The 2024 retrospective by the Brazil Office Alliance
Institutional Statement
January 8 2024
The year 2024 marked an institutional milestone with the creation of the Aliança Brazil Office /Brazil Office Alliance and the launch of the Europa Brazil Office (Brussels and Geneva) and the Associação Brasil Office (Rio de Janeiro, São Paulo and Brasília), which will now work in an integrated and coordinated manner with the Washington Brazil Office (United States).
The formation of an Alliance composed of the three organizations will provide from 2025 onwards, a better structure and greater reach for the international work of the 73 civil society organizations and social movements affiliated to it, so that they can expand the scope and effectiveness of their actions in Brazil, Europe, and the United States.
The context in which the
Alliance's work took place in 2024
2024 Report of Activities
Here you’ll find a comprehensive list of the activities conducted by the WBO in 2024
The year 2024 was marked in Brazil by the elucidation of the coup plot led by former President Jair Bolsonaro, his ministers, and other members of the high command of the Armed Forces, who, according to an investigation by the Federal Police, planned the execution of political opponents, the prevention of the inauguration of President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, and the implementation of a new military dictatorship in the country along the lines of the regime that was in force between 1964 and 1985.
Donald Trump's electoral victory in the USA energized the far-right coup sectors in Brazil, which began to use their international contacts more frequently. This articulation targeted the US Congress and the Inter-American Human Rights System. They argue that there is political persecution in Brazil that violates freedom of expression.
The WBO had already been warning foreign interlocutors about the risk of a far-right coup in Brazil. This warning was initially issued during the organization of a delegation of civil society leaders who, in July 2022, visited Washington to inform members of the US State Department, Congressional politicians, trade unionists, journalists, activists and academics about Bolsonaro's strategy to illegally challenge Lula's victory. The information provided by the WBO proved to be true with the publication of the Federal Police investigation at the end of 2024.
The year was marked not only by the fight in defense of democracy, but also by the enormous effort to preserve the environment and defend Indigenous peoples. The Aliança Brazil Office redoubled its efforts in this sector, drawing special attention to the risks looming over the cerrado, the enormous Brazilian savannah. The WBO also articulated in the US Congress the debate on the adoption of more restrictive laws for the trade of mineral products extracted from conservation areas in Brazil.
Agendas linked to racial and gender issues remained at the top of the institutional priorities of the Aliança Brazil Office. Both agendas gained renewed momentum in Brazil in 2024, in the wake of the consolidation of the broader human rights agenda of the Lula government, after four heavy attacks on the sector by Jair Bolsonaro.
58
This was the number of organizations
affiliated with the WBO in 2023
73
This is the number of organizations
affiliated with the Alliance in 2024
Government
interaction
Throughout 2024, the Brazil Office Alliance engaged in strategic approaches and constructive dialogues at the highest levels of government to increase its reach and promote crucial civil society agendas. Efforts to protect democracy, human rights and the environment took place not only at the national level, but also with the US Congress and the bloc's European governance bodies.
In Brasília, representatives of the organization deepened contacts with key interlocutors from political parties and civil society interest groups. More than 40 deputies and 8 senators held meetings with the Brazil Office throughout the year. Efforts were also directed at dialogue with foreign diplomatic representations present in the Brazilian capital.
Defending
democracy
In a year marked by constant harassment from the far right and the resulting response from the Brazilian Justice Department to attacks on democracy, the Brazil Office focused its efforts on combating populist authoritarianism and strengthening national and international collaboration networks, such as joining the Global Democracy Coalition – an international network made up of civil society organizations, foundations and academic institutions dedicated to promoting and strengthening democracy on a global level.
The formation of a network of researchers who work together to monitor and respond to attacks on democracy allowed the organization to intervene quickly and efficiently to confront the false narratives promoted by the pro-Bolsonaro far right in the United States.
Representatives from the WBO managed to prevent these extremist sectors from holding a session at the Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission of the U.S. House of Representatives. In May 2024, this extremist political sector managed to hold a session at the Subcommittee on Global Health, Global Human Rights, and International Organizations of the U.S. House of Representatives Foreign Affairs Committee, and the WBO reacted promptly, ensuring that one of its associate researchers, Fábio Sá e Silva, was heard at the session and thus confronted the false narrative according to which the actions of the Brazilian Judiciary constitute threats to freedom of expression.
While still in Washington, the WBO requested that a hearing be held at the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) on human rights, freedom of expression, and the regulation of social media. The proposal was accepted, but the IACHR decided that it would hear members of the pro-Bolsonaro far-right who are trying to convince international interlocutors that they are a persecuted sector in the same hearing. Civil society organizations refused to participate in a hearing that would mix legitimate issues with false narratives.
The organization worked to provide accurate, reliable, and trustworthy information about what is happening in Brazil, in order to counter the narrative of the Brazilian far right. International engagements included contacts with the Inter-American Commission on Freedom of Expression and the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the Rights of Peaceful Assembly and Association.
In Geneva, the organization co-sponsored a side event to the UN Human Rights Council session called “Far-right Movements and their Implications for Human Rights.”
Environment and
Indigenous Peoples
Throughout 2024, the Brazil Office carried out robust actions aimed at fulfilling its promises of financial support for environmental preservation. In April, the WBO maintained contact with the co-leader of the Brazil Caucus in the US Congress to advocate for the inclusion of a request for the release of resources for the Amazon Fund in the communications that would be made by the US Congress to President Joe Biden regarding the 2024 national budget.
In Europe, the organization accompanied Brazilian civil society leaders to the EU Parliament to address the shortcomings of the EU Deforestation Regulation (EUDR) and the EU-Mercosur Agreement. In Brazil, three panels on climate justice and human rights were organized in Manaus, during the 167th Session of the Inter-American Court.
The organization also participated in a Joint Working Group meeting in Brasilia, which reviewed the implementation of precautionary measures ordered by the IACHR following the murders of Bruno Pereira and Dom Phillips, as well as threats made against 11 members of the Union of Indigenous Peoples of the Javari Valley (Unijava). These measures were in response to a request submitted to the IACHR by the WBO and six partner organizations.
In December, the WBO, in collaboration with the CIPÓ Platform and other key partners, organized a parliamentary delegation to Washington focused on promoting climate action, sustainable development, and democratic values. Discussions addressed shared challenges, including the rise of far-right movements, threats to democracy, and strategies to ensure robust participation in upcoming climate negotiations, particularly COP30.
Since July, the WBO has supported the Articulation of Indigenous Peoples of Brazil (APIB) in strengthening its international advocacy efforts. This support includes discussions on possible advocacy pathways within global and regional systems and the development of a proposal for a public hearing during the 191st session of the IACHR.
Throughout the year, the organization worked on more than seven project proposals focused on traditional communities and energy transitions in Brazil. These projects aim to assess risks and facilitate dialogue between civil society organizations, trade unions, governments and the private sector. The proposals were presented to several philanthropic institutions and the National Bank for Economic and Social Development (BNDES).
The WBO also engaged several stakeholders at the UN High Commissioner’s office in Geneva, discussing Brazil’s land demarcation issues in relation to new models of sustainable development. In addition, WBO representatives participated and led discussions at major universities, including Georgetown University, George Washington University, Brown University, and Yale University.
In New York, the WBO organized an event on Climate Justice in collaboration with Columbia University Global Center Rio de Janeiro, Instituto Decodifica, Centro Brasileiro de Justiça Climática, WRI Brasil and Fundação Getúlio Vargas. The event, titled “Brazil’s New Climate Target: Challenges and Perspectives for Climate Justice,” aimed to address how different groups are disproportionately affected by climate change and how Brazil’s new Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) incorporate climate justice into emissions mitigation pathways.
Since August, the WBO has been providing strategic support to organizations providing legal assistance to displaced individuals and communities from Macacos, a district near Belo Horizonte at risk of a dam collapse. These communities face legal harassment from Vale Corporation and the Public Prosecutor’s Office of the State of Minas Gerais. WBO’s assistance includes strategic communication and advocacy to raise awareness about their situation. The organization was also involved in organizing a visit by the IACHR’s Special Rapporteur on Economic, Social, Cultural and Environmental Rights (Redesca) to Rio Grande do Sul to assess the human rights impacts of the April 2024 floods.
In Geneva, the Brazil Office co-organized the side event “Territorial Rights of Indigenous Peoples – The Temporal Framework and Indigenous Rights in Brazil,” with the participation of the UN Special Rapporteur on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. This initiative was part of a long-term litigation strategy before a UN human rights committee.
Race
and women
The WBO played a key role in supporting three affiliated organizations — CEERT, Agbara Fund and Redes da Maré — during the 68th Session of the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW68) in New York, the largest annual UN gathering on gender. The participating organizations emphasized gender intersectionality and anti-racism, drawing attention to the specific challenges faced by Black women in Brazil. The organization also engaged in political advocacy to support the passage of a bill to renew racial quotas for public office in Brazil, collaborating with a coalition of Black movements, government authorities and human rights organizations to advocate for the passage of a bill on the issue.
In April, the organization supported seven Black movement organizations during the Third Session of the Permanent Forum on People of African Descent, held in Geneva. A significant outcome of this engagement was the drafting of a “Joint Manifesto on the Position of the Portuguese Republic in the Debates of the Third United Nations Permanent Forum for People of African Descent.” This manifesto, signed by the seven organizations, expressed deep concern about the lack of concrete reparative measures by the Portuguese government in relation to the historical injustices of slavery and colonization.
In 2024, the Brazil Office provided targeted support to prepare submissions for the “Call for Written Submissions on Principles, Provisions and Pathways for Reparative Justice for Africans and People of African Descent” issued for the 35th session of the United Nations Human Rights Council.
The organization also supported its affiliates and partners in the process of verifying commitments that have been assumed by the Brazilian State in relation to combating all forms of discrimination against women. These commitments derive from Brazil's accession to the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (Cedaw), approved by the UN General Assembly in 1979 after an intense global campaign led by women's and human rights movements.
