Discrimination “is so ingrained” in Portugal that victims sometimes don’t even notice: human rights according to Amnesty
The story is simple and recent: a person of Portuguese and Russian nationality applied for one in a bank. His candidacy was posted only because he is of Russian origin, says Pedro Neto, executive director of Amnesty International (AI) in Portugal. At the moment, there is a tendency to consider everyone with a connection to Russia to be “villains”. “At first, the person did not even realize that he was being discriminated against. Discrimination is so ingrained that victims don’t even notice,” he laments.
It is precisely discrimination that Amnesty International presents as one of the biggest concerns in Portugal with regard to human rights violations. This Monday, a non-governmental organization published its annual report, this year with the title “Political leaders and great (corporate titans) generate companies and power ahead of the people, disregarding previous promises of a just recovery from the pandemic”.
“Portugal is a country where there are some conditions of life and tranquility. Portugal and Cape Verde, for example, are not considered a priority in these issues and this is very unfair because whoever suffers human rights abuses, wherever they are, suffers them in their entirety”, he says. “In Portugal there are already other issues, which last over time and worsen with a problem. The most negative note is the problems of discrimination and poverty is the biggest.”
Then, he lists, there is gender, migrant and other discrimination that are often cumulative. “A gypsy woman and a poor person, for example, have three classes of discrimination in their lives”, describes Pedro Neto, stating that this is known as multi-discrimination. “There is a lack of public policies that mitigate discrimination.”
For the executive director of AI in Portugal, it is important to highlight the “positive way” of including children as victims in the legal framework for cases of domestic violence, which took place last year. “It was a change driven by a civil society activism initiative”, he stresses. “At the same time, issues of gender inequality continue the lack of awareness on issues of consent. We are still not equal to what is stipulated by the Istanbul Convention.”
On the other hand, still critical, there is the delay in the processes of requesting international protection for migrants. “Poverty among refugees Portugal, and they are very serious in Portugal, which are many people who live in serious countries — Venezuela, until today, or Angola. cases are those who are five years old and do not yet have Cabinda (Angola) status.”
Housing, a growing problem
As it has access to many previous years, AI warns of difficulties not related to housing. “It is a problem that is growing more and more”, says Pedro Neto. And, also because of the issue of discrimination, it becomes even more dramatic among people of gypsy or African descent. “The problem has worsened a lot with the growth of tourism, then with the pandemic and now with real estate speculation.”
At the end of last year, the number of families in decent 2-family homes was revised down to 38,013,000 (from 26,000). “The pandemic has got many people who will pay the rent and will have to be unemployed.”
The issue of prisons is also highlighted in the report, which criticizes that the punitive part of the sentence is still the one that is given more importance. “The part of social reintegration remains to be done. There are some pilot projects, but they are not the rule”, notes Pedro Neto.
One such example is a women’s prison in Odemira, where all women serving sentences are allowed access to one hour of phone calls a day (up to three numbers from different numbers). “In the case of inmates and inmates who are mothers and fathers, a simple measure like this is very important, because contact with the family can be defining for reintegration. It is a large-budget measure, he adds, and reinforces that this investment in the reins can prevent future expenses, which do not just involve inmates reoffending.
Exemplary countries? “I don’t think we have”
Countries like Yemen, where there areThere are currently conflicts baby, are those where human rights are made greater. “The case of Yemen seems distant to us. However, there are several European countries that sell weapons to Saudi Arabia and that, therefore, continue to be accomplices in this war.”
At the same time, Pedro Neto also notes, guerrilla conflicts in the southern African region with “serious” for people and where radical groups such as Boko Haram and ISIS remain active.
“Although Venuzuela is not at war, the country is in a state of siege. Portugal is still taking in many refugees and this is still a situation that has been dragging on for a long time”, says that countries like Myanmar Afghanistan should also not be remembered when it comes to a human rights record.
Pedro Neto has, however, difficulties in finding the other side of the coin. “Exemplary countries in this matter? I don’t know if we have. Maybe Bhutan and even then I’m not sure,” he replies. “This is a speech that can be discouraging, but there is something very important: none of these problems are beyond hope and for many there are already solutions, they need to be applied.”