United Nations, March 17 (RHC)-- The Arns Commission and Conectas Human Rights filed a complaint at the United Nations against President Jair Bolsonaro for his irresponsible management of the COVID-19 pandemic, which has claimed almost 280,000 deaths in Brazil to date.

Brazilian human rights NGOs warned that the situation in the South American country is desperate.  Maria Hermínia Tavares de Almeida, founding member of the Arns Commission, said that the situation in Brazil is desperate and that Bolsonaro is promoting, in word and deed, a devastating humanitarian tragedy.

She emphasized that COVID-19 is having a major impact on loss of life and economic hardship, disproportionately reaching the poorest Afro-descendant, indigenous and traditional communities. 

At the 46th Session of the UN International Human Rights Council, being held in Geneva, Switzerland, Maria Hermínia also described the president's behavior since the beginning of the pandemic in the country:  "We came here today to denounce the recurrent attitudes of President Jair Bolsonaro towards the pandemic," she asserted. 

"He disdains the recommendations of scientists; he has repeatedly sown discredit on all protective measures - such as the use of masks and social distance; he paralyzed the coordination capacity of the federal health authority, dismissed the importance of vaccines, laughed at the fears and tears of families", he indicated.

The complaint also highlights the role of the other powers in the face of the health and economic consequences of the pandemic.  "All the economic and health measures currently in force are due to initiatives of the National Congress, the Federal Supreme Court, governors and mayors," he pointed out. 

"That is why we are here today to call the attention of this Council and point out the responsibility of President Bolsonaro in promoting, in word and deed, a devastating humanitarian, social and economic tragedy in Brazil," he concluded.