Participating in the XVII International Congress on Human Rights, promoted by the Superior School of the Judges of the State of Tocantins (Esmat), the Portuguese magistrates Mouraz Lopes and Igreja Matos visited, on Friday (October 4th), the Social Office of the city of Palmas. The visit was accompanied by the Chief Justice of the State of Tocantins, Justice Maysa Vendramini Rosal; by the supervisor of the Monitoring and Supervision Group of the Prison System and the Social and Educational Measures Execution System (GMF) of the Court of Justice of the State of Tocantins, Justice Pedro Nelson de Miranda Coutinho; and by the Judge of the 4th Criminal Court and Criminal Executions of the city of Palmas, Allan Martins.
During the visit, the Judges got to know the structure of the Social Network Workshop, which was inaugurated in June. Initiative developed in partnership by the Judiciary of the State of Tocantins, Federal Revenue and Secretariat of Citizenship and Justice aims to promote the social reintegration of the egresses through the offer of professional qualification and cutting and sewing work. The workshop is one of the actions promoted by the Social Office of the city of Palmas and meets the policy establishing the Care of Egresses People from the prison system within the scope of the judiciary (Resolution n. 307/2019 of the CNJ).
"This project has attracted the attention of magistrates working in Portugal due to its specificities. It is an action of great relevance so that the egresses and their families have a new life opportunity; many, when they fulfill the sentence, return home without any financial structure and this initiative represents hope for those who want to build a better future away from crime", said the Chief Justice during her visit.
"It is always important to exchange experiences, especially in the question of resocialization, to return citizenship to the egresses of the prison system," added the supervisor of the GMF, Justice Pedro Nelson.
Human rights
Prisons, dignity and human rights was the theme addressed by Judge José Mouraz Lopes at the XVII International Congress on Human Rights of ESMAT, held from October 2nd to 4th in the city of Palmas. Advocate of alternatives focused on the promotion of human rights and dignity, the magistrate highlighted that initiatives such as the Social Office are real possibilities for improving the prison system as a whole.
"I think it is an experience, besides being very interesting, especially very useful for people. It is a way for those people who are in the phase of rehabilitation to society to have an alternative not to commit crimes again, which is the great purpose of the execution of sentences", he said.
As Judge Allan Martins pointed out, the Social Office aims to be a public policy aimed at those who are in a vulnerable situation and need support when leaving the prison system. "What is intended here is to give a welcome to this population, guide, and fulfill the rights of citizenship that are guaranteed to all. And in the end, what is sought is the reduction of criminal recidivism, that they walk the right path and do not recur".
The Portuguese magistrates were accompanied by the coordinator of the Social Office, Leandro Bezerra; the manager of Criminal Alternatives Policies of the Citizenship and Justice Department of the State of Tocantins, Thiago Sabino; the Public Defender Napociani Póvoa; and Professor George França, of the Federal University of the State of Tocantins.