Brazilian Land Rights Activist Wins 2001 RFK Human Rights Award



Brazilian Land Rights Activist Wins 2001 RFK Human Rights Award

Darci Frigo, a passionate defender of the poor and the landless in Brazil, is an attorney and human rights advocate with the Pastoral Land Commission, an ecumenical arm of the social ministry of the National Conference of Brazilian Bishops. The Commission is the leading organization dedicated to human rights protection in rural Brazil. It documents human rights violations, produces periodic reports and supports and assists landless workers in their struggle for land rights. Through the Commission, Darci has organized rural labor unions and represents squatters involved in land disputes. A member of the National Network of Popular Lawyers, Darci is one of the most visible and effective human rights defenders in his home state of Paraná.

One of the most visible and effective human rights defenders in his home state of Paraná, Darci reports that a significant number of the several hundred persons killed in rural conflicts in the past several years in Brazil have been in the state of Paraná. From January 1997 to December 2000, sixteen persons have been killed in land conflicts and twenty others survived attempts on their lives in this relatively small southern state. None of the responsible persons in these deaths and attempted killings have been convicted. In the same period at least thirty-six death threats against those involved in rural conflicts have been registered.

Before joining the Pastoral Land Commission, Darci founded human rights centers in Ponta Grossa and in Curitiba, Brazil. In 1986 he participated in the founding assembly of the Brazilian Human Rights Movement. He was invited to present a report on forced labor in Brazil to the United Nations in 1994 and helped prepare a report for High Commissioner Mary Robinson's visit to Brazil in May 2000. Last June he represented the Brazilian human rights movement in a regional Latin American meeting on human rights defenders.

Since joining the Commission, Darci has been threatened repeatedly. In 1986 he was accused of defamation for exposing a federal representative who forced children to perform hard labor. In 1993 Darci was threatened by military police while representing a client. In 1999 he was attacked and detained by military police in Curitiba. In early 2000 he received three death threats which led him to request protection measures from the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights. In spite of all efforts to stop his work, Darci continues his fight on behalf of the landless poor.

We will honor Darci's commitment at the annual ceremony on Capitol Hill on Robert Kennedy's birthday, November 20th. The RFK Center for Human Rights looks forward to working with him.

http://www.rfkmemorial.org/