Interim Report - Report No 85, 1966

Case No 385 (Brazil) - Complaint date: 03-APR-64 - Closed

1. 474. This case was first examined by the Committee at its 39th Session in February 1965, when it submitted an interim report to the Governing Body in paragraphs 133 to 152 of its 81st Report. The Committee considered the matter again at its 40th Session, in May 1965, when it submitted a further interim report in paragraphs 271 to 277 of its 83rd Report. The 81st and 83rd Reports of the Committee were approved by the Governing Body at its 161st (March 1965) and 162nd (May-June 1965) Sessions respectively.
2. 475. The case raised two series of allegations: one relating to the placing of trade union organisations under control, and the other to measures taken against trade union leaders.

A. A. The complainants' allegations

• Allegations relating to the Placing of Trade Union Organisations under Control
  476. 476 With regard to the first series of allegations the Committee, at its meeting in May 1965, took note of statements by the Government that the placing of trade union organisations under control had affected only 10 per cent of such organisations and had been dictated solely by imperative reasons of public order, that this control had been raised in the case of 398 organisations and that, by June 1965, it would also have been raised in the case of the remaining organisations, numbering less than 100. The Committee therefore recommended the Governing Body to request the Government to be good enough to keep it informed as to developments in this connection.
  477. 477 In this connection the Government furnished the following information in two communications dated respectively 4 August and 5 November 1965. The control under which 600 of the 4,000 Brazilian trade union organisations had been placed was terminated entirely on 25 June 1965; the organisations concerned were given 90 days within which to hold elections; in the case of 50 per cent of them this procedure has been concluded; in the case of the others it is in progress and all measures have been taken, declares the Government, to expedite the conclusion. Finally, the Government indicates that, of the seven national Confederations of workers, only that of the seafarers has still not held elections, but that the preparations are being made and they will be held shortly.
  478. 478 In these circumstances the Committee recommends the Governing Body, while emphasising once again the importance which it attaches to the fact that the placing of trade union organisations under control may entail a serious danger of restricting the right of workers' organisations to elect their representatives in full freedom and to organise their administration and activities, to note the Government's statement that the control of trade union organisations in Brazil has terminated and that elections are now taking place, and to request the Government to be good enough to continue to keep the Governing Body informed of further developments with regard to this matter.
• Allegations relating to Measures Taken against Trade Union Leaders
  479. 479 With regard to the allegations relating to measures taken against trade union leaders the Committee, at its meeting in May 1965, recommended the Governing Body, as it had already done at its meeting in February, to request the Government to be good enough to furnish information concerning the proceedings taken in the case of the detained trade union leaders and to furnish the texts of the judgments, when they had been handed down, together with the reasons adduced therein.
  480. 480 With regard to the particular case of Mr. Clodsmith Riani, the Government, in a communication dated 27 May 1965, states: " The prosecutions brought against Mr. Riani in the military courts and in the ordinary courts are proceeding normally. However, the absence of a judgment is due to the many motions filed by counsel for the accused, and which relate to the discovery of evidence and to the summoning of further witnesses."
  481. 481 In a communication dated 6 November 1965 the Government stated that Mr. Riani was liberated on 29 September 1965, following habeas corpus proceedings. The Government stated further that the person concerned had again been detained since then " on another charge ". In conclusion, the Government declared that further habeas corpus proceedings had been instituted before the higher military court, which was to deal with the matter on 10 November 1965.
  482. 482 In a communication dated 11 November 1965 the Government now states that the higher military court, on 10 November 1965, denied the application for habeas corpus made to it on behalf of Mr. Riani; the Government further states that a third application for habeas corpus has been made on behalf of Mr. Riani and that it will keep the Governing Body informed as to the outcome of the further proceedings which are pending.
  483. 483 The Committee notes that the higher military court, as reconstituted by Institutional Act No. 2 of 27 October 1965, shall consist of 15 judges appointed for life by the President of the Republic, with the title of minister, four being selected from among serving general officers of the Army, three from among serving general officers of the Navy, three from among serving general officers of the Air Force, and five being civilians.
  484. 484 While noting that a third application for habeas corpus has been instituted, the Committee considers it necessary to draw the very special attention of the Governing Body to the exceptionally serious nature of the circumstances of this case. Mr. Riani, who at the moment of his original arrest was President of the National Confederation of Industrial Workers of Brazil, was also, and still is, a deputy member of the Governing Body of the International Labour Office. He was imprisoned for the first time on 6 April 1964. Having been freed following habeas corpus proceedings on 29 September 1965, he was again detained on another charge. A second application for habeas corpus was denied and a third application is pending. Without expressing any opinion on the substance of the charges brought against Mr. Riani, the Committee must draw attention to its established jurisprudence in accordance with which it has always emphasised that, where trade unionists are arrested for political offences or common law crimes, the persons concerned should receive a fair trial at the earliest possible moment by an impartial and independent judicial authority. This principle represents the application to the questions submitted to the Committee of the provisions of articles 9, 10 and 11 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, adopted by the General Assembly of the United Nations as a common standard of achievement for all peoples and all nations, which are in the following terms:
• Article 9. No one shall be subjected to arbitrary arrest, detention or exile.
• Article 10. Everyone is entitled in full equality to a fair and public hearing by an independent and impartial tribunal, in the determination of his rights and obligations and of any criminal charge against him.
• Article 11. (1) Everyone charged with a penal offence has the right to be presumed innocent until proved guilty according to law in a public trial at which he has had all the guarantees necessary for his defence.
  2. (2) No one shall be held guilty of any penal offence on account of any act or omission which did not constitute a penal offence, under national or international law, at the time when it was committed. Nor shall a heavier penalty be imposed than the one that was applicable at the time the penal offence was committed.
• This principle, which the Committee has applied to all the complaints of this nature which have been submitted to it in accordance with the procedure established by mutual agreement between the United Nations and the International Labour Organisation, assumes a quite special importance when the person concerned is a member or deputy member of the Governing Body of the I.L.O. Article 40 of the Constitution of the I.L.O provides that members of the Governing Body shall enjoy " such privileges and immunities are as necessary for the independent exercise of their functions in connection with the Organisation ". The Governing Body must necessarily regard with grave concern a case in which a person to whom these provisions apply remains in detention, without having been tried by an impartial and independent judicial authority, for a period of 19 months, and above all after having been freed under habeas corpus procedure.
  485. 485 In these circumstances the Committee recommends the Governing Body:
       • (a) to draw the attention of the Government of Brazil to the importance of the considerations set forth in paragraph 484 above;
       • (b) to request the Government of Brazil to take the necessary measures to ensure that the case is dealt with on its merits within a very short period;
       • (c) to request the Government to forward to the Governing Body the texts of the habeas corpus judgments already given or to be given and of the judgments to be given on the merits of the case;
       • (d) to request the Government to forward to the Governing Body, not later than 1 February 1966, information as to the position reached in the proceedings and as to the situation of Mr. Riani at that time.
  486. 486 With regard to the cases of the trade union leaders other than Mr. Riani the Government, in a communication dated 22 June 1965, gives the following information concerning 42 of the 47 trade union leaders referred to by W.F.T.U: 11 are at liberty with no charges pending against them, 15 are at liberty while their cases are being investigated, nine are abroad, four have fled, and three are detained pending trial.
  487. 487 The Committee recommends the Governing Body to take note of the information furnished by the Government and to request the Government to be good enough to keep it informed of further developments regarding the persons concerned.
  488. 488 In a communication dated 4 October 1965 the Latin American Confederation of Christian Trade Unionists alleges that the military court of Belo Horizonte recently pronounced the following sentences: Mr. Antonio Faria Lopez, former President of the Belo Horizonte Bank Employees' Union, 18 years' imprisonment; Mr. Fausto Drumond, former President of the I.A.P.B of Minas Gerais, 15 years' imprisonment; Mr. José Boggione, former Secretary of the Belo Horizonte Bank Employees' Union, 15 years' imprisonment; Mr. Alberto José dos Santos, former Secretary of the same organisation, ten years' imprisonment. According to the complainants the persons concerned, sentenced on the ground of subversion, were in reality sentenced because of their trade union activities. The complainants allege further that under Decree No. 40 the Government requires candidates in trade union elections to submit an ideology certificate, a good conduct certificate and another certificate proving that they enjoy their political rights.
  489. 489 The text of this communication was transmitted to the Government for its observations by a letter dated 21 October 1965, to which no reply has so far been received.
  490. 490 In these circumstances the Committee recommends the Governing Body to request the Government to be good enough to furnish its observations on the communication dated 4 October 1965 from the Latin American Confederation of Christian Trade Unionists.

The Committee's recommendations

1. 491. With regard to the case as a whole the Committee recommends the Governing Body:
   • (a) to note the Government's statement that the control of trade union organisations in Brazil has terminated and that elections are now taking place, and to request the Government to be good enough to continue to keep the Governing Body informed of further developments with regard to this matter;
   • (b) with regard to the particular case of Mr. Riani:
   • (i) to draw the attention of the Government of Brazil to the importance of the considerations set forth in paragraph 484 above;
   • (ii) to request the Government of Brazil to take the necessary measures to ensure that the case is dealt with on its merits within a very short period;
   • (iii) to request the Government to forward to the Governing Body the texts of the habeas corpus judgments already given or to be given and of the judgments to be given on the merits of the case;
   • (iv) to request the Government to forward to the Governing Body, not later than 1 February 1966, information as to the position reached in the proceedings and as to the situation of Mr. Riani at that time;
   • (c) to request the Government to be good enough to keep it informed as to further developments in the situation with regard to the measures taken against trade union leaders other than Mr. Riani, and to furnish the texts of any judgments handed down and of the reasons adduced therein;
   • (d) to request the Government to be good enough to furnish its observations on the allegations made by the Latin American Confederation of Christian Trade Unionists in its communication dated 4 October 1965;
   • (e) to take note of the present interim report, it being understood that the Committee will submit a further report to the Governing Body when it has received the information and observations referred to in subparagraphs (a), (b), (c) and (d) above.