The Inter-American Court of Human Rights (CDH) is an international court formed by the American Convention on Human Rights, ratified by members of the Organization of American States (OAS).
The main purpose of both the Court and the Convention is to promote basic rights and freedoms of man, related to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the United Nations, but more adapted to the reality of the American continent, focused on the characteristics and historical development of their countries. The Court’s function is to rule on cases brought before it in which a state party to the Convention is accused of a human rights violation. Among countless cases and violations in the history of the Brazilian State, there is the case of the people’s lawyer Gabriel Sales Pimenta. Gabriel was murdered in Marabá, in the Pará state, due to his important role as a defender of peasent movement’s leaders and activists, involved in the land struggle. After his murder, Brazilian authorities contributed to the failures of the investigation and prosecution, allowing impunity for those responsible for the crime. His case was brought to the Court by the Center for Justice and International Law (CEJIL) and the Pastoral Land Commission (CPT), and continued with the joint efforts of different democratic entities, such as the Brazilian Center for Solidarity to the Peoples (CEBRASPO), among others, in addition to the dedication of activists and people's fighters in holding the Brazilian State accountable for the aforementioned violations, such as the victim's brother, José Sales Pimenta, late president of CEBRASPO, and his family. In the Court’s sentence dated from june 30th, 2022, released in the last tuesday, the Brazilian State was found responsible for violating the American Convention on Human Rights, particularly the articles 1.1, 5.1, 8.1 and 25, due to the murderers' impunity, active negligence during the investigations and complete failure to comply with procedural guarantees, such as a reasonable period for resolving the case, due to excessive procedural delay.
CEBRASPO
