The preparations for the 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil have so far triggered many human rights violations. However, the affected population, which has organized itself into citizens’ committees, has come up against walls with the Brazilian authorities. That is why those affected are trying to make their voices heard at higher levels.
There was great joy when Brazil was chosen to host the 2014 World Cup on October 30, 2007. The joy lasted for some time. But many people in Brazil have since lost their joy. Every day, human rights are violated and families are driven from their homes in order to meet the requirements of the World Cup and the wishes of real estate speculators.
Eviction of indigenous people in Rio
One of the many examples of these abuses took place in Rio. A few days ago, the former Museum of Indigenous History in Rio, inhabited by indigenous people, was forcibly evicted by the military police to make way for the parking lot of the Maracana football stadium. This led to riots, which were impressively captured in a YouTube video.
Brazilian guest at the Basel Museum Night
To draw attention to these violations, terre des hommes schweiz, together with the Sports Museum, invited a guest to the Basel Museum Night in January. Argemiro Ferreira de Almeida (member of the National Network of World Cup Citizens’ Committees of the host city ANCOP) spoke to the audience about the grievances that have arisen in the course of the preparations for the World Cup.
Hearing at the Olympic Committee
However, it is not just the Football World Cup that is problematic, but also the 2016 Olympic Games, which will also be held in Brazil. They also harbor potential for social grievances. The Olympic Committee seems to be aware of this and invited Argemiro Ferreira to Lausanne on January 25 at the request of terre des hommes schweiz so that he could report on his experiences.
World Cup Citizens’ Committee before the UN Human Rights Council
Ferreira’s hearing has encouraged the citizens’ committees to take their efforts, which regularly come to nothing in Brazil, to a higher level. Now, on March 4, 2013, another representative of ANCOP, Giselle Tanaka, was allowed to speak to the UN Human Rights Council about this problem. She did so during the session in which the new report of the Special Rapporteur on the right to housing was presented. You can find Giselle Tanaka’s speech here.
No popular participation
In contrast to the Swiss media, which rarely address this issue, and the Brazilian government, which consistently remains silent about it, it is an important topic in the Brazilian media. For example, the daily newspaper Estadao reported on Tanaka’s speech in Geneva and, in the last paragraph of the report, praised the fact that, unlike Brazil, the Swiss population was allowed to vote on the bid for the 2022 Olympic Games.
