The last panel of the XV International Congress on Human Rights raised questions about the contamination of the environment and communities by pesticides and the ingestion of bioaccumulative chemicals and environmental contaminants, as well as social conflicts arising from biopolitics and necropolitics, ending with a discussion of issues such as environmental injustice and climate and environmental racism.
In her speech, Cristina Larrea, a doctor and researcher from Spain, spoke about the process of contamination of communities through the proximity of agricultural areas that use chemical components, agrotoxins and other pesticides. "We need to look for other ways of relating to the world based on a process of recognizing diverse knowledge and wisdom in order to open up new paths and combat socio-environmental injustices," she said.
In the second lecture, Professor Silvana Nascimento recalled the current situation that humanity is going through, such as the Anthropocene, which corresponds to the geological era characterized by the impact of the presence of man on the earth. "We are in a new climate regime that clearly shows the failure of the separation between nature and culture created in the modern era. All of humanity seems to have lost its mind and control over the way it has occupied our planet, how it has established relationships between people and how it has created processes of dehumanization and extermination," she argued.
In the third and final lecture of the Congress, Professor Mariana Trotta Quintans highlighted how climate change has brought about socio-environmental conflicts which, despite being perceived by all of humanity, hit the poorest populations the hardest. Hence the emergence of concepts such as environmental and climate racism. "We need to think about how climate change is the result of the extractive, destructive logic of capitalism: a system of anti-social metabolism of capital that appropriates bodies, territories and nature in general with the aim of promoting the accumulation of wealth," she said.
Tribute
Also on the occasion, a tribute was paid to Justice Angela Issa Haonat, the first Deputy Director of the Superior School of the Judges of the State of Tocantins (ESMAT) and Deputy Coordinator of the 15th edition of the International Congress on Human Rights, which celebrated another anniversary last Saturday, September 16th.
About the Congress
During the 15th edition of the Congress, there were activities such as mini-courses, conferences, thematic panels, oral communications and banner exhibitions, as well as the valuable presence of national and international speakers, who for three days debated issues related to the promotion of human rights, the legal perception of technological advances, the penal system, and how to adapt and guarantee the promotion of life and human rights in the face of environmental disasters that are already happening with constant frequency.
The event had an impressive 1236 registrants, who took part in both face-to-face and virtual sessions, promoting interdisciplinary dialogues and opening up space for debates on the theme "For a more accessible and effective justice system in defense of human rights".
Recordings
