A influência do Direito Internacional para a promoção dos Direitos Humanos: um estudo de caso de Santa Maria - RS

Abstract

Much has been discussed in recent decades in the fields of International Law and International Relations regarding the domestic impacts of international law. A portion of the literature, with a liberal perspective, argues for the positive effects of international norms in enhancing the domestic capacity of states, thereby favoring the guarantee of basic demands of the population. On the other hand, another portion of the literature, with a third-world perspective, argues for the fragmentation of state capacities in following international law, leading to the precariousness of the lives of individuals in the Global South. To contribute to this discussion, the present research seeks to survey the ways in which international law is materialized in the municipality of Santa Maria (RS), especially in the realm of human rights. To achieve this, the research conducts a literature review that identifies a change in the structure and function of international law since the publication of the United Nations Charter in 1945, marking the expansion of actors, structure, and function of international law. In this sense, the Charter is the starting point of a decentralization process that unfolds in the subsequent decades, highlighting the responsibilities of cities in global governance, as seen in the first United Nations Conference on Human Settlements, Habitat I, in 1976, and two others that followed, as well as Sustainable Development Goal 11, Sustainable Cities and Communities, included in the post-2015 agenda. Given this, this work seeks to capture whether there is a presence of international law in the city of Santa Maria. To address this, the exploratory research method is adopted, focusing on the Legislative and Executive branches of the municipality and paradiplomacy activities. To verify this, there are two hypotheses. The first is that the Citizenship and Human Rights Committee of the Santa Maria City Council justifies laws based on international law, and the second is that this process "propels" the city into the international arena, i.e., the process of internationalization. In light of the results found, it is concluded that the committee did not use international norms in its activities. On the other hand, federal laws that internalize international laws are immediately used by the City Council. Furthermore, it is observed that paradiplomacy activities employed by municipalities, though not continuous, as well as the location of SDG 11 in the municipality, serve as a "lever" for international engagement.