANCING WITH SUSTAINABILITY

cuts for the Ministry of Labor’s Slavery Eradication Regulation Division.

In partnership with the O.P Jindal Global University (India) and Fu-

In November, alongside the Pastoral Land Commission, Conectas sent

dan University (China), in 2017 Conectas published the “Building

an urgent appeal to the UN alerting it about the irreparable damage that

Infrastructure for Sustainable Development in the 21st Century:

ordinance 1.129/17 could cause to workers’ rights.

Lessons and Opportunities for the NBD (New Development Bank)” report. The document outlines sustainability principles for the design and implementation of NDB-financed infrastructure projects.

Learn more:

Read the report:

Development and Socioenvironmental Rights

Conectas | Annual Report 2017

INDIGENOUS LAND RIGHTS Legal framework moving through the Supreme Court would grant land rights only to indigenous people who occupied their territories on the date of ratification of the 1988 Constitution In 2017, traditional peoples suffered a series of attacks on their rights. Important decisions in the Supreme Court tried to install a temporal framework granting land rights only to indigenous and quilombola people who occupied their territories on the date of ratification of the 1988 Constitution (10/05/1988). In August, the Supreme Court unanimously rejected the case of Mato Grosso State (ACO 362 and 366) calling for reparations for the Xingu National Park and for the lands of the Paresi, Nambiwara and Enaewnê-Nawê peoples (“Salumã,” “Utiariti” and “Tirecatinga”). For the author of the argument, Justice Marco Aurélio, indigenous land rights refer not only to the occupation of a territory, but also to cultural and intellec-

In a unanimous decision, the Federal Supreme Court judged in favor of indigenous peoples’ right to land ownership in Mato Grosso. Photo: Marcelo Camargo / Agência Brasil.

tual relationships and to survival.

#Resista

Also last year, ADI 3239 (Direct Unconstitutionality Action) began to move

Over 70 groups throughout the country, including Conectas,

through the courts. The case questioned the procedures for identification, rec-

united in a movement to resist a series actions by legisla-

ognition, demarcation, delimitation and giving title to the lands occupied by

tors connected to the “rural lobby” in congress and the Te-

remaining members of quilombola communities. Conectas Human Rights sub-

mer government that would move the environmental cause

mitted an amicus brief in the case.

backward. The group uses advocacy, campaigns raising awareness about violations and communication to pressure

Video: understand the temporal framework:

lawmakers not to enact proposals that negatively impact traditional people, rural workers and the environment. Around the launch in May, #Resista published an open letter inviting other organizations and society at large to join the movement.

RIO DOCE: REPARATIONS STILL FAR OFF Two years have passed since the Rio Doce tragedy. It still has not been resolved. The guilty parties have not been held responsible and those affected are facing problems in the reparations process. In June, Conectas participated in a debate about the subject at a parallel event to the 35th session of the UN Human Rights Council, in Geneva. In November, the organization visited communities affected by the dam collapse, listening to their demands and producing a video that was shown at the end of the month at the UN. The video was part of an effort by Conectas and the victims to call the authorities and involved companies to action.

Watch the video:

A R M S : A S T E P AWAY F R O M R AT I F I C AT I O N In 2017, the ratification of the Arms Sales Treaty (TCA) began moving through Congress again. The House of Representatives’ Commission on Public Security and Organized Crime approved the Treaty in December. The text then went to the House floor, where it was also approved. Since 2013, when Brazil first signed the document, Conectas has been pushing for its ratification. The treaty would mean greater control and transparency around the exportation of arms produced in the country.

Conectas | Annual Report 2017

STRENGTHENING

D E M O C R AT I C S PAC E BRAZIL APPROVES NEW M I G R AT I O N L AW D E S P I T E PRESIDENTIAL VETOES New law makes Brazil an international reference for the humanitarian reception of migrants, but presidential vetoes and regulatory decrees weaken some aspects of the protection

razilâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s new Migration Law (Law 13.445/2017) received Congressional approval in December 2016 and a sanction from President Michel Temer in May 2017. Created to substitute the Military Dictatorship-era Statute of Foreigners, the new law transitions from the view that a migrant is a threat

to national security towards recognizing migration as a human rights issue. Conectas has been working for the approval this new legislative framework since 2015. Despite broad consensus on the law in Congress, President Temer vetoed 20 of its articles. These include the article that authorized residency for migrants that were already in Brazil before July 2016, irrespective of their migratory status. Conectas publicly denounced the vetoes and pressured the government to conduct a transparent implementation process. Conectas participated in a public hearing with other organizations to make suggestions for the law. Nevertheless, the text that was published in December had many limitations. By making the rules for a work visa more rigid, for example, the decision violates the principle of non-discrimination.

VENEZUELAN REFUGEES The economic and humanitarian crisis affecting Venezuela intensified in 2017, as did the flow of migrants from Venezuela to other countries in the Americas. Roraima Sate, which borders Venezuela, became the entry-point for migrants into Brazil. Even before the implementation of the new Migration Law, Conectas pressured the Brazilian government to give provisional residence and regular work authorization to Venezuelans. Alongside partners, Conectas pressured for an exemption for the residency document fee for migrants. This measure was guaranteed with an injunction in August 2017 and made official in the beginning of 2018. In addition to pressuring national and local authorities, Conectas also carried out in loco missions to the capital of Roraima, Boa Vista, and to the border city Pacaraima to survey the migrantsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; situations and make recommendations to authorities.

Strengthening Democratic Space

Conectas | Annual Report 2017

U N H O L D S B RA Z I L ACCO U N TA B L E In 2017, UN member-states evaluated Brazilâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s human rights situation in the third cycle of Universal Periodic Review

n May 2017, Brazil underwent the third cycle of UPR (Universal Periodic Review), in the UN Human Rights Council, in Geneva, Switzerland. During the process, UN member-states questioned Brazilian officials on the human rights situation in the country.

Conectas worked alongside embassies in Brasilia and with diplomatic representatives in Geneva to guarantee that the recommendations reflected the concerns of civil society. This was an effort to take full advantage of this opportunity to expose the most pressing human rights violations in the country and to provide a counter narrative to the official state story. Conectas and other NGOs also gave broad visibility to the process in order to increase the number of reports sent to the UN exposing human rights violations in Brazil. Conectas was responsible for sending eight reports about subjects including migration, police violence, and indigenous rights, among others. In total, Brazil received 246 recommendations from the countries present at the hearing. Of these, only four were rejected, including the recommendation by the See of Rome that families should be made up of a man, a woman and their offspring.

Watch Conectasâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; video-tutorial on UPR:

Knowledge multipliers Considering the need to spread word about the UPR as a social tool to demand improvements around human rights in Brazil, in March 2017, Conectas organized a training for student multipliers from nineteen states in Brazil. Returning to their universities, these multipliers shared knowledge with professors and fellow students. Together, they organized simulations of UPR inspired in the actual review.

SHORT NOTES Creation of the international commission of the National Human Rights Council (CNDH) The National Human Rights Council (CNDH), of which Conectas is a surrogate member, created a permanent commission to strengthen the organâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s international activities. Conectas presented the proposal that members approved in a consensus decision. Since then, the Council has had a more proactive and timely interaction with international mechanisms for protecting human rights.

Online transmission of the UN Committee on Non-Governmental Organizations In 2017, the UN Committee on Non-Governmental Organizations, which monitors the relationship of civil society organizations around the world with the United NaFather and son cross the border between Venezuela and Brazil in the city of Pacaraima (RR). Located on the border, the city of 6,000 inhabitants became a gateway for the Venezuelan migrants who are coming to Brazil in search of better living conditions in the face of the economic and humanitarian crisis that affects the neighboring country. Photo: Leonardo Medeiros / Conectas

tions, approved a resolution to transmit all of its sessions live. Conectas earned consultative status in 2006. The organization led the call for this measure, which increases transparency and makes it easier to identify the states that resist civil society participation.

Conectas | Annual Report 2017

International Human Rights Colloquium

INTERNATIONAL HUMAN RIGHTS

COLLOQUIUM

Participants of the XV International Human Rights Colloquium attend the presentation of the Mundana Refugi Orchestra during a guided tour of the Museum of Immigration in São Paulo. Photo: Eduardo Fujise / Conectas

TO TRAVEL IS NECESSARY More than 100 activists and human rights defenders from the Global South attended the 15th edition of the International Human Rights Colloquium in São Paulo

n October, more than 100 activists from 27 countries met in São Paulo for the 15th International Human Rights Colloquium. Conectas has produced this event since 2001. This theme of this edition was “Human Rights: crisis or transition?” The aim was to look for solutions and exchange experiences given the global scenario of setbacks to human rights.

Conectas invited social movements and collectives to participate alongside NGOs and defenders from the Global South. This represented an effort to open space for new groups and build new partnerships. For a week, the activists participated in courses, debates, workshops, lectures and cultural activities. The colloquium also included a fair where participants were given the opportunity to present their most important projects. The 2017 edition of the Colloquium was produced in partnership with the Forum Asia (Thailand), the Centre for Human Rights at the University of Pretoria (South Africa) and DeJusticia (Colombia).

For an inside look at the 15th Colloquium, watch this video:

International Human Rights Colloquium

Conectas | Annual Report 2017

SUR - International Journal on Human Rights

SUR - INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL

ON HUMAN RIGHTS

SPREADING KNOWLEDGE In 2017, Sur Journal discussed business and human rights and the reduction of civic space

ince 2004, Sur - International Journal on Human Rights has published work by activists and academics from the Global South on current topics in human rights. In 2017, the journal released two new Sur Files: the 25th edition addressed the impacts of natural resource exploitation and the 26th edition addressed the strategies that activists are taking in response to the reduction of civic space around the world.

Natural Resources and Human Rights In July, Sur released its 25th edition, which included the Sur File on natural resources and human rights. Patrick Alley, director of the British NGO Global Witness, participated as the guest editor. The journal included case studies from many places that showed the impact of natural resource extraction on human rights and the environment. In addition, the 25th edition also included essays about the human rights situation in Mexico, an article by the UN special rapporteur on extreme poverty, Phillip Alston, and an interview with Juan MĂŠndez on his experience as being the special rapporteur on torture.

Photography exhibition Sur 25 also included a photo essay by Jashim Salam and Khaled Hasan on the impact of climate change on Bangladeshi communities. In October, Conectas exhibited these images in the busy Luz metro station in SĂŁo Paulo.

Read the edition:

Ramu, Bangladesh Photo by Jashim Salam - Bangladesh

SUR - International Journal on Human Rights

Conectas | Annual Report 2017

SUR 26: Reclaiming Civic Space Also participating in a writers’ workshop at the 15th International Human Rights Colloquium, 12 authors contributed to the Sur File on “Reclaiming Civic Space,” published in the 26th edition of the Sur Journal. The report discussed the causes and strategic responses to the crackdown on civil society across Global South. The activists address the impact of funding cuts, the narrative of delegitimization of the human rights movement, the role of private corporations in repression and how Global South organizations need to adapt. The 26th edition of Sur Journal was produced in partnership with the Fund for Global Human Rights.

Watch it here:

Testimoniest Conectas registered the experiences of the twelve activists and authors in a video released to promote Sur 26.

Read the edition:

Ashar Chor, Bangladesh Photo by Khaled Hasan - Bangladesh

Conectas | Annual Report 2017

Institutional Changes

INSTITUTIONAL

CHANGES

A M O R E P E R M E A B L E C O N E C TA S , R E A DY F O R G L O B A L C H A L L E N G E S Based on reflections about the organization’s history and the current scenario of setbacks to human rights, Conectas designed and implemented its 2020 strategic plan in 2017

n 2017, Conectas implemented its new multi-year strategic plan.

New visual identity, same principles

It is the result of a reflection process with the whole team and

Conectas released a new logo in December of 2017 to reflect orga-

a listening campaign with partners on the current scenario of

nizational changes. A review process of the organization’s history,

challenges for Brazil and around the world.

mission and vision for the future inspired the logo.

Through the process, Conectas updated its mission, vision and pro-

The logo means much more than a simple visual change. It also

grammatic objectives for the coming years, seeking to become a more

represents Conectas’ desire express, in a coherent and up-to-date

permeable and agile organization that is focused on real change.

way, how it wants to relate to society and communicate about its work. Without changing the essence of the organization, the team

Conectas redefined its principal focus areas, establishing initiatives

sought to strengthen Conectas’ work of diffusing and promoting

and more clear objectives for its actions. The three programmatic

human rights by facilitating widespread engagement from the

areas of the organization are:

perspective of the Global South.

• Institutional Violence • Development and Socioenvironmental Rights • Strengthening Democratic Space Through the process of strategic planning, Conectas also affirmed and recommitted to proven strategies which are utilized across initiatives for the promotion and defense of human rights. These strat-

Conectas also launched a new site during the week of International Human Rights Day, which aims to guarantee greater transparency and easy access for all.

Have you seen Conectas’ new site? Access it here: www.conectas.org/en

egies are: • International Action • Partnership and Collaboration • Legal Action • Advocacy and Influence • Communication and Engagement

Institutional Changes

Conectas | Annual Report 2017

IDEAS FOR A BETTER WORLD Conectas hosted the third edition of the Ideas Fair, an event that brings innovative human rights projects together On International Human Rights Day, Conectas hosted the third edition of the Ideas Fair, a meeting where people who work with or are interested in human rights are invited to promote and strengthen their causes. Students, researchers, journalists, collectives and social movements had the opportunity to present

research, projects, works of art and pieces of journalism that promote citizenship and human rights and denounce violations in Brazil and around the world. This edition received support from the Dutch Embassy, which granted scholarships to cover travel expenses to four participants from outside São Paulo.

Participants present their project at the 3rd Ideas Fair, held at Conectas’ office in São Paulo (SP), in commemoration of International Human Rights Day. Photo: João Paulo Brito / Conectas

Conectas | Annual Report 2017

TRANSPARENCY Conectas has a multidisciplinary team of highly skilled professionals, who are constantly training and engaged in the promotion and the defense of human rights

Transparency

WHO BELIEVES IN OUR WORK?

e, at Conectas, cherish transparency and independence. We do not accept donations from the Brazilian government, nor from the weapon, tobacco, alcohol,

or pharmaceutical industry or from any other institution that represents a conflict of interest with our operations.

INVESTMENT IN TRANSFORMATION All resources raised are invested in our programmes to promote human rights, to combat setbacks, and in denouncing violations as well as maintaining the necessary infrastructure to carry out this work

C O N TAT O contato@conectas.org www.conectas.org