The UN Committee on the Rights of the Child (OHCHR) issued a statement on Tuesday, February 5, in Geneva, condemning President Jair Bolsonaro’s attitude towards the demonstration of a child in the uniform of the military police of the state of Minas Gerais with a toy gun. event last week in Belo Horizonte.
The organization said in a statement that it “strongly condemns President Bolsonaro’s use of children dressed in military clothing and what look like firearms to advance his political agenda.” “The dissemination of images of these children further perpetuates the harm done to them and risks contributing to the misconception that the use of children in hostilities is acceptable.” The information was disclosed by journalist Jamil Chad and confirmed state…
The episode took place on Friday, August 30, when Bolsonaro participated in the sanctioning ceremony for a metro project in the state capital of Minas Gerais and laying the cornerstone of the National Vaccination Center. A six-year-old boy sat next to the CEO.
Encouraged by the shouts of “myth,” the President took a toy pistol and pointed it up. On another occasion, he greeted the boy’s parents for what he called an example of “courtesy, patriotism and respect.” On another occasion, the child was doing push-ups while still on the stage of the event.
“I am almost 70 years old. When I was a kid, I played with a gun, an arrow and a slingshot. This is how my generation grew up. And we grew up to be strong, healthy and respectful men. My compliment to this boy’s parents for borrowing it to set an example of politeness, patriotism and respect. Thank you, military police of Minas Gerais, ”he said.
In the text of the statement, the committee proposes to criminalize such an attitude. “The participation of children in hostilities is expressly prohibited by the Convention on the Rights of the Child (article 38) and its Optional Protocol on the involvement of children in armed conflict (articles 1 and 4),” he quotes. “Such practices should be prohibited and criminalized, and those that involve children in hostilities should be investigated, prosecuted and punished,” he adds.
The statement does not imply the imposition of sanctions against Brazil, but calls on the country to “immediately and urgently stop the use of children dressed in military uniforms for any purpose”, as well as demand that these images be removed from all media and prevent their further dissemination. The Committee also adds that in order not to commit acts that violate the rights of the child in the future, the country should widely disseminate information about the Convention on the Rights of the Child and its Optional Protocols among relevant professionals and in general. public.
Last Sunday 3, about 80 activist organizations led by the National Movement for Human Rights filed a complaint with the UN Children’s Rights Committee and the Venda Nova Guardianship Council in Belo Horizonte (MG) over the photo.
According to Monica Alquimin, coordinator of the National Movement for Human Rights, the committee’s statement met the organizations’ expectations of the condemnation, which was an institutional stance against President Bolsonaro’s repeated behavior. “If he (the president) insists on his behavior, then yes, we will file a complaint with the communications system so that an investigation can be carried out,” he said.
“Can you shoot?”
In 2018, while still running for president, Bolsonaro tried to teach a child to gesture with his hand during the election campaign. The presidential candidate said to the boy, who was in his arms in the children’s military police uniform: “Can you shoot? Can you shoot? Fire. The police must shoot. ”
