Brazil: Support Local Domestic-Partnership Legislation
08/17/2001
SUMMARY
João Paulo, mayor of Recife (capital of Pernambuco state, Brazil) has sent a proposal to the city's legislature which would grant same-sex partners of civil servants the same social benefits currently enjoyed by partners in heterosexual couples - Anteprojeto de Lei do Sistema Previdenciario do Município do Recife. The initiative will be voted next week.
The initiative has already aroused strong criticism from the president of the city's legislature Human Rights Commission , Mr. Coreiro de Deus, who has committed himself to "fight with all my strength against this immorality." It is also vigorously opposed by Mr. Silvio Costa (from the opposition Social Democratic Party), who accused the mayor of "being elected with the promise to implement policies for the majority and ending up doing it for a minority."
IGLHRC and local activists ask you to send IMMEDIATE e-mails to all members of the Recife city legislature expressing your support for this bill.
ACTION
Please send e-mails (a sample letter is below) to:
- antonio.oliveira@recife.pe.gov.br
amaro.cipriano@recife.pe.gov.br
antonio.neto@recife.pe.gov.br
gueiros@recife.pe.gov.br
cleurinaldo@recife.pe.gov.br
clovisc@recife.pe.gov.br
dilson@recife.pe.gov.br
eduardo@recife.pe.gov.br
eriberto@recife.pe.gov.br
fausto@recife.pe.gov.br
pontes@recife.pe.gov.br
gilbluna@recife.pe.gov.br
helio.seixas@recife.pe.gov.br
henrique.leite@recife.pe.gov.br
heraclit@recife.pe.gov.br
isaltino@recife.pe.gov.br
joaoalb@recife.pe.gov.br
jarraes@recife.pe.gov.br
joao.glasner@recife.pe.gov.br
jribeiro@recife.pe.gov.br
jose.alves@recife.pe.gov.br
joseant@recife.pe.gov.br
zeneves@recife.pe.gov.br
jurandir@recife.pe.gov.br
liberato@recife.pe.gov.br
luizhelv@recife.pe.gov.br
luizvida@recife.pe.gov.br
mmenezes@recife.pe.gov.br
moacyr@recife.pe.gov.br
murilo@recife.pe.gov.br
paulo.dantas@recife.pe.gov.br
paulo.roberto@recife.pe.gov.br
randrade@recife.pe.gov.br
dlucca@recife.pe.gov.br
rgomes@recife.pe.gov.br
ronaldo.gomes@recife.pe.gov.br
silvio.costa@recife.pe.gov.br
waldemis@recife.pe.gov.br
josenildo@recife.pe.gov.br
sileno@recife.pe.gov.br
Please send a copy of your e-mail to
- Forum de Mulheres de Pernambuco,
- at carla@soscorpo.org.br,
anabosch@bol.com.br, or
monicalarangeira@terra.com.br
And please send a copy to activist Luiz Mott of Grupo Gay de Bahia, Brazil, who has started a similar campaign at the national level in Brazil (luizmott@ufba.br).
SAMPLE LETTER
Dear Member of the Legislature,
We write to encourage you to support the proposal submitted by the Recife Mayor, Mr. João Paulo, -Anteprojeto de Lei do Sistema Previdenciario do Município do Recife- to grant equal rights to same sex partners in terms of social benefits for civil servants.
Mr. Paulo's initiative follows the spirit and the letter of the Brazilian Constitution, which identifies"reducing social… inequalities" as one of the main objectives of the Republic (Article 3). It also affirms the rights to health and to social security (Article 6) and the equal status of all persons before the law (Art. 5).
Mr. Paolo's initiative also complies with the standards set by international human rights treaties ratified by Brazil, such as the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the International Covenant on Social, Economic and Cultural Rights.
By addressing the unequal benefits alloted to same-sex couples, the proposal also follows the guidelines instituted by the ground-breaking Human Rights State Program adopted on September 27, 1999 by the state of Pernambuco (Decree 21670). Chapter 11 of the Program is devoted to the homosexual population.
Opponents to this law have declared that governments elected by majorities should neglect minorities. Yet the Human Rights State Program considers that "State and society must protect the fundamental human rights of all people, in particular those belonging to minority and excluded sectors" of the population.
Brazil has led the way in Latin America towards full equality for gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender people. A moving example of Brazil's pioneering work in this area was the recent proposal submitted by the Brazilian delegation to the working group on the Program of Action at the United Nations World Conference Against Racism Prepcom. The text "urges States and non-governmental organizations to acknowledge that individuals who are victims of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance, in many cases may also face discrimination based on sexual orientation, and calls upon States, in consultation with competent non-governmental organizations to, when appropriate, develop, implement and improve specific policies and programs to effectively address this form of multiple discrimination."
Mr. João Paulo has done exactly what Brazil urged the world to do. You have now the opportunity to join the ranks of those officials who are unafraid to fulfill their duty and serve the people, particularly those who need measures to protect their full equality because intolerance and bias have deprived them of their basic rights.
Sincerely,
(Signature)
BACKGROUND INFORMATION
Mr. João Paulo, mayor of Recife, belongs to the Workers' Party (Partido dos Trabalhadores), as does Ms. Marta Suplicy, the current Sao Paulo mayor who in 1995 -as congresswoman- drafted a Civil Union Bill for same sex couples that is currently under consideration by the National Parliament. The bill is facing strong opposition from Christian churches, and was defeated in an initial parliamentary vote in 1997.
Mr. Paulo's bill creates a special fund to guarantee full equality in social benefits to same -sex partners of civil servants. (The creation of a special fund is mandated by the Pernambuco Constitution for all social benefits granted by local and state governments.)
Mr. Costa, one of the proposal's principal opponents in the legislature, has also accused the mayor and his party of "trying the win over the media" through the initiative: he demands to know "the exact figure of homosexual civil servants" that would be benefited by the proposal.
Mr. Danilo Cabral, Administrative Secretary to the Mayor, has already announced that the city government is registering those homosexual employees who have partners eligible for the benefits. Once the register is completed, the government will proceed to calculate the amount required for the special fund.
The current government holds 28 out of 41 seats in the city's legislature.
Local human rights; gay, lesbian and transgender; and women's organizations support the initiative.
LEGAL FRAMEWORK
Two Brazilian states (Sergipe and Mato Grosso) and more than 80 cities have anti-discriminatory provisions that explicitly include sexual orientation.
In May 2000, the Brazilian Supreme Court recognized the right to inheritance for the survivor in a same- sex relationship.
The Pernambuco Human Rights State Program mandates (among other activities benefiting the homosexual population) sensitivity training for primary, middle and high school teachers; production of educational materials dealing with sexual orientation and human rights to be distributed in primary, middle and high schools; distribution of educational materials aimed at eliminating bias on the part of health providers at public hospitals; effective police investigation of murders committed against homosexual people.
According to Article 171 of the Pernambuco Constitution, social benefits granted by the State to civil servants include: pensions; sick and maternal leave; leave of absence in case a family member is sick; and financial support in case of death or imprisonment. It specifies that the civil servant's partner will also be eligible for those benefits.
Discrimination based on status is barred by the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR - Articles 1 and 2), International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR - Article 2 and 26), and American Convention on Human Rights (ACHR -Article 2). These provisions do not expressly mention "sexual orientation": however, the United Nations Human Rights Committee held in the 1994 case Toonen v Australia that the ICCPR's anti-discrimination provisions should be understood to include sexual orientation as a protected status.
The right to social security, including social insurance, is protected by Article 9 of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR).
The right to an adequate standard of living is protected by Article 11 of the ICESCR.
The right to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health is protected by Article 12 of the ICESCR.
The UDHR is considered binding on all member States of the United Nations in customary international law. In addition, Brazil has ratified both the ICCPR and ICESCR.
