Number 249, October 24, 1996.

HEALTH

- Aids cases are under-reported suspects Ministry of Health.

Between 1980 and June last, 2641 cases of Aids in minors were officially registered in Brazil according to a report in the 'Correio Braziliense' on October 19. Of this total, 987 were children of less than one year of age; 1116 were less than four years; 386 were between 5 and 9 years and 152 were in the 10 to 12 year bracket. During the 1990s, 2162 of the total cases (80%) were registered according to data made public on October 18 by the National Program of Sexually Transmitted Diseases and Aids.

According to the same data, in Aids sufferers over 13 years the proportion is one female for every five males; in children under 13 years the proportion is one to one. The greatest number of those with Aids is in the 13 to 49 age bracket - a total of 74020 of the 82234 cases registered during the last sixteen years. Approximately 44% are between 25 and 34 years and 80% are men. The World Health Organization calculates according to the report, that at least 500 thousand Brazilians have been affected by the HIV virus even though many have not yet manifested signs of the disease.

One of the chief problems is the under-notification or delay in notification of Aids cases. According to the map of Aids cases released by the Ministry of Health on October 19, more than half of the cases registered between March and May of this current year are found in the south-east of the country - 1618 (54.9%) of a total of 2945 cases. Of this total, 1191 (40.4%) cases were registered in Sao Paulo. The Ministry for Health believes that in the latter state under-notification is frequent. Next comes the State of Santa Catarina with 402 (13.7%) cases followed by 311 cases (10.6%) in Rio de Janeiro.

In this same period 522 cases have been registered in the south, 287 in the center-west, 174 in the north and 344 in the north-east. The fact that the State of Minas Gerais did not send data for these months shows that the official statistics are precarious. In absolute numbers Sao Paulo was the Brazilian city with the highest number of cases of Aids registered since 1980 - a total of 23545 or 28.4% of the total. Rio de Janeiro registered 8377 cases (10.1%) of the national total; Porto Alegre 2374, Santos 2104 and Belo Horizonte 1956.

Meanwhile on October 12, a report in the 'Folha de Sao Paulo' claimed that more than half of the travestites in Sao Paulo have been infected by the HIV virus. The report was based on a master's thesis prepared by Joao Luiz Grandi for the University of Sao Paulo (USP). Grandi who started working on the thesis in 1992 and finished in August last analyzed blood samples of 233 travestites and found that 51.5% were infected by the HIV virus.

CHILDREN AND YOUTH ISSUES

- Youth detention centers totally inadequate.

Six years after it was signed into law, the Children's and Adolescent's Statue is being ignored by states, municipalities and even by judges especially the article which deals with young offenders according to a 'Folha de Sao Paulo' report of October 18. Such mistakes in the application of the Statue are considered as being chiefly responsible for the lack of recuperation of the young offenders.

The Statute foresees that young offenders guilty of grave crimes be kept in detainment centers for up to three years. In the majority of states such centers are totally inadequate. Either they offer no security (break-outs are very common) or they become maximum security prisons where the young offenders are not re-educated or prepared to return to society. A typical center is that of Sete Lagoas in the State of Minas Gerais. Here 34 adolescents are serving sentences. There are at least three break-outs each week and the majority of the youth are kept there for less than three months. The number of functionaries is insufficient to avoid the frequent break-outs. One of the principal problems in this area is that funds are not available for the construction of such centers. Few states have centers for girl offenders - a demand enshrined in the Statute. In this case, such offenders are sent to hostels where they mix with young non-offenders and most of them escape.

The example of Belo Horizonte illustrates the inadequacies of the system. Here 70% of youth who are arrested were already imprisoned in young offenders centers. In Sao Paulo, 40% of the youth who leave such centers are later arrested. In the States of Minas Gerais and Pernambuco, over 50% of the young offenders who are awaiting judgment have already been in such centers on at least one occasion. "I have had cases of young male offenders who were being charged with robbery for the 20th time .... in such situations, even when they did not use violence, I sentence them to imprisonment. Other measures have not given results. The prison sentence serves as an alert, as a fright" commented Judge Geraldo Dorna of Belo Horizonte. He went on to comment "they know that it is easy to escape and so they are not afraid of being imprisoned. On the other hand since they remain a short period in the correction center there is no time to try and work on their rehabilitation".

Other judges criticize the training and courses young offenders are offered in such centers. Instead of training the youth in areas which they can use if they apply for work (such as building trades and training as office boys), such centers offer courses in such areas as silk screen and carpet making. These courses thus serve more as therapy for the youth than for professional training which might open doors later in the job market. In this way such youth find it extremely difficult to re-integrate into society after they leave the centers. The short periods spent in such centers and the constant break-outs prevent literacy training as well. "How can an illiterate adolescents learn to read with two hours class each day if they are not kept at least three months in the center" questions Maria Auxiliadora Vaz responsible for this area in the center of Sete Lagoas.

Another recurring complaint is that there is totally inadequate facilities to treat youth who have serious psychological problems. "We have only two options: either we send the youth for daily treatment in a clinic accompanied by a monitor so that they do not escape or we ignore their problems and we leave them together with the others" commented the director of the adolescent's detainment center in Pernambuco, Captain Jose de Oliveira Gomes.

Approximately 420 functionaries in youth detainment centers in the State of Rio de Janeiro have not received their salaries for the last two months. Lack of funds make living conditions in such centers extremely precarious. Judge Geraldo Prado of the 2nd Infant and Youth Court visited the Ilha do Governador center in the city of Rio de Janeiro. "For three weeks there has been no toilet paper. Can you imagine a building with 200 boys imprisoned without toilet paper?" he questioned. The judge also criticizes the fact that youth from the interior of the state are held with young offenders from the city of Rio de Janeiro who have had more experience in crime and drug trafficking. "The bringing together of youth who have different characteristics is totally negative.... Cities where youth were not involved in crime now begin to register robberies, murders and drug trafficking.... Drug trafficking is able to seduce a youth. The young offender returns to the interior as a kind of local representative of drug trafficking" commented Judge Prado.

- 78% of federal budget for youth un-spent.

The 'Folha de Sao Paulo' of October 18 reports that during the first six months of this year the federal government spent only 22.26% of the US $4.3 billion it had budgeted to spend on children and adolescents. The report is based on a study prepared by UNICEF and INESC (the Institute of Socio-economic Studies) entitled "The Panorama of the Budget for Children 1996".

At the same time the Ministry for Justice reduced by 63.3% the grant available to the states to be spent in the defense of the rights of children and adolescents. The amount of money available for this area fell from US $44.4 million to US $16.3 million. Last year the Ministry spent only US $14.5 million of a total budget amount of US $89.9 million reserved for this area.

HUMAN RIGHTS

CENTER FOR LEGAL AND SOCIAL JUSTICE

2507 NW 36th Street

San Antonio, Texas 78228

210-431-2596

October 21--A gay Brazilian man was granted political asylum last week by a federal immigration judge in San Antonio on the grounds he is a homosexual with a well-founded fear of persecution at home. Mr. P, who prefers not to use his real name for fear of reprisals against his family in Brazil, was granted asylum after he presented evidence that he had been attacked and his life threatened on several occasions by Brazilian police. Mr. P also presented ample documentation that paramilitary groups in Brazil routinely murder gays.

The ruling is believed to be the first of its kind in this district. In his decision, the judge stated not only that Mr. P had suffered persecution in the past and faces further persecution in the future on account of his homosexuality, but also that homosexuals as a group are singled out for persecution by the Brazilian government.

Mr. P, who was a member of a gay-rights organization in his country, testified that he was detained, beaten and shot at by Brazilian authorities who knew he was homosexual. Mr. P also testified that several of his friends were killed by Brazilian authorities, who have a history of persecuting gays in order to "clean up" Brazilian society. One of Mr. P's friends, also homosexual, was beaten to death and his body set on fire by police, he said.

Mr. P was represented by the Human Rights Clinic of St. Mary's University School of Law in San Antonio, under the supervision of Monica Schurtman, Co-Director of the Clinic. Two second-year law students, Michael Simpson and Kathleen Culhane, also worked on the case. According to the lawyers, a diverse group of individuals across the country, including members of the Catholic church who offered financial and humanitarian aid to Mr. P., provided extensive support. A coalition came together last March to raise money for the release of Mr. P, who was detained for three months in Laredo, TX, after crossing the Mexican border. Amnesty International USA's Brazil expert filed an affidavit supporting Mr. P's claim.

Lawyers involved in the case say Mr. P is fortunate to have missed the implementation of recent immigration provisions, which severely restrict political asylum claims. Under the Anti-Terrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act signed by President Clinton in April, Mr. P would not have had the opportunity to present his plea for refuge in a federal court. According to the Act, Mr. P would present his case to an immigration inspector and face the possibility of summary exclusion from the US. Mr. P's lawyers say it would be nearly impossible for Mr. P to win his political asylum claim under the provisions of the Act.

For more information, contact Kathleen Culhane, Center for Legal and Social Justice, 210-431-2596.

VIOLENCE

- Human rights lawyer assassinated.

During the early hours of October 20 human rights lawyer and activist Francisco Gilson Nogueira de Carvalho was assassinated as he arrived at his residence in Maraiba near Natal, State of Rio Grande do Norte. According to local residents as many as 20 shots were fired at the lawyer who was accompanied by a friend.

Mr. Nogueira worked at the Center for Human Rights and Collective Memory (CDHMP) where he defended victims of human rights crimes. He was also working with a special commission established by the state attorney general in May of 1995 to investigate the activities of death squads which according to denouncements included off-duty police and received coverage from state authorities. He and two other members of the CDHMP (Roberto Monte and Luiz Gonzaga Dantas) were under protection of the federal police for six months due to denouncements that police were involved in a massacre in March of last year in Natal. Four months ago the police protection was withdrawn. Even though a decision had been made that federal police would investigate the assassination, by October 23 they had not initiated the investigation. The president of the Rio Grande do Norte section of the Lawyers' Association (OAB), Adilson Gurgel, described as 'preoccupying' the delay of the federal police in starting the investigation and commented "the more time this delays, the more difficult it will be to find the assassins".

According to newspaper reports on October 24, human rights organizations in Brazil and abroad are demanding that the Governor of Rio Grande do Norte, Garibaldi Alves Filho, immediately remove the Sub Secretary of Security, Maurilio Medeiros, from office. Mr. Noqueira had denounced that the sub secretary was suspect of participating in death squads. Amnesty International and Human Rights - Americas are amongst the organizations demanding that he be removed from office.

Human rights organizations are also worried that the other two members of the CDHMP and a witness of the assassination of Mr. Nogueira may now be targets of the death squads. A car used by the assassins was discovered burned about 25 kms. from where Mr. Noqueira was killed.

ACTION APPEAL:

We request that you send a message to the Minister of Justice condemning the death of Mr. Nogueira as a result of his involvement in human rights questions; requesting the immediate removal of the Sub Secretary of Security, Maurilio Medeiros, from office; expressing concern for the safety of the witness to the killing as well as workers in the CDHMP and requesting that every necessary step be taken to ensure their safety as well as demanding that the federal authorities carry out an immediate full and rigorous investigation into the killing which will bring those responsible to justice. The address of the Minister is:

Exmo. Sr. Ministro da Justica do Brasil

[Salutation: Vossa Excelencia/ Your Excellency]

Ministro da Justica,

Esplanada dos Ministerios, Bloco 23,

70064-900 Brasilia,

DF., Brazil

Fax: +55 61 321 5172

- Violence reduces life expectancy.

Violence is responsible for 70% of all deaths of males in the 15 to 29 age group in Brazil according to a report in the 'Folha de Sao Paulo' on October 23. The report is based on a study carried out by the Institute of Applied Economic Surveys (IPEA) and the National School of Statistical Sciences (ENCE).

The census of 1991 shows that the life expectancy of Brazilians (male and females) is 65 years. In 1980 it was 61 years. "If there were not so many deaths in the 15 to 29 age group, Brazilian life expectancy would be 66 years" commented Ana Amelia Camarano of IPEA. In the urban areas of Rio de Janeiro and Sao Paulo murder and suicide are the chief causes for the deaths of young males. An analysis of 26256 death certificates in Sao Paulo city registered between January and May of this current year showed that 54.4% of all deaths in the 15 to 24 age group were due to assassinations - 61.5% of all male deaths in the city were for this reason. Of all deaths in all age groups in Sao Paulo during the period, 8.1% were caused by assassination as compared to a national average of approximately 3%. Higher on the scale were heart attacks (12.1%) and strokes (8.2%). In fourth place was pneumonia (5.1%) followed by Aids (4.5%).

In the federal capital, Brasilia, road accidents are the chief cause for the deaths of males in the 15 to 29 age group. On a national level 22.8% of all deaths in the 5 to 14 age group are caused by road accidents. Between 1980 and 91 the population of Brazil increased by 23%. During the same period violent deaths of males in the 15 to 29 age group increased by 51%.

The data revealed by the survey presents a paradox according to the survey coordinator of the Nucleus of Violence Studies of the University of Sao Paulo (USP), Nancy Cardia, - "If on one hand society succeeded in bringing down the high level of infant mortality, on the other hand it has not been able to prevent the increase of the death rate amongst youth which has been growing since the 70s ...... the big increase took place from the moment that economic opportunities became more restricted".

INDIGENOUS ISSUES

- Xavante indigenous people sound alert re new Amazon industrial waterway scheme.

On October 15, for the first time in 20 years, representatives of all the Xavante Indian villages of central Brazil came together to express their concern at a new plan by the Brazilian government to convert headwaters of the Amazon into an industrial waterway, called the Tocantins-Araguaia Hidrovia. The waterway will also pass through the territory of the Xavante and other indigenous groups who live along the Rio das Mortes. It is one of a series of plans to convert major Amazon rivers, along with the Paraguay into Hidrovias to export soy and other grains, lumber, and minerals.

On Wednesday, October 23, elders and shamans will travel to Brasilia to present copies of the following letter in Xavante and in Portuguese to the Brazilian president:

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CACHOEIRA DECLARATION OF THE XAVANTE RESERVES

OF AREOES AND PIMENTEL BARBOSA

Mr. President:

We are of the Xavante nation of Mato Grosso, from the Areoes and Pimentel reserves, on the banks of the Rio das Mortes. This is where the Xavante nation has its roots, we have lived in this place for a long time. We have taken care of and controlled the Rio das Mortes for a long time and we have defended it against invaders, fishermen, gold miners, and lumber cutters. We have fed ourselves from the River and its lakes for many, many years.

In previous administrations we were invaded by ranchers, but we regained our territory with a promise from then-president Figueiredo. From that moment on, we were respected. Now, the current government no longer respects us.

Mr. President: in the month of August, we became aware of the Rio das Mortes Hidrovia. We have a lot of trouble and are very concerned regarding this huge project. We are sending this letter to stop the Hidrovia with our arguments and our traditional rights to these lands and rivers.

Mr. President: we are surprised that the plans for the Hidrovia have advanced without consulting the Xavante people. We did not know about it until August, 96.

If this Hidrovia is to be constructed, it will be the end of our animals, it will cause great damage to the environment, it will ruin an important part of the food of our people, fish and turtles. It will do away with the homes of many animals, dolphins, river otters, cayman, and others.

The company's boats will dig and dynamite large rocks in the River. Boats will always throw garbage and oil and toxics into the River, without controls. The River and also the lakes within our territory will be ruined. Lakes where there are a lot of fish, our food. We know that boats will bring poisons on their return, this threatens our River and threatens our lakes.

We want all work on the Rio das Mortes to be eliminated; we don't want signs, we don't want buoys, we don't want dynamite, we don't want the river to be ruined, the lakes, the fish, the turtles, we don't want toxic substances, we don't want the hidrovia, Mr. President.

We hope that all this will be resolved with great wisdom and honesty.

We are ready to fight united as Xavantes in any way we can. We ask for help from all friends of the Xavante people to stop the Hidrovia.

With all respect, we thank you for your attention.

Cachoeira, October 15, 1996

(signed)

Serea A - Cachoeira village (counselor)

Serebura' - Pimentel village (counselor)

Luiz - Babacu village (chief)

Ze' Pedro - Cachoeira village (chief)

Barbosa - Pimentel Barbosa village (counselor)

Leontino - Cachoeira village (vice-chief)

Tiago - Buriti village (chief)

Supto' - Pimentel Barbosa village (chief)

Adao - Tapitariquara village (general chief Areoes)

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For more information:

Fernando Mesquita, Sociedade Vale do Araguaia - SVA,

Nova Xavantina, Mato Grosso

telefax: +55-65-438-1224

Glenn Switkes, International Rivers Network,

Cuiaba', Mato Grosso

telefax: +55-65-627-1689

email: glen@nutecnet.com.br

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Glenn Switkes, Director, Latin America Program,

International Rivers Network

1847 Berkeley Way, Berkeley, California 94703, USA

Tel. (510) 848 1155 Fax (510) 848 1008

South America address:

a/c ICV, Rua 2, no. 203, Bairro Boa Esperanca,

CEP 78.068-360 Cuiaba, MT, Brazil

Tel/Fax: +55 65 627 1689

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- Ava - Canoeiro Indians: Urgent faxes needed.

URGENT! URGENT! URGENT! URGENT! URGENT!

FAXES NEEDED IMMEDIATELY TO GUARANTEE RIGHTS OF

INDIGENOUS PEOPLES THREATENED BY BRAZILIAN DAM

Background

The Brazilian Congress has scheduled an urgent vote on a measure which would grant approval for the closing of the floodgates of Serra da Mesa Dam, on the Tocantins River, a major tributary of the Amazon. The dam would flood 10% of the reserve of the Ava'-Canoeiro indigenous people, of whom nomadic groups live in the area which would quickly be underwater if the reservoir were filled.

Under the Brazilian Constitution, hydroelectric projects affecting indigenous lands can only be authorized by special act of the Congress, in consultation with the indigenous people affected. In the case of Serra da Mesa, the Congressional authorization may come as early as this week, without any consultation with the affected people, and without preparation of an adequate environmental impact statement, as is also required under Brazilian law.

A Federal Judge in Tocantins state issued a restraining order on October 15th, prohibiting the filling of the reservoir. Now, the case will be decided by a Federal Judge in Brasilia. This is an important test of Brazilian laws protecting the environment and indigenous peoples, and we ask that you send a fax this week to the judge who will be deciding on the case.

Requested Action

Please send a fax immediately to the Federal Judge Mauro Leite Soares (fax: +55-61-322-1022), asking him to uphold the prior Federal Court decision until the following actions are

guaranteed:

* approval by the National Congress of authorization for the Serra da Mesa dam;

* completion of an adequate environmental impact study (EIA/RIMA) and its approval by environmental agencies of the states of Goias and Tocantins, where the dam is located;

* participation by IBAMA, the federal environmental protection agency in the environmental licensing process, as the dam is being built on a river which crosses state boundaries.

A sample letter follows:

Exmo. Dr. Juiz Federal Mauro Leite Soares

Presidente do Tribunal Regional Federal - 1a Regiao

Brasilia DF

Fax: +55-61-322-1022

We respectfully ask you, Your Honor to maintain the restraining order issued by Dr. Marcelo Dolzany da Costa, Federal Judge of the 1a. Vara of the Judicial Section of Tocantins, on October 15th, which upheld prior orders of September 28 and 30, imposing conditions on the closing of the floodgates of the Serra Da Mesa hydroelectric plant, initially scheduled for October 1, 1996.

We urge you to provide the legal continuity contemplated in the Federal Constitution of 1988. In agreement with the decision of Judge Marcelo Dolzany da Costa, this would require the implementation of a series of actions, which we submit for your consideration:

* Approval by the National Congress of the request by the Executive branch for authorization of the use of the hydrological potential of this stretch of the Tocantins River, located in the Ava'-Canoeiro Indigenous teritory.

* Carrying out Environmental Impact Studies and Environmental Impact Report for the project, and approval of the EIA/RIMA by environmental agencies in the states of Goias and Tocantins.

* Required participation by IBAMA in the environmental licensing process, the river being inter-state.

We also solicit the attention of Your Honor regarding the serious social questions still unresolved by FURNAS. About 1000 families of small landholders and landless would be expelled from their lands. Also, a large number of gold miners, with 60 dredging rigs, are already in the region, and it is expected their numbers will reach 10,000 to mine gold in the dry riverbed of the Tocantins.

Sure that we may count on Your Honor's sensibility regarding the questions put forth above, we repeat our request for you to maintain the restraining order.

Respectfully,

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Please send a copy of your fax to the Movimento dos Atingidos por Barragens +55-11-256-0839

For more information: International Rivers Network

+55-65-627-1689

email: glen@nutecnet.com.br

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This Urgent Action has been requested by:

ASSOCIACAO DOS PEQUENOS EXTRATIVISTAS DE FLORES

DO CERRADO DA CHAPAD DOS VEADEIROS - ASFLO

CONSELHO DE ARTICULACAO DOS POVOS E

ORGANIZACOES INDIGENAS DO BRASIL - CAPOIB

CONSELHO INDIGENISTA MISSIONARIO - CIMI

COMISSAO PRO-INDIO DE SAO PAULO - CPI/SP

COMISSAO PASTORAL DA TERRA - CPT

CONFEDERACAO NACIONAL DOS TRABALHADORES NA

AGRICULTURA - CONTAG

MOVIMENTO DOS ATINGIDOS POR BARRAGENS - MAB

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Glenn Switkes, Director, Latin America Program,

International Rivers Network

1847 Berkeley Way, Berkeley, California 94703, USA

Tel. (510) 848 1155 Fax (510) 848 1008

South America address:

a/c ICV, Rua 2, no. 203, Bairro Boa Esperanca,

CEP 78.068-360 Cuiaba, MT, Brazil

Tel/Fax: +55 65 627 1689

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The reproduction of this material is permitted as long as the source is cited.