Effect given to the recommendations of the committee and the Governing Body - Report No 329, November 2002

Effect given to the recommendations of the Committee and the Governing Body

1. 16. The Committee last examined this case at its March 2002 meeting [see 327th Report, paras. 198-203]. On that occasion, the Committee deeply deplored the murder of the trade union leader Carlos Alberto Santos and urged the Government to ensure that the investigations to clarify the facts and determine those responsible were concluded rapidly so that anyone having participated in this murder, including the perpetrators, were punished as required by law. The Committee also requested the Government to keep it informed of developments in the legal proceedings.
2. 17. In a communication dated 29 May 2002, the Government states that the Ministry of Labour and Employment, based on information from the Ministry’s Regional Unit in the State of Sergipe, informed it that the police investigation opened in that State to clarify the facts and determine those responsible was concluded on 15 May 2002, and led to the discovery of two unidentified bodies, which could be those of the trade unionist’s murderers, although there was not enough evidence yet to reach such a conclusion. The Government states further that a special task force has been set up at state level, composed of officers of the federal police and the civil police, with responsibility for carrying out an in-depth inquiry. The eyewitnesses of the crime are under maximum protection.
3. 18. The Committee notes this information and requests the Government to keep it informed of the results of the investigations opened and the corresponding legal proceedings aimed at ensuring that those responsible for the murder of Mr. Carlos Alberto Santos are promptly punished.