Responsabilização de agentes privados por crimes da Ditadura Militar de 1964-1985 contra o campesinato: o papel da Comissão da Verdade de Minas Gerais (COVEMG)

Abstract

The article is a result from activities of research and extension per the Truth Commission of Minas Gerais (COVEMG). The objective was to investigate the possibility of characterizing as gross violations of human rights the violence perpetrated against peasants during the period of the military regime by private militia groups, with the connivance of state agents or the lack of state agency. Methodologically, contributions from Constitutional Law and International Human Rights Law were essential for characterizing the kind of responsibility that was involved. The investigation sought to comprehend the dimension of the investigative powers of the COVEMG, notably with reference to the activities of the subcommittee on “Dead and Forcibly Disappeared in the Countryside”, as well as to technically subsidize the commission’s investigations. It is therefore concluded that there is a duty to investigate cases of human rights violations committed against peasants, whether due to State omission, or by its orders or agents.