Comissão Nacional da Verdade

The Comissão Nacional da Verdade (English: National Truth Commission) was approved by the Chamber of Deputies on 21 September 2011.^[1] Originally planned to investigate human rights violations during the military dictatorship of 1964–1985, it will investigate violations in the period of 1946–1988.^[1] The bill, which originated from the Executive branch, still needs to be approved by the Federal Senate before being sanctioned by President Dilma Rousseff.^[1][2] The commission will last for two years and consist of seven members appointed by Rousseff.^[1] Members of the commission will have access to all government files about the 1946–1988 period and may convene victims or people accused of violations for testimony, although it will not be mandatory for them to attend.^[2] After the end of the two years period, the commission will issue a report with its findings.^[2] The group will not have, however, the obligation to disclose everything they discover.^[2] They can choose whether they will reveal an information only to the President and Defense Minister Celso Amorim or to the whole public.^[2]

The commission was proposed by the 3rd National Human Rights Program, a set of bills proposed by then President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva on December 2009.^[1] Since then, its text was changed several times, mainly to address the complaints of the military, who feared a review of the Amnesty Law.^[1] In effect since late 1979, during the transition to democracy, it prevents the criminal liability of political crimes committed by military personnel during the dictatorship.^[1] On April 2010, responding to an action by the Order of Attorneys of Brazil, the Supreme Federal Court decided by 7–2 votes that the law is still in effect.^[2] Since the commission will not have punitive powers against officers accused of torture,^[1] it was criticized by human rights activists as a non-contribution for justice.^[2] They also claim that the commission will have a very short term and not enough members to complete their work satisfactorily.^[2] The military, on the other hand, complain that they will not be represented on the commission, which may not give due weight to crimes committed by leftist organizations.^[2] Due to military pressure, the term "political repression" was abolished from the bill's text.^[1]

References

1. ^ ^{a b c d e f g h i} [1]
2. ^ ^{a b c d e f g h i} [2]