A dictatorship in the battle for human rights

The 1977 UN High Commissioner proposal and the Brazilian resistance

Bibliographic Data

ID10439246
AuthorsJoão Roriz (0000-0001-8234-9342, Universidade Federal de Goiás, corresponding author), Matheus De Carvalho Hernandez (0000-0003-3384-4982, Universidade Federal da Grande Dourados)
Year2021
Volume64
Issue1
Publication date2021-01-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueRevista Brasileira de Política Internacional (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0034-7329 • E-ISSN: 1983-3121
PublisherFapUNIFESP (SciELO) (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1590/0034-7329202100109
OpenAlexW4206512143
SCIELO_PIDS0034-73292021000100209
LanguageEN
Citations received3
References cited9

During the Cold War, attempts to create a High Commissioner for Human Rights within the UN were met with strong support and opposition. In the 1970s, human rights escalated in the public imagination, and in 1977 a new proposal was advanced with backing by the Carter administration, but failed. However, the Cold War does not fully explain how countries like Brazil reacted. Using secret diplomatic documents, we argue that the dictatorial Geisel administration was more concerned with the domestic process of distention and considered the new human rights advance a threat to its political project, antagonizing the High Commissioner proposal by using the same arguments of the USSR, despite its anti-communist rhetoric

Administration (probate law · Ancient history · Battle · Cold war · Communism · Democracy · Dictatorship · Human rights · Opposition (politics · Political economy · Political science · Politics · Rhetoric · Sociology · Theology · Brazilian cultural history and politics · Communism, Protests, Social Movements · Historical and Contemporary Political Dynamics · History · Law · Philosophy

Tools

Open DOIOpen Access