Republican deputies demand a response from the IACHR on Moraes

Four Republican deputies from the United States sent a letter to the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) this Thursday (14) to express their dissatisfaction with the body’s lack of response to the actions of Minister Alexandre de Moraes, of the Federal Supreme Court (STF ), against the social network X, owned by Elon Musk.

Deputies Chris Smith, Maria Elvira Salazar, Darrel Issa and Carlos Gimenez state in the document – addressed to the president of the IACHR, Roberta Clarke, and to the commission’s special rapporteur on freedom of expression, Pedro José Vaca Villarreal – that the restrictions imposed by Moraes against The X, including the blockade at the end of August, impacted millions of Brazilians and even North Americans residing or doing business in Brazil. The document was accessed through the columns of Paulo Cappelli, on the portal Metropolisesand Jamil Chad, from UOL.

According to the information, the parliamentarians report in the document that they had already made a request for a response to the IACHR in May this year regarding Moraes’ actions, however, they were ignored, which led to the decision to send a new appeal, highlighting that the situation in Brazil it would have worsened since then.

“We write to Your Excellency as members of the United States House of Representatives regarding the current situation in Brazil and the actions taken by the Brazilian Supreme Court against the social media platform X, actions that affect millions of Brazilians as well as American citizens who live or do business in Brazil and an American company”, declared the parliamentarians.

Deputies claim that blocking platform X represented a clear violation of freedom of expression.

“(…) The situation in Brazil has worsened considerably, as evidenced, firstly, by the illegitimate blocking of platform X in the country, with Alexandre de Moraes’ declaration of his intention to restrict political speech protected by international rights law human rights”, wrote the deputies, stating that, although the service was reestablished, this only occurred after the municipal elections ended and with X having been forced to comply with orders from Minister Moraes.

The document highlights that the organization receives additional funds from the United States to protect freedom of expression and warns that, without concrete action, the future of these funds may be revised.

“We support the Commission’s specific mandate to promote and protect the free enjoyment of human rights and freedoms and the tools at the organization’s disposal to carry out its functions”, point out the congressmen, adding that “we are equally aware of the fact that the United States provides annually supplemental funds to the Inter-American Commission in support of its mandate and specifically to fund the Office of the Special Rapporteur for Freedom of Expression and its ability to issue statements and reports on the status of freedom of expression, especially where countries are seeking to undermine these rights”, they added. “We request, once again, that the Commission and its Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Expression report on the measures that have been taken to monitor and resolve the situation to help put an end to this egregious conduct,” they state.

The congressmen made it clear that they intend to intensify supervision of the use of these resources in the event of a lack of concrete response.

“(…) We are deeply concerned about the use of these supplemental funds, in light of your organization’s apparent lack of action to address these urgent issues that have been widely and correctly understood to be a flagrant violation of rights,” they wrote. “As members of the Chamber of Deputies, it is our duty to supervise the expenditure of funds paid by taxpayers, including those disbursed to the Commission and the Office of the Special Rapporteur”, warned the parliamentarians, further stating that the IACHR’s response to the situation Brazilian will be considered in future decisions about the budget allocated to the organization.

Smith, Salazar and Issa are the Republicans who most denounce Moraes in the US Congress. Smith has already met with Brazilian parliamentarians persecuted by Moraes and Salazar and Issa are responsible for filing a law, which is still under discussion in the Chamber, that prevents the entry into the US of foreign authorities who promote censorship against American citizens, which could culminate in cancellation of the visa of the STF minister, described by parliamentarians as the man “at the forefront of an attack on freedom of expression”.

Starting next year, Republicans will have control of the US Congress, leading the Senate and the House. Furthermore, they will also have Donald Trump in charge of the country and Senator Marco Rubio – who has already spoken about Moraes – at the head of American diplomacy.