"The Office of the Public Defender, by the constituent power, has the mission to defend, in an uncompromising way, the vulnerable population, and the black population is the great vulnerable group in the country, because we are the majority population. This is why I salute the Office of the Public Defender of the State of Tocantins, which manages to visualize, give strength and voice to this portion of the population." So said the Public Defender from Rio de Janeiro Daniele da Silva de Magalhães, who was responsible for delivering the Master Class on "Raciality of Human Rights", an activity that officially opened the III Scientific Congress on Human Rights of the Office of the Public Defender, held on Wednesday evening, 16th.
The event took place in the auditorium of the Public Defender Office of the State of Tocantins (DPE-TO), in the city of Palmas, and it was broadcast live on the official Youtube channel of the institution. The Coordinator of the Center for Combating Racism and Ethnic-Racial Discrimination (Nucor) of the Office of the Public Defender of the State of Rio de Janeiro (DPE-RJ), Daniele Magalhães stressed the importance of proposing the event, whose central theme is "For a racialized reading of human rights", especially in a state with such a marked presence of traditional communities.
“It is extremely important that the Office of the Public Defender promotes this space for reflection and discussion about rights, about raciality, because this mission is the very genesis of the institution. And it is necessary to pay attention to the quilombola population, which, like all traditional peoples, has been decimated since forever. This is why this public policy of rights recognition is very important, even because we don't talk about giving rights, but recognizing the rights that exist, that are full rights of this population group", explained the Public Defender.
Oficial Opening
Organized by DPE-TO through the Superior School of the Office of the Public Defender (Esdep) and the Specialized Centers for the Defense of Human Rights (NDDH) and for Ethnic Issues and the Fight against Racism (Nucora), the event aims at providing the improvement of members, employees, interns and volunteers from the Offices of the Public Defender, professors, students, the academic community in general and civil society, about raciality and human rights, through several academic activities.
Coordinator of the NDDH, the Public Defender Euler Nunes, who, during the official opening, represented the General Public Defender of the State of Tocantins, Estellamaris Postal, pointed out that raciality is one of the themes that, within human rights, involves one of the largest groups violated, which is not restricted to the State of Tocantins, which has particularities to be observed with special attention, but it is something seen throughout the national scenario.
“The importance of these congresses, of these discussions about human rights, is always the promotion of teaching, discussion, and experience of what is on the agenda, bringing in specialists who awaken, in all ways, the collective attention to what needs to be done to guarantee rights," said Euler Nunes.
General Director of Esdep, Public Defender Téssia Gomes Carneiro highlighted that the third edition of the Congress had the theme on "raciality" chosen in allusion to the Black Consciousness Month, since the Black Consciousness Day is celebrated every November 20th, and that the major proposal is to instigate the yearning for a free of discrimination world.
“I am sure that this set of activities of the Congress, with lectures, debates, workshops and book launches, will provide us an experience full of perplexity and esthetic delight. So, I invite everyone to follow with us in this rich journey of approaching racial issues, fighting discrimination and violence, and fighting for full equality of rights, in a tacit declaration that we deserve to live without discrimination", glimpsed Téssia Gomes.
Coordinator of Nucora, Public Defender Arthur Luiz Pádua Marques, said it is essential that the Office of the Public Defender brings up important discussions about human rights, including those focused on traditional quilombola and indigenous communities and others who live in the territory of the State of Tocantins, so that the rights of these populations can be effectively guaranteed.
"The congress is a crucial moment of reflection and planning of our actions. Our institution was born for this theme, of human rights. So it is important that it promotes events like this, which are spaces for discussion and debate about everything that involves this subject, especially with a local focus, because we live in a state with so many isolated black, quilombola, and indigenous communities, who have always heard promises, but were never really welcomed. No government has given due attention to this population. Since the Constituent Assembly, there was never any land regularization, many communities have not even had their basic needs met over the last 30 years. No government looked after them", Arthur Pádua pointed out.
Honor table
Also at the official opening of the Congress were the first Deputy Director of the Superior School of the Judges of the State of Tocantins (Esmat), Justice Ângela Issa Haonat; the Pedagogical Coordinator of the Center for Studies and Functional Improvement (Cesaf) of the Superior School of the State Prosecution of the State of Tocantins (ESMP), Cleivane Peres dos Reis; the coordinator of the Legal Practice Center at the Federal University of the State of Tocantins (UFT), Naima Worm; the coordinator of the Human Rights Center at the State University of the State of Tocantins (Unitins), Rafaela Vidal; and the professor of the master's degree in Judicial Provision and Human Rights at UFT/Esmat, Patrícia Medina.
Books launch
During the opening ceremony, the books "Quilombola families: history, resistance, and the fight against social vulnerability, food and nutritional insecurity in the Mumbuca community - State of Tocantins", authored by UFT Doctoral Professor Ana Lúcia Pereira; and "The rights of people with physical disabilities deprived of their freedom: architectural accessibility and inclusion in the penitentiary system", authored by DPE-TO Public Defender and Master Fabrício Silva Brito, were launched.
III Congress
The programming of the III Scientific Congress of Human Rights of the Public Defender extends this Thursday, 17th, and Friday, 18th, at the headquarters of DPE-TO in the Capital, with live streaming via Youtube of the Institution.
Over the three days, the event will bring together lectures, cultural activities, workshops, presentations of scientific papers.
Check out the full schedule here.
