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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.
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