On Tuesday, December 10, Human Rights Day, established by United Nations (UN), Petrobras sponsors the first edition of the World Forum on Human Rights, which will be held in Brasilia until December 13. The event has been organized by the Secretariat for Human Rights of the Presidency of the Republic of Brazil, in partnership with civil society, international organizations and other government agencies. The aim is to promote the exchange of information through conferences and thematic debates with activists and human rights defenders taking part from various countries. 

The forum will feature three themes - The Human Rights as the Peoples' Struggle, The Universalization of Human Rights in a context of Vulnerabilities and The Mainstreaming of Human Rights. Each is these is composed of three debates and a lecture. 

Over 400 activities are expected such as exhibitions, seminars and fairs, coordinated by participating institutions, among them the Brazilian Institute of Social and Economic Analyses (IBASE), Canal Futura and the United Nations Fund for Children (UNICEF). 

The Petrobras Executive Manager for Social Responsibility, Armando Tripodi, will participate in the Seminar: Education, Democracy and Human Rights, on Thursday, December 12. The meeting will held from 18:00 pm to 20:00 pm, in Room 101, at the International Convention Centre in Brazil. 

The executive will talk about the right to an education for young people, adults and seniors citizens under the Mova Brasil Project, with representatives of the United Federation of Oil Workers (FUP) and the Paulo Freire Institute, partners in this initiative. The project has been sponsored by Petrobras since 2003 and aims to promote human dignity through adult literacy courses and vocational training activities of the participants. The seminar will consist of other themes related to education and human rights in the field of politics and social movements.

Advances and Challenges

During the Forum, the main advances and challenges in human rights will be treated, focusing on respect for differences in social participation, in the reduction of inequalities and facing all human rights violations. Among the confirmed participants are the Brazilian philosopher and theologian Leonardo Boff, Tariq Ali from Pakistani, the Spanish magistrate Baltasar Garzón Real, the Argentine teacher Alicia Cabezudo and Frank La Rue from Guatemala. About 8,000 people signed up for the forum and over 700 institutions are part of the Organizing Committee, a body whose role it is to promote the discussion and approve the meeting in general. 

Sponsorship of World Forum on Human Rights is aligned with Petrobras’ Social responsibility policy, which provides for the promotion of human rights and citizenship, with respect to human and cultural diversity, not allowing discrimination, degrading work, child labor and slavery and contributing to the sustainable development and the reduction of social inequality.