Tuesday, April 28, 2015 6:00 PM to 7:30 PM EDT
Merten Hall, 1201
Brazil instituted a truth commission in 2012 to investigate gross human rights violations perpetrated between 1946 and 1988, but mainly those that occurred after 1964, during the military dictatorship. The Commission’s report, which was published in December 2014, concluded that the military governments and their repressive apparatus committed crimes against humanity, including illegal detentions, torture, extrajudicial executions, and enforced disappearances, and that Brazilian security forces continue to commit grave human rights violations.
Marlon Weichert, an academic, lawyer and federal prosecutor, will discuss his recent research on Brazil’s Truth Commission. He will analyze the main content of the report, its findings and recommendations, the challenges the Commission faced, and its contributions to Brazil’s transitional justice process. In particular, Weichert will discuss the ways the Truth Commission has reinvigorated civil society demands for accountability for past human rights violations, and for institutional reforms of the Brazilian security forces.
