50. Pandemic and authoritarianism. The Bolsonaro government’s responsibility for the systematic violations of the fundamental rights of Brazilian peoples perpetrated through the policies imposed in the Covid-19 pandemic (St. Paul, 24-25 May 2022)

The two public hearings of the 50th Session of the Permanent Peoples’ Tribunal were held at the Faculty of Law of the University of São Paulo, in São Paulo, Brazil, on 24 and 25 May 2022. The Tribunal received a request to investigate the guilt of President Jair Messias Bolsonaro and recognise crimes against humanity that caused the deaths of thousands of people as a result of Covid-19 prevention policies. At the conclusion of the 50th session, the PPT panel of judges issued a guilty verdict against President Jair Messias Bolsonaro for crimes against humanity, specifically finding that the rejection of policies of distancing, isolation, prevention and vaccination against the Covid-19 pandemic led to the deaths of thousands of people, especially those belonging to the most vulnerable groups in Brazilian society, namely indigenous peoples, black people and quilombola communities. The Tribunal also noted that these crimes were committed in the broader context of a specifically and severely discriminatory policy directed against indigenous, black and quilombola populations, such as to constitute direct criminal responsibility for serious human rights violations. In the specific case of indigenous peoples, the Tribunal considered that the repression of their right to life coincides with a process of gradual genocide, drop by drop, requiring an urgent and direct response from the International Criminal Court as the directly competent legal body.

Requesting organisations:

1. Arns Commission
2. Brazil’s Indigenous Peoples Articulation
3. Black Coalition For Rights
4. Public Services International Brazil.