State discusses expansion of the Program for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders
The professionals involved in the protection network exchanged experiences and pointed out their main demands
The State Secretariat for Racial Equality and Human Rights (Seirdh) participated, on Tuesday and Wednesday (19 and 20), in a training activity organized by the Popular University Institute (Unipop), aimed at the technical team of the Program for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders (PPDDH) in Pará.
The Program is responsible for ensuring the safety and integrity of human rights defenders. Currently, about 167 people are under protection in the State. Protection can also be extended to family members and regular cohabitants, provided that the existence of risk and cohabitation with the defender is proven.
The PPDDH is coordinated by Seirdh, responsible for coordinating protection measures, executed in partnership with the Federal Government, through the Ministry of Human Rights and Citizenship (MDHC), and has the State Council for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders (CEPDDH) as an advisory and supervisory body, composed of representatives from public agencies and civil society. Unipop has been the executor of the Program since June 2024, chosen through a public call for proposals.
The head of Seirdh, Edilza Fontes, considers the Program a source of pride for the State. "Pará has a significant history of homicides related to land conflicts, for example. So, this Program is the largest we have in Brazil. It was built by entities linked to the defense of human rights. This is a program we are very proud of," she emphasized.
Training - The pedagogical coordinator of Unipop, Aldalice Otterloo, explained that the Institute is a space for training leaders with a view to strengthening democracy and defending the Amazon. She revealed that, after a year of executing the Program, the need to exchange experiences among the already active team was identified.
"We organized a two-day program to discuss how our pedagogical procedures are carried out and what we have already observed. We have a multidisciplinary team, and this moment allows for the presentation of demands and discussion. In addition, we extended the team to some municipalities where the greatest demands were concentrated. We also have the teams from Marabá and Santarém participating. And we intend to expand to other municipalities, such as Altamira," detailed coordinator Aldalice Otterloo.
Context - During the training, Maria Rocha, a master's degree holder in Social Work and a Seirdh employee, addressed social assistance in the context of violence and inequality on the second day of the activity. She showed the ways the team approaches defenders, as well as the need to understand the context in which the protected individual is inserted, whether biological, social, psychological, political, economic, or environmental.
She emphasized the importance of building a relationship of trust with the defender and the Program's characteristic of ensuring the continuity of the defense of human rights. "It is not a program that came to bind the defender. On the contrary. It came to help them continue their activism," assured Maria Rocha.
The director of Human Rights at Seirdh, Verena Arruda, who presented the agency's work in coordinating the Program, highlighted that the increase in the number of people served in the last year reflects the realization of serious work that instills confidence in defenders who increasingly seek the protection of the PPDDH.
For Secretary Edilza Fontes, there is a need for strengthening and expanding the action. "It is a program that truly fulfills its function of protecting and welcoming human rights defenders in Pará and, with that, trying to minimize and facilitate dialogue when there are land conflicts that pose a risk to people's lives. So, it is a reference program in Brazil, and we must respect and strengthen it," reinforced the head of Seirdh.
Text: Fernanda Graim - Ascom/Seirdh
