Reference :
V-P-BR-E-00352
Date :
12/2017
Caption :
Sao Paolo. Meeting of relatives of missing persons.
Confidentiality level :
public
Publication restrictions :
publication without restrictions
Description :
ICRC website, 18.12.2017, Article: Brazil: Meeting of relatives of missing persons marks publication of Family Needs Assessment report, “Throughout 2016, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) conducted a needs assessment among relatives of persons who went missing during the military regime, suspected to be associated to the "Vala de Perus" (mass grave located in a cemetery of Sao Paulo, from which unidentified human remains where exhumed in an attempt to locate sought persons). Fifty-eight (58) family members related to 32 missing persons were interviewed. As part of the assessment, the ICRC collected first-hand information from concerned families, in order to understand their current situation, challenges, needs, and expectations. The assessment allowed learning about and reflecting on the priorities expressed by the families themselves, to relay their message to the authorities and to present adjusted recommendations to the latter.
On December 15 and 16, the 5th Meeting of Relatives of Missing Persons related to the "Vala de Perus" case was held in Sao Paulo. During the event, the ICRC informed the relatives of the decision to publish the family needs assessment report (titled "Naquela Mesa Está Faltando Ele", "At that table, he is missing" in English), following the request of authorities and upon consultation of interviewees. "This is fundamental so that we can start promoting the discussion about missing persons as a whole, at the national level", said Cristina Schein, Ministry of Human Rights' Special Committee on Deaths and Disappearances for Political Reasons' Coordinator.
According to the report, relatives of missing persons' priorities include, for example, the need to know what happened to their loved ones (62%) and to recover and identify their remains (57%). According to ICRC Protection Coordinator Marianne Pecassou, "Families are the best positioned to discuss their own needs."
During the meeting, relatives of missing persons also visited the laboratory where the human remains exhumed from the "Vala de Perus" are stored, and received information about the forensic identification process. In addition, they participated in activities focused on experience and memory sharing. "I felt happy. I couldn't feel more comfortable. I felt that one of those is my brother," said Altair Vasconcelos (missing person's relative), while visiting the forensic laboratory.”
Original material :
digital
Resolution :
8688x5792
Orientation :
landscape
Colour/B&W :
colour
