Ana Paula Marra
Reporter - Agência Brasil

Brasília - The special secretary of Human Rights, Minister Nilmário Miranda, affirmed yesterday (28) that the government will refrain from commenting on the US State Department report on human rights in Brazil. The report, released yesterday, points out the violation of several rights.

"We do not comment on reports made by one country about another. We gladly accept reports prepared by the UN (United Nations), the OAS (Organization of American States), and other serious entities," the Minister said. "These are multilateral reports that bring countries together democratically ," he added.

In the initial section on Brazil in its extensive report, the US State Department asserts that, although the Constitutution provides for an "independent judiciary," it "is inefficient and, especially at the state level, subject to political and economic influences."

The document also accuses the military and civil police of committing various assassinations as the result of the use of excessive force. "The police is also tied to murders by contract and death squads, which execute suspects, people considered undesirable, Indians, and activists. The police tortured and assailed suspects and arrested people arbitrarily. Despite having the power to act, the Federal Police failed to do so in various instances of human rights violations committed by state officials ... [thereby] sustaining an atmosphere of impunity."

Translation: David Silberstein