UN representatives visits Brazil and MAB presents denounces of rights violations suffered by people affected by dams

Mr. Pavel Selvanathan and Mr. Dante Pesce, members of the UN Working Group that discuss Bussiness and Human Rights arrivied this Monday (7) an will be in Brazil untill the 16^th.

The visit has as background the environmental disaster caused by the rupture of the Fundão dam, occured in Minas Gerais, in November 5^th. As well as development projects, such as Belo Monte and those related to the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro.

“Clearly insufficient”

Last November 25, the UN released a statement that describes the government’s measures, Vale and BHP Billiton as insufficient. The document written by the two UN human rights experts – regarding the environment and toxic waste have asked the Brazilian government and the companies involved to take immediate steps to protect the environment and the health of communities at risk of exposure to toxic chemicals, due to the catastrophic collapse of the tailings dam.

Visit to Brazil

Representatives of the UN will go through several cities in the country in which they will meet with representatives of government, business and civil society.

MAB will attend the meetings in Sao Paulo, Belo Horizonte/Mariana, Altamira and Belém, besides coordinating the participation of those affected in Minas Gerais and Pará.

UN representatives are part of the group set by the UN Human Rights Council in 2011 composed of five independent experts which has its main functions to promote the UN Rectors Principle that set voluntary standards in the political line of respect, remedy, without providing penalties or mechanisms of action to avoid damage to the companies that violate rights.

MAB

MAB believes that these companies which historically have violated human rights, has demonstrated that they will not contribute voluntarily to implement this culture. That is why together with other civil society organizations MAB is participating jointly in the building of a legal binding instrument to regulate the activities of transnational corporations.

Within the United Nations, an intergovernmental working group has proposed to draft this Treaty with the active participation of civil society organizations. The work of this group began in July 2015 and MAB is actively participating in this process, both at the group’s meeting in Geneva and in building and strengthening a network of joint civil society organizations in Brazil to discuss the issue.

MAB’s objective is to show the reality of human rights violations committed by companies, in addition reinforcing the position that these companies should be held accountable for their crimes.

During the visit, issues will be discussed, as criminalization of human rights defenders, the construction of dams and hydroelectric plants (the case of Belo Monte/ PA), mining and the tragedy of Mariana, the situation of indigenous peoples, the BNDES and investment agreements , the “dirty list” of companies involved with slave labor, among other violations.

Read below the UN’s press note about the visit to Brazil:

Brazil: UN expert group to assess impact of business activities on human rights

GENEVA (7 December 2015) – The United Nations Working Group on business and human rights today started its first official visit to Brazil to examine the adverse impact of business activities on human rights.

The visit, from 7 to 16 December, takes place against the backdrop of a serious environmental disaster, caused by the collapse on 5 November of a mining tailing dam in Mariana, State of Minas Gerais, and of a range of ongoing and planned large-scale development projects, including those related to the Rio 2016 Olympics.

“As the seventh largest economy in the world, Brazil is playing a leading role both in the region and globally, and we look forward to learning about the steps taken in the country to prevent and address business-related human rights harm,” said human rights expert Pavel Sulyandziga, one of the members of the two-strong delegation.

The experts are looking at how the Government and businesses are implementing their respective human rights obligations and responsibilities, in line with the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights*.

The principles, unanimously endorsed by the UN Human Rights Council in 2011, offer clarity and guidance for authorities and companies to prevent and address adverse impacts of business activities on human rights. They re-affirm States’ existing obligations to protect against human rights abuse by businesses. They also clarify the corporate responsibility to respect human rights, and the need to ensure that victims have access to effective remedy.

“As well as meeting with the government authorities and a number of companies, we will talk with civil society organizations, trade unions and other stakeholders, and we look forward to learning from their experience,” said Dante Pesce, the other Working Group member taking part in the visit.
 
The experts, who are visiting the country at the invitation of the Government of Brazil, will hold meetings in Brasilia, São Paulo, Rio de Janeiro, Belo Horizonte, Mariana, Altamira, and Belém.

They will hold a press conference to share with the media preliminary observations from their visit at 12:00 on Wednesday 16 December 2015 at the UN building, room Carlos Costa (LCC), Setor de Embaixadas Norte Quadra 802, Bloco C, Lote 17, in Brasília. Access to the press conference is strictly limited to journalists.

Findings from the country visit and recommendations will be included in an official report to be presented to the Human Rights Council in June 2016.

(*) Read the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights: http://www.ohchr.org/EN/
ENDS

The Working Group on the issue of human rights and transnational corporations and other business enterprises was established by the UN Human Rights Council in June 2011. The five members are Mr. Michael Addo (Ghana), Ms. Alexandra Guáqueta Colombia), Ms. Margaret Jungk (USA), Mr. Puvan Selvanathan (Malaysia) and Mr. Pavel Sulyandziga (Russian Federation).