Globalization, the Meaning of Human Rights and the Role of Human Rights NGOS: a Case Study in Rio De Janeiro, Brazil
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University of Tennessee, Knoxville TRACE: Tennessee Research and Creative Exchange Senior Thesis Projects, 2003-2006 College Scholars 2005 Globalization, the Meaning of Human Rights and the Role of Human Rights NGOS: A Case Study in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil Joakim Daun Follow this and additional works at: https://trace.tennessee.edu/utk_interstp3 Recommended Citation Daun, Joakim, "Globalization, the Meaning of Human Rights and the Role of Human Rights NGOS: A Case Study in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil" (2005). Senior Thesis Projects, 2003-2006. https://trace.tennessee.edu/utk_interstp3/67 This Project is brought to you for free and open access by the College Scholars at TRACE: Tennessee Research and Creative Exchange. It has been accepted for inclusion in Senior Thesis Projects, 2003-2006 by an authorized administrator of TRACE: Tennessee Research and Creative Exchange. For more information, please contact [email protected]. GLOBALIZATION, THE MEANING OF HUMAN RIGHTS AND THE ROLE OF HUMAN RIGHTS NGOS: A CASE STUDY IN RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL Joakim Daun University of Tennessee Senior Project College Scholars Honors Program with emphasis in International Politics Mentor: Professor Jon Shefner Summer & Fall 2005 TABLE OF CONTENTS ABBREVIATIONS ………………………………………………………………………. 4 PORTUGUESE VOCABULARY……………………………………………………...... 5 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS……………………………………………………….............6 THE PROJECT…………………………………………………………………………....7 METHODOLOGY AND CONTEXT…………………………………………………….9 CHAPTER 1……………………………………………………………………………... 13 1. INTRODUCTION……………………………………………………………………... 13 1.1 GLOBALIZATION, NGOS AND THE STATE…………………………………… 13 1.2 NGOs: INCREASE AND ABILITY TO INFLUENCE…………………………… 22 1.3 NGOS – TACTICS, POWER AND INFLUENCE ………………………………… 25 1.4 CRITIQUE AND LIMITATIONS OF NGOS AND GLOBAL GOVERNANCE.. 29 CHAPTER 2……………………………………………………………………………... 35 2. INTRODUCTION………………………………………………………………………35 2.1 HUMAN RIGHTS……………………………………………………………………..35 2.2 HUMAN RIGHTS AND GLOBALIZATION……………………………………… 42 2.3 HUMAN RIGHTS NGOS …….................................................................................... 46 CHAPTER 3……………………………………………………………………………... 52 3 INTRODUCTION …………………………………………............................................52 3.1 BRAZILIAN HUMAN RIGHTS PRACTICES AND COMMITMENTS………...52 3.2 HUMAN RIGHTS VIOLATIONS IN BRAZIL AND RIO DE JANEIRO………. 61 3.2.1 POVERTY AND INEQUALITY………………………………………………….. 62 3.2.2 VIOLENCE, DRUG-TRAFFICKING, PUBLIC SECURITY, POLICE BRUTALITY AND CORRUPTION……………………………………………………. 70 2 3.2.3 STREET KIDS……………………………………………………………………… 81 3.2.4 HEALTH, HUNGER AND HOUSING…………………………………………… 88 3.2.5 EDUCATION……………………………………………………………………….. 96 CHAPTER 4……………………………………………………………………………... 102 4. INTRODUCTION……………………………………………………………………... 102 4.1 HUMAN RIGHTS NGOS IN BRAZIL AND RIO DE JANEIRO………………... 102 4.2 STRUCTURE OF NGO’S IN RIO DE JANEIRO………………………………… 105 4.3 NGO FUNDING IN RIO DE JANEIRO.................................................................... 113 4.4 THE ROLE OF THE STATE VS. THE ROLE OF NGOS ………………………. 120 5. FINAL CONCLUSIONS AND ANALYSIS………………………………………….. 123 SELECTED BIBLIOGRAPHY………………………………………………………….. 136 3 ABBREVIATIONS AI Amnesty International ANGO Advocacy non-governmental organization CAT Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment CCPR Covenant on Civil and Political Rights CDI Committee for the Democratization of Information CEDAW Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women CERD Convention on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination CESCR Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights CRC Convention of the Rights of the Child ECA Estatuto da Criança e do Adolescente (The Brazilian Statute of the Child and Adolescent) GNGO Grassroots non-governmental organization HDI Human Development Index HRW Human Rights Watch IBISS Instituto Brasileiro de Inovações na Saúde Social ICC International Criminal Court IGO International Organization INGO International non-governmental organization IMF International Monetary Fund MDGs Millennium Development Goals 4 MST Movimento dos Trabalhadores Rurais Sem-Terra (Rural Landless Workers Movement) NGO Non-governmental organisation OAS Organisation of the American States PUC Pontifícia Universidade Católica UN United Nations UDHR Universal Declaration of Human Rights UNDP United Nations Development Programme UNICEF United Nations Children’s Fund WB World Bank WTO World Trade Organisation PORTUGUESE VOCABULARY Bairro – neighbourhood/ district Bairro carente/carencia – lower class neighbourhood. Carente/carencia literally means: lack, want, need, or that not have, that need Favela - shantytown or slum. Used to describe a collection of illegally constructed dwellings within an urban area1 Falcatroa – cheat, fraud Leigo – Person that does not have sufficient information or knowledge Morro – hill neighbourhood, normally a favela that is built on a hill So para inglês ver – only for looks, for the tourist to see Tráfico – drug trafficking/dealing 1 Definition taken from Luke Dowdney. “Children of The Drug Trade: A case study of Children in Organized Armed Violence in Rio de Janeiro.” 7 Letras 2003, p 258. 5 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS My trip to Brazil and my senior project would not have been possible without the support from the W.K. McClure Fund for the Study of World Affairs, the Folke Bernadottes Minnesfond’s Scholarship for the study of foreign cultures and social situations, and the University of Tennessee College Scholar Scholarship fund. I am ever grateful for their financial support. I also would like to thank; my mentor Jon Shefner for his patience, my defense committee for approving to be on my committee, Gabriela Michelli Vieira for her help with interpretation and translation of interviews, Renata Santiago Pessoa with family for their kindness, Vivian Gama at Centro de Defesa D. Luciano Mendes – Associação Beneficente São Martinho, for her thoughtfulness, kindheartedness and help with interviews at São Martinho. Thanks Professor Roberval Oliveira for your support and patience in teaching me Portuguese, Professor Christopher Craig for helping me to graduate and Professor April L. Morgan for teaching me so much and always supporting my work, also thanks to São Martinho for letting me work with you and thanks to all the people that volunteered to be interviewed. Last but not least I would like to thank my family, my father Holger for sharing his ideas and help with proof reading, my brother Andreas for always being there for me, and my mother Ulla for her guidance and all of my family for their everlasting love and support. 6 THE PROJECT The aim of my senior project is to contribute to the understanding of the workings of human rights NGOs in the context of globalization. The more specific objectives of the study are: 1. to make a literature review of the aspects of globalization processes and impacts that seem to be relevant for the spread of the human rights perspective and the expansion of NGOs, and 2. to use findings from a Brazilian case study to illuminate some of the above mentioned aspects Both these objectives are considered in relation to the fact that the state is in charge of and responsible for the implementation of human rights and protection of human rights. On the basis of document analysis and a literature review as well as my own field study, the project also presents human rights violations occurring in Rio de Janeiro. I have examined: How the nature of state sovereignty, power and the role of civil society has changed with globalization and the increasing number of NGOs. The development of human rights and the increasing number of NGOs working with Human Rights and the increased global awareness of Human Rights that has taken place in the two past decades. How people on grassroots level (NGOs and residents in lower class neighbourhoods) perceive Human Rights and Human Rights violations – as illustrated by the case study in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. How human rights NGOs work with people on the ground in Rio de Janeiro to address human rights violations. How human rights NGOs cooperate with other NGOs, social movements, and transnational networks to promote human rights and how this plays out in the context of globalization - as illustrated by the case study in Rio de Janeiro. This paper will briefly discuss how human rights were established and how this philosophy and international treaties evolved and what human rights treaties and charters exist today. Moreover, what do human rights mean to different people and how is the concept of human rights experienced by local people in Rio de Janeiro versus at the global level. But 7 also what do human rights mean for local NGOs working in an area of Rio de Janeiro. How has the concept of human rights developed in Brazil and Brazilian culture? I examined how human rights are taught, how and what human rights issues are addressed and how different NGOs and transnational networks cooperate to educate, promote and uphold human rights. What strategies are used in their work and how effective are they? Further, what effects does globalization have on states and state sovereignty; the protection of human rights; and the development of human rights NGOs, and the promotion of human rights and support for human rights NGOs in Rio de Janeiro. What downsides have globalization brought about and in what ways are human rights activists using globalization in their favour. Is the perception of human rights on the grassroots level the same as on the global level? The first