Law establishing National Truth Commission in Brazil became law November 18, 2011. UN Chief Human Rights Commissioner described it as an “important step towards unraveling the truth about past human rights violations.” Pillay has been urging Brazil to initiate such a Commission, which has been contemplated for many years. It was provided for in the country´s Third National Human Rights Program in 2010, but only recently passed the final legislative hurdles in Parliament. According to the UN Human Rights Office, the Commission t being established should seek to promote the right to truth and public knowledge and understanding of human rights violations that took place during 42 years’ of political repression from 1946 to1988. The Law was signed on Friday by President Dilma Rousseff, who was herself a victim of the types of violation the Commission will investigate. Access to Past Evidence/Information: President Rousseff also promulgated a Law for Public Access to Information, whose purpose is to enable the Truth Commission to bring facts and information into the public arena. The High Commissioner encouraged Brazil to take additional measures to facilitate the prosecution of those believed responsible for past human rights violations, including as a result of the work of the Commission. Such measures should include enacting new legislation to abrogate the 1979 Amnesty Law or declaring it inapplicable because it impedes the investigation and ending of impunity for serious human rights violations, in contravention of international human rights law. This will, as the UN Rights Office urges, lay the groundwork for future accountability for those responsible for killings, torture, forced disappearances and other human rights atrocities. A total of nearly five hundred people are said to have either been killed or forcibly disappeared under Brazilian military rule. According to Pillay: “They and their families have been seeking redress for the violations they suffered for more than four decades, and they have a right to see justice being done. In addition to highlighting the truth about particular incidents, such commissions investigate the patterns of violations in the past, their causes and consequences …Ultimately, the commission's work, including bringing victims’ often searing testimonies into the open, should help Brazilians understand and recognize their own history which has up until now often been disputed or denied. Truth commissions also seek to prevent further abuses, making specific recommendations on institutional reform and public policy.” Killings & Violations of Indigenous Human Rights: UN human rights concerns with respect to Brazil though are not just about what occurred more than 20+ years earlier. It continues to be an ongoing concern recently voiced by a UN Human Rights Rapporteur – “Brazilian Judge Killed: UN Calls for More Protections” -http://diplomaticallyincorrect.org/films/blog_post/brazilian-judge-killed-un-calls-for-more-protection-by-ambassador-mo/34512). Ironically, the signing of the law occurred on day that masked gunman murdered an indigenous rights leaders in the Amazon. Violation of the land and human rights of the indigenous is a substantive problem that continues to this day in Brazil and larger swathes of South America. (Read – “Laws Needed to Protect Women, Minorities & Indigenous Rights [Paraguay]”http://diplomaticallyincorrect.org/films/blog_post/laws-needed-to-protect-women-minorities-indigenous-in-paraguay-by-ambassador-mo/38273). According to Pillay: “Experience has frequently shown that societies cannot fully enjoy sustainable development and reconciliation without addressing past human rights abuses. As a rising political and economic power, Brazil´s clear acknowledgment of this is a very important development both in the region and at the global level.” Recently, Brazil has also been playing a more important role diplomatically at the United Nations but also in its humanitarian global efforts . diplomaticallyincorrect.org/films/blog_post/educating-feeding-schoolchildren-by-susan-sacirbey/40851 By Ambassador Muhamed Sacirbey Facebook - Become a Fan at "Diplomatically Incorrect" Twitter - Follow at DiplomaticallyX “War Crimes Justice” Channel - diplomaticallyincorrect.org/c/war-crimes-justice