Public statements
Ahead of International Youth Day on 12 August, Amnesty International Brazil’s Executive Director Jurema Werneck called on the country’s Congress to reject all constitutional amendments that might lower the age at which children can be tried as adults.
Werneck said:
“This year’s International Youth Day comes at a time when children’s rights in Brazil are in peril. Proposed changes to the constitution include legislation that will lower the age at which children can be tried as adults to below 18.
“This would be in flagrant violation of international human rights law, including the Convention on the Rights of a Child to which Brazil is a party.
“Legislators must put the best interests of the child at the centre of this discussion. The prospect of children ending up in Brazilian adult prisons, which are severely overcrowded with terrible conditions, is horrifying. Treating children under the age of 18 as ‘adults’ would place them in vulnerable situations where their human rights would be further at risk.”
“The alarming reports of attacks in northern Rakhine State underscore the need for everyone operating in the area to refrain from violence before it spirals out of control.
Yesterday, the newly elected government of British Columbia sent the Site C dam to the provincial utilities commission for a long overdue review of whether or not the destructive $8.8 billion-plus mega-project is necessary and economically viable.
In announcing the review, Energy Minister Michelle Mungall told the provincial legislature that a final decision on whether the project is allowed to proceed will be based on this review “along with other environmental and First Nations considerations.”
Craig Benjamin of Amnesty International Canada said, “It’s crucial to remember that the Site C dam was pushed ahead without ever addressing the crucial question of whether it would violate the Treaty rights of First Nations in the Peace River region. A series of court cases left the matter unresolved, putting it back in the hands of politicians to do their duty to protect the Constitutionally-protected rights of Indigenous peoples. We welcome this latest indication that the province of BC is now prepared to uphold this essential legal and moral obligation.”
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