With the activities of the sixteenth edition of the International Congress on Human Rights over, the Stricto Sensu Postgraduate Program in Judicial Provision and Human Rights of Esmat has demonstrated its relevance both in the State of Tocantins and now at national and international level. The third and final day of the event took place last Friday (Febuary 23rd) at the College of Geography and History in Barcelona, Spain.
During the Congress, Justice Marco Villas Boas, General Director of Esmat, shared a little about his academic and professional career, highlighting his doctoral thesis on the ecological dimension of indigenous self-determination in American constitutions. In his speech, he emphasized that the modern State goes beyond the classic elements of people, territory and political power, and also includes the need for natural resources to sustain society.
According to the Justice, the contemporary State can be understood as an "ecological state", especially given the current challenges of resource scarcity and climate change. "There are other dimensions of self-determination that corroborate the existence of the current State, one of which is the need for the existence of natural resources/sources so that society can maintain itself (...). I think that the contemporary State is an ecological State, there is no escaping this, what we are experiencing now, a scarcity of resources and climate change," he explained.
In addition, the General Director of the school highlighted the interaction between the Judiciary of the State of Tocantins and indigenous communities, recognizing the relevance of the knowledge and worldview of these peoples for contemporary societies. "This dialogue with indigenous peoples has resulted in a beneficial mechanism to promote the preservation of nature based on the examples of these societies, while at the same time recognizing the respect and obligation towards these original peoples who are often invisible or even opposed by society," he said.
The programming of the event included presentations by Antônio Carlos dos Santos, professor of the Master's Degree in Judicial Provision and Human Rights, who offered some reflections inspired by the perspective of John Locke on the fight against poverty. Justice Angela Issa Haonat was also present and contributed to the debate by bringing important reflections on the ethical limits of the use of Artificial Intelligence in judicial decisions.
Discussing the work and results of the Professional and Interdisciplinary Master's Degree in Judicial Provision and Human Rights (PPGPJDH) in the State of Tocantins, Angela shared her vision of the projects carried out by the master's and master's students, highlighting their contributions to the improvement of the judicial provision in the region.
The Programming also included discussions on relevant topics such as "The social reintegration of prisoners in the Brazilian penitentiary system", presented by the coordinator of the PPGPJDH, Professor Tarsis Barreto; and an analysis of the fight against hate speech and gender discrimination on the internet, carried out by Malin Rohia, a researcher from the University of Barcelona.
After three days of activities, this edition of the XVI International Congress on Human Rights, organized in partnership with the Federal University of the State of Tocantins (UFT), the University of Lisbon, the Lusophone University of Porto and the University of Barcelona, provided an environment for dialogue and sharing of experiences, demonstrating the commitment not only of the Master's Degree, but also of the Superior School of the Judges of the State of Tocantins (ESMAT), to contribute to the improvement of judicial service.
