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Plan · PNDH-3

National Human Rights Program (PNDH-3)

Problem
Revision and updating of the National Human Rights Program, established in 1996 and revised in 2002 by decree of Fernando Henrique Cardoso. This was the objective of the 11th National Human Rights Conference, convened by decree of Lula in 2008 and preceded by state and district conferences.
Who it serves
Federal Executive Branch bodies responsible for the programmatic actions; states, the Federal District, municipalities and bodies of the Legislative Branch, the Judiciary and the Public Prosecutor's Office, invited to join.
How it works
Presidential decree (Decree No. 7,037/2009) that approves six guiding axes, guidelines, strategic objectives and programmatic actions with responsible bodies; targets, deadlines and resources are left to biennial Action Plans. The decree established a Follow-up and Monitoring Committee coordinated by the Special Secretariat for Human Rights, whose article was repealed in 2019.

Human rightsSocial participation and public administration

Relation to the Lula governments

Reshaped under Lula · Second term (2007 to 2010) · from April 2008 to May 2010

The Decree of April 29, 2008, signed by President Lula, convened the 11th National Human Rights Conference for December 15 to 18, 2008, in Brasília, with the objective of formulating proposals for the revision and updating of the PNDH established by Decree No. 1,904/1996 and revised by Decree No. 4,229/2002; the national stage would be preceded by state and district conferences.[1]

Decree No. 7,037 of December 21, 2009, signed by President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, approved the Programa Nacional de Direitos Humanos - PNDH-3, with the guidelines, strategic objectives and programmatic actions set out in the Annex to the decree.[2]

Decree No. 7,037/2009 repealed Decree No. 4,229 of May 13, 2002, which addressed the Programa Nacional de Direitos Humanos - PNDH, established by Decree No. 1,904 of May 13, 1996.[3]

Under Decree No. 7,037/2009, the PNDH-3 is implemented along six guiding axes: democratic interaction between the State and civil society; development and human rights; universalizing rights in a context of inequalities; public security, access to justice and combating violence; education and culture in human rights; the right to memory and truth.[4]

Art. 4 of Decree No. 7,037/2009 established the Follow-up and Monitoring Committee of the PNDH-3, coordinated by the Special Secretariat for Human Rights of the Presidency of the Republic, with the purposes, among others, of drawing up the Human Rights Action Plans and establishing indicators for monitoring them.[5]

Decree No. 7,177 of May 12, 2010, signed by Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva and Paulo de Tarso Vannuchi, amended the Annex to Decree No. 7,037/2009: it gave new wording to programmatic actions of Guideline 9, Guideline 17, Guideline 22, Guideline 24 and Guideline 25, and repealed programmatic actions of Guideline 10 and Guideline 22.[6]

Shared implementation · Second term (2007 to 2010) · from December 2009 to December 2010

Decree No. 7,037/2009 provides that the States, the Federal District, the Municipalities and the bodies of the Legislative Branch, the Judiciary and the Public Prosecutor's Office will be invited to join the PNDH-3 and that implementation involves partnerships with other federal bodies.[7]

PL 7376/2010, which creates the National Truth Commission, was introduced by the Executive Branch in the Chamber of Deputies on May 20, 2010 and transformed into Ordinary Law 12528/2011.[8]

Origin and precursors

Origin milestone: founding legal act, Second term (2007 to 2010).

Decree No. 7,037 of December 21, 2009, signed by President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, approved the Programa Nacional de Direitos Humanos - PNDH-3, with the guidelines, strategic objectives and programmatic actions set out in the Annex to the decree.[2]

Precursors

  • National Human Rights Program (PNDH I), Decree No. 1,904/1996, Fernando Henrique Cardoso government earlier technical basis The Programa Nacional de Direitos Humanos (PNDH) was established by Decree No. 1,904 of May 13, 1996, published in the Official Gazette (DOU) of May 14, 1996, according to the Senate's federal legislation record.[9]
  • PNDH II, Decree No. 4,229/2002, Fernando Henrique Cardoso government, revoked by Decree No. 7,037/2009 replaced Decree No. 7,037/2009 repealed Decree No. 4,229 of May 13, 2002, which addressed the Programa Nacional de Direitos Humanos - PNDH, established by Decree No. 1,904 of May 13, 1996.[3]
  • 11th National Human Rights Conference (December 2008) and its state and district stages earlier technical basis According to the official publication, the 521 programmatic actions of the PNDH-3 incorporate or reflect the 7 axes, 36 guidelines and 700 resolutions approved at the 11th National Human Rights Conference, held in Brasília from December 15 to 18, 2008, and the program includes proposals from about 50 thematic national conferences held since 2003.[10]

Precursor investigation: successor to earlier initiatives (October 14, 2026).

Scope: Decrees 1,904/1996 (Senate record), 4,229/2002, 7,037/2009, 7,177/2010 and 10,087/2019 (Planalto copies on the Internet Archive); Decree of April 29, 2008 convening the 11th Conference and base text (archive of the CDHM of the Chamber of Deputies); official publication of the PNDH-3 by SEDH/PR with presentation, preface and annexes of PNDH I and II; Decree of January 13, 2010 (working group of the National Truth Commission); PL 7376/2010 and PDCs to suspend (Chamber of Deputies); Brazil's report to the UPR (2012); CNDH Recommendation 27/2019; article by Sérgio Adorno (Novos Estudos CEBRAP, 2010).

Responsibilities

  • Special Secretariat for Human Rights of the Presidency of the Republic federal management

    Art. 4 of Decree No. 7,037/2009 established the Follow-up and Monitoring Committee of the PNDH-3, coordinated by the Special Secretariat for Human Rights of the Presidency of the Republic, with the purposes, among others, of drawing up the Human Rights Action Plans and establishing indicators for monitoring them.[5]

  • Ministries signing the statement of reasons (31, according to the SEDH/PR) design

    According to the preface by Minister Paulo Vannuchi (SEDH/PR), an initial draft of the PNDH-3 was posted on the Secretariat's portal for months for suggestions, followed by months of internal negotiation among government areas, and 31 ministries signed the Statement of Reasons that requested publication of the decree.[11]

  • SEDH/PR, Human Rights and Minorities Committee of the Chamber of Deputies and Forum of National Human Rights Entities (convening of the 11th Conference) social participation

    According to the presentation of the documents of the 11th National Human Rights Conference, the conference had a tripartite convening: the Special Secretariat for Human Rights of the Presidency of the Republic, the Human Rights and Minorities Committee of the Chamber of Deputies and the Forum of National Human Rights Entities.[12]

  • States, Federal District, municipalities, Legislative Branch, Judiciary and Public Prosecutor's Office (invited to join) partnership

    Decree No. 7,037/2009 provides that the States, the Federal District, the Municipalities and the bodies of the Legislative Branch, the Judiciary and the Public Prosecutor's Office will be invited to join the PNDH-3 and that implementation involves partnerships with other federal bodies.[7]

  • National Human Rights Council social participation

    In Recommendation No. 27 of December 11, 2019, the National Human Rights Council recommended immediate respect for and compliance with the PNDH-3 and, to the Presidency of the Republic, the re-creation of the Follow-up and Monitoring Committee by repealing Decree No. 10,087/2019 in the part that abolishes it; it also recorded that its Recommendation No. 18 of September 12, 2019 had asked for approval of the 2019 to 2021 Action Plan.[13]

Timeline

Timeline of National Human Rights Program (PNDH-3)
DatePhaseWhat happened
May 13, 1996Legal actDecree No. 1,904 establishes the Programa Nacional de Direitos Humanos (PNDH I).[9]
May 13, 2002Legal actDecree No. 4,229 provides for the revised PNDH (PNDH II) and repeals Decree No. 1,904.[14]
April 29, 2008Legal actDecree convenes the 11th National Human Rights Conference to propose the revision and updating of the PNDH.[1]
December 21, 2009Legal actDecree No. 7,037 approves the PNDH-3 and repeals Decree No. 4,229/2002.[2]
January 13, 2010Legal actDecree creates the working group for the draft bill of the National Truth Commission, based on Guideline 23.[15]
May 12, 2010Legal actDecree No. 7,177 amends and repeals programmatic actions of the Annex.[6]
May 20, 2010ImplementationThe Executive Branch introduces in the Chamber PL 7376/2010, which creates the National Truth Commission.[8]
September 2010ImplementationFollow-up and monitoring committee established, according to the Brazilian State's account to the UPR (2012).[16]
November 5, 2019InterruptionDecree No. 10,087 declares art. 4 of Decree No. 7,037 repealed (Follow-up and Monitoring Committee); the rest of the decree is not repealed by that act.[17]

How it works

According to the official publication of the Special Secretariat for Human Rights, the PNDH-3 is structured in six guiding axes, subdivided into 25 guidelines, 82 strategic objectives and 521 programmatic actions.[18]

Art. 3 of Decree No. 7,037/2009 refers the definition of targets, deadlines and resources for implementing the PNDH-3 to biennial Human Rights Action Plans; according to the official publication, the program establishes guidelines, strategic objectives and programmatic actions, and the deadlines, budget resources and responsible bodies would be set in the Action Plans every two years.[19]

In the Right to Memory and Truth axis, the programmatic action of Guideline 23 provided for designating a working group of the Casa Civil (Chief of Staff's Office), the Ministry of Justice, the Ministry of Defense and the Special Secretariat for Human Rights to draw up, by April 2010, a bill establishing the National Truth Commission.[20]

The first programmatic action of the PNDH-3 (Guideline 1) provided for supporting, before the Legislative Branch, the establishment of the National Human Rights Council, under the responsibility of the Special Secretariat for Human Rights and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.[21]

Governance

According to the preface of the official PNDH-3 publication, the process of the 11th Conference had 137 meetings before the state and district stages and about 14 thousand participants; the national stage brought together in Brasília about 1,200 delegates and 800 guests or observers, according to the presentation signed by the president.[22]

Changes

In Guideline 9, the programmatic action that provided for supporting approval of the bill that decriminalizes abortion came, through Decree No. 7,177/2010, to provide for considering abortion as a public health issue, with guaranteed access to health services.[23]

Decree No. 7,177/2010 repealed two programmatic actions of the PNDH-3: the one that provided for mechanisms to prevent the display of religious symbols in public establishments of the Union (Guideline 10) and the one that provided for editorial monitoring criteria to create a national ranking of media outlets (Guideline 22).[24]

In Guideline 25, Decree No. 7,177/2010 replaced the action that provided for proposing legislation prohibiting public streets and buildings from being named after people who committed crimes against humanity with the action of fostering debates and disseminating information so that they are not named after people widely recognized as torturers.[25]

Decree No. 7,177/2010 also rewrote the action on collective agrarian and urban conflicts (a bill to institutionalize mediation, giving priority to hearing INCRA and other bodies) and the action on the media (proposing a legal framework, under art. 221 of the Constitution, for respect for human rights in broadcasting).[26]

Implementation

The same report of the Brazilian State (2012) states that the PNDH-3's Integrated Monitoring, Execution and Control System (SIMEC) was created in 2010, in partnership with the Ministry of Education, as an online system for monitoring the fulfillment of the actions.[27]

In the 2012 report to the Universal Periodic Review, the Brazilian State used the PNDH-3 as a reference to map its initiatives and stated that, in November 2011, the government committed to strengthening social oversight of the program's execution.[28]

Limitations

CNDH Recommendation No. 27/2019 considered the existence of 36 actions, programs and statements of the Federal Government contrary to the PNDH-3, according to a technical opinion covering January 1 to September 30, 2019, distributed across the six axes.[29]

According to a note published by the CNDH, the network Articulação para o Monitoramento dos Direitos Humanos no Brasil presented to the council the report PNDH-3 10 anos depois: Balanço Prospectivo, the result of a seminar on November 27 and 28, 2019; Eneias da Rosa, of the network, stated that, once implementation began, not enough strength was built up for efficient political coordination within the government and with society.[30]

In 2025 the Senate Human Rights Committee held public meetings under the Committee's Request No. 4 of 2025, authored by Senator Mecias de Jesus, which aims to evaluate the Programa Nacional de Direitos Humanos (PNDH-3); at the meeting of August 4, 2025, the committee chair stated that performance analysis reports on the PNDH-3, including those produced by the Ministry of Human Rights and Citizenship itself and its predecessors, have pointed to a deficiency in defining inputs, financial resources and clear indicators for the programmatic actions, especially in Axis 2, and that a misalignment of policies since 2015 had been identified.[31]

Context

For Sérgio Adorno (Novos Estudos CEBRAP, 2010), the PNDH-3 was the first program drawn up by the Lula government, the earlier editions were from the FHC government, and the PNDH-3 falls within an evolutionary line that points to more continuities than ruptures between the FHC and Lula governments.[32]

In 2010, legislative decree bills to suspend the PNDH-3 were introduced in the Chamber: PDC 2396/2010, by Antonio Carlos Mendes Thame (PSDB/SP), introduced on February 10, 2010, against a provision of the decree; and PDC 2552/2010, by Luis Carlos Heinze (PP/RS), introduced on April 29, 2010, to suspend Decree No. 7,037 in its entirety, attached to PDC 2396/2010.[33]

PDC 2396/2010, which suspends the effect of a provision contained in Decree No. 7,037 of December 21, 2009, which approves the Programa Nacional de Direitos Humanos - PNDH-3, was archived on January 31, 2019 under Article 105 of the Internal Rules of the Chamber of Deputies.[34]

The National Truth Commission was created by Law No. 12,528 of November 18, 2011, approved by the National Congress and signed into law by President Dilma Rousseff, within the Casa Civil (Chief of Staff's Office) of the Presidency of the Republic.[35]

Law No. 12,986 of June 2, 2014, signed into law by President Dilma Rousseff, transformed the Council for the Defense of the Rights of the Human Person into the National Human Rights Council (CNDH).[36]

In 2021 the Ministry of Women, Family and Human Rights issued Ordinance No. 457 of February 10, 2021, which established a working group for ex ante analysis of the National Human Rights Policy; PDL 112/2021, by Senator Humberto Costa, which asked for the ordinance to be suspended, was declared moot on May 5, 2023.[37]

At a public hearing of the Senate Human Rights Committee on June 30, 2025, the chair Damares Alves argued for evaluating and perhaps turning the PNDH into law; the executive secretary of the Ministry of Human Rights and Citizenship, Janine Mello dos Santos, said she did not feel that the PNDH needs to become law to be more respected, according to Rádio Senado.[38]

The same Agência Senado note describes the PNDH-3 as a program that establishes principles, guidelines and 520 actions of the federal Executive Branch, a number different from the 521 programmatic actions cited by the SEDH's 2009 publication.[39]

Origin

According to the Senate's federal legislation record, Decree No. 7,037 of December 21, 2009 was published in the Official Gazette (DOU) of December 22, 2009, p. 17.[40]

In the guiding axis on public security, Decree No. 7,037/2009 records that the proposals systematized in the PNDH-3 bring together, in this context, the contributions offered by the process of the 11th National Human Rights Conference and also advance on topics that were not the subject of debate.[41]

In the presentation of the PNDH-3, signed by Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, the president declares that in January 2008, in Rio de Janeiro, he convened a series of discussions, debates and seminars to update the PNDH that Brazil had had since 1996, expanded in 2002.[42]

Precursors

In the PNDH II (Decree No. 4,229/2002), execution was detailed in annual Action Plans and monitoring was the responsibility of the State Secretariat for Human Rights of the Ministry of Justice; expenses were charged to the appropriations of the participating bodies.[43]

According to the presentation text of the PNDH II (reproduced in an annex to the PNDH-3 publication), the State Secretariat for Human Rights held a public consultation over the internet from December 19, 2001 to March 15, 2002, from which resulted the PNDH II text with 518 proposals for government actions.[44]

According to the base text of the 11th National Human Rights Conference, the 1st National Human Rights Conference, held in 1996, was a key moment in the process of drawing up the PNDH, and part of the 1st Conference's proposals was incorporated into the PNDH. On the 2nd Conference, in 1997, the text records that at the time State Human Rights Programs and the National Human Rights Secretariat, then linked to the Ministry of Justice, were also created.[45]

The official PNDH-3 publication describes the program as the third version of the Programa Nacional de Direitos Humanos: the PNDH I was launched in 1996 and the program was revised and updated in 2002, with the incorporation of economic, social and cultural rights (PNDH II).[46]

Sources and evidence

Excerpts are quoted in the original language of the source.

  1. 1. The Decree of April 29, 2008, signed by President Lula, convened the 11th National Human Rights Conference for December 15 to 18, 2008, in Brasília, with the objective of formulating proposals for the revision and updating of the PNDH established by Decree No. 1,904/1996 and revised by Decree No. 4,229/2002; the national stage would be preceded by state and district conferences.

  2. 2. Decree No. 7,037 of December 21, 2009, signed by President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, approved the Programa Nacional de Direitos Humanos - PNDH-3, with the guidelines, strategic objectives and programmatic actions set out in the Annex to the decree.

  3. 3. Decree No. 7,037/2009 repealed Decree No. 4,229 of May 13, 2002, which addressed the Programa Nacional de Direitos Humanos - PNDH, established by Decree No. 1,904 of May 13, 1996.

  4. 4. Under Decree No. 7,037/2009, the PNDH-3 is implemented along six guiding axes: democratic interaction between the State and civil society; development and human rights; universalizing rights in a context of inequalities; public security, access to justice and combating violence; education and culture in human rights; the right to memory and truth.

  5. 5. Art. 4 of Decree No. 7,037/2009 established the Follow-up and Monitoring Committee of the PNDH-3, coordinated by the Special Secretariat for Human Rights of the Presidency of the Republic, with the purposes, among others, of drawing up the Human Rights Action Plans and establishing indicators for monitoring them.

  6. 6. Decree No. 7,177 of May 12, 2010, signed by Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva and Paulo de Tarso Vannuchi, amended the Annex to Decree No. 7,037/2009: it gave new wording to programmatic actions of Guideline 9, Guideline 17, Guideline 22, Guideline 24 and Guideline 25, and repealed programmatic actions of Guideline 10 and Guideline 22.

  7. 7. Decree No. 7,037/2009 provides that the States, the Federal District, the Municipalities and the bodies of the Legislative Branch, the Judiciary and the Public Prosecutor's Office will be invited to join the PNDH-3 and that implementation involves partnerships with other federal bodies.

  8. 8. PL 7376/2010, which creates the National Truth Commission, was introduced by the Executive Branch in the Chamber of Deputies on May 20, 2010 and transformed into Ordinary Law 12528/2011.

    • PL 7376/2010: ficha de tramitação (Cria a Comissão Nacional da Verdade) · Chamber of Deputies Official record
      Where: Identification of the Bill. Accessed October 14, 2026.
      “Situação: Transformada na Lei Ordinária 12528/2011 Identificação da Proposição Autor Poder Executivo Apresentação 20/05/2010 Ementa Cria a Comissão Nacional da Verdade, no âmbito da Casa Civil da Presidência da República.”

  9. 9. The Programa Nacional de Direitos Humanos (PNDH) was established by Decree No. 1,904 of May 13, 1996, published in the Official Gazette (DOU) of May 14, 1996, according to the Senate's federal legislation record.

    • Decreto nº 1.904 de 13/05/1996: registro na Legislação Federal do Senado · Federal Senate (Federal Legislation) Official record
      Where: summary and publication. Accessed October 14, 2026.
      “Decreto nº 1.904 de 13/05/1996 Norma revogada expressamente. Veja mais informações em "Normas posteriores". Ementa INSTITUI O PROGRAMA NACIONAL DE DIREITOS HUMANOS - PNDH. Publicação do Texto Principal [ Publicação Original ] [Diário Oficial da União de 14/05/1996]”

  10. 10. According to the official publication, the 521 programmatic actions of the PNDH-3 incorporate or reflect the 7 axes, 36 guidelines and 700 resolutions approved at the 11th National Human Rights Conference, held in Brasília from December 15 to 18, 2008, and the program includes proposals from about 50 thematic national conferences held since 2003.

  11. 11. According to the preface by Minister Paulo Vannuchi (SEDH/PR), an initial draft of the PNDH-3 was posted on the Secretariat's portal for months for suggestions, followed by months of internal negotiation among government areas, and 31 ministries signed the Statement of Reasons that requested publication of the decree.

  12. 12. According to the presentation of the documents of the 11th National Human Rights Conference, the conference had a tripartite convening: the Special Secretariat for Human Rights of the Presidency of the Republic, the Human Rights and Minorities Committee of the Chamber of Deputies and the Forum of National Human Rights Entities.

  13. 13. In Recommendation No. 27 of December 11, 2019, the National Human Rights Council recommended immediate respect for and compliance with the PNDH-3 and, to the Presidency of the Republic, the re-creation of the Follow-up and Monitoring Committee by repealing Decree No. 10,087/2019 in the part that abolishes it; it also recorded that its Recommendation No. 18 of September 12, 2019 had asked for approval of the 2019 to 2021 Action Plan.

  14. 14. Decree No. 4,229 of May 13, 2002, signed by Fernando Henrique Cardoso, addressed the Programa Nacional de Direitos Humanos established by Decree No. 1,904/1996, with proposals for government actions in Annex I, and repealed Decree No. 1,904.

  15. 15. The Decree of January 13, 2010, considering Guideline 23 of Decree No. 7,037/2009, created the Working Group to draw up a draft bill establishing the National Truth Commission, with a deadline until April 2010 to submit it to the President of the Republic.

  16. 16. According to Brazil's second national report to the UN Universal Periodic Review (2012), the Interministerial Follow-up and Monitoring Committee of the PNDH-3 was established in September 2010, with 21 ministries holding seats and 12 invited.

  17. 17. Decree No. 10,087 of November 5, 2019, declared the repeal of art. 4 of Decree No. 7,037/2009, the provision that established the PNDH-3 Follow-up and Monitoring Committee; the rest of the decree was not repealed by that act.

  18. 18. According to the official publication of the Special Secretariat for Human Rights, the PNDH-3 is structured in six guiding axes, subdivided into 25 guidelines, 82 strategic objectives and 521 programmatic actions.

  19. 19. Art. 3 of Decree No. 7,037/2009 refers the definition of targets, deadlines and resources for implementing the PNDH-3 to biennial Human Rights Action Plans; according to the official publication, the program establishes guidelines, strategic objectives and programmatic actions, and the deadlines, budget resources and responsible bodies would be set in the Action Plans every two years.

  20. 20. In the Right to Memory and Truth axis, the programmatic action of Guideline 23 provided for designating a working group of the Casa Civil (Chief of Staff's Office), the Ministry of Justice, the Ministry of Defense and the Special Secretariat for Human Rights to draw up, by April 2010, a bill establishing the National Truth Commission.

  21. 21. The first programmatic action of the PNDH-3 (Guideline 1) provided for supporting, before the Legislative Branch, the establishment of the National Human Rights Council, under the responsibility of the Special Secretariat for Human Rights and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

  22. 22. According to the preface of the official PNDH-3 publication, the process of the 11th Conference had 137 meetings before the state and district stages and about 14 thousand participants; the national stage brought together in Brasília about 1,200 delegates and 800 guests or observers, according to the presentation signed by the president.

  23. 23. In Guideline 9, the programmatic action that provided for supporting approval of the bill that decriminalizes abortion came, through Decree No. 7,177/2010, to provide for considering abortion as a public health issue, with guaranteed access to health services.

  24. 24. Decree No. 7,177/2010 repealed two programmatic actions of the PNDH-3: the one that provided for mechanisms to prevent the display of religious symbols in public establishments of the Union (Guideline 10) and the one that provided for editorial monitoring criteria to create a national ranking of media outlets (Guideline 22).

  25. 25. In Guideline 25, Decree No. 7,177/2010 replaced the action that provided for proposing legislation prohibiting public streets and buildings from being named after people who committed crimes against humanity with the action of fostering debates and disseminating information so that they are not named after people widely recognized as torturers.

  26. 26. Decree No. 7,177/2010 also rewrote the action on collective agrarian and urban conflicts (a bill to institutionalize mediation, giving priority to hearing INCRA and other bodies) and the action on the media (proposing a legal framework, under art. 221 of the Constitution, for respect for human rights in broadcasting).

  27. 27. The same report of the Brazilian State (2012) states that the PNDH-3's Integrated Monitoring, Execution and Control System (SIMEC) was created in 2010, in partnership with the Ministry of Education, as an online system for monitoring the fulfillment of the actions.

  28. 28. In the 2012 report to the Universal Periodic Review, the Brazilian State used the PNDH-3 as a reference to map its initiatives and stated that, in November 2011, the government committed to strengthening social oversight of the program's execution.

  29. 29. CNDH Recommendation No. 27/2019 considered the existence of 36 actions, programs and statements of the Federal Government contrary to the PNDH-3, according to a technical opinion covering January 1 to September 30, 2019, distributed across the six axes.

  30. 30. According to a note published by the CNDH, the network Articulação para o Monitoramento dos Direitos Humanos no Brasil presented to the council the report PNDH-3 10 anos depois: Balanço Prospectivo, the result of a seminar on November 27 and 28, 2019; Eneias da Rosa, of the network, stated that, once implementation began, not enough strength was built up for efficient political coordination within the government and with society.

  31. 31. In 2025 the Senate Human Rights Committee held public meetings under the Committee's Request No. 4 of 2025, authored by Senator Mecias de Jesus, which aims to evaluate the Programa Nacional de Direitos Humanos (PNDH-3); at the meeting of August 4, 2025, the committee chair stated that performance analysis reports on the PNDH-3, including those produced by the Ministry of Human Rights and Citizenship itself and its predecessors, have pointed to a deficiency in defining inputs, financial resources and clear indicators for the programmatic actions, especially in Axis 2, and that a misalignment of policies since 2015 had been identified.

  32. 32. For Sérgio Adorno (Novos Estudos CEBRAP, 2010), the PNDH-3 was the first program drawn up by the Lula government, the earlier editions were from the FHC government, and the PNDH-3 falls within an evolutionary line that points to more continuities than ruptures between the FHC and Lula governments.

  33. 33. In 2010, legislative decree bills to suspend the PNDH-3 were introduced in the Chamber: PDC 2396/2010, by Antonio Carlos Mendes Thame (PSDB/SP), introduced on February 10, 2010, against a provision of the decree; and PDC 2552/2010, by Luis Carlos Heinze (PP/RS), introduced on April 29, 2010, to suspend Decree No. 7,037 in its entirety, attached to PDC 2396/2010.

    • PDC 2396/2010: ficha de tramitação · Chamber of Deputies Official record
      Where: Identification of the Bill. Accessed October 14, 2026.
      “Autor Antonio Carlos Mendes Thame - PSDB/SP Apresentação 10/02/2010 Ementa Susta a eficácia de dispositivo contido no Decreto nº 7.037, de 21 de dezembro de 2009, que aprova o Programa Nacional de Direitos Humanos - PNDH-3”
    • PDC 2552/2010: ficha de tramitação · Chamber of Deputies Official record
      Where: Status and Identification of the Bill. Accessed October 14, 2026.
      “Situação: Apensado ao PDC 2396/2010 Identificação da Proposição Autor Luis Carlos Heinze - PP/RS Apresentação 29/04/2010 Ementa Susta o Decreto nº 7.037, de 21 de dezembro de 2009, que aprova o Programa Nacional de Direitos Humanos - PNDH-3.”

  34. 34. PDC 2396/2010, which suspends the effect of a provision contained in Decree No. 7,037 of December 21, 2009, which approves the Programa Nacional de Direitos Humanos - PNDH-3, was archived on January 31, 2019 under Article 105 of the Internal Rules of the Chamber of Deputies.

    • PDC 2396/2010: ficha de tramitação · Chamber of Deputies Official record
      Where: Summary. Accessed October 14, 2026.
      “Susta a eficácia de dispositivo contido no Decreto nº 7.037, de 21 de dezembro de 2009, que aprova o Programa Nacional de Direitos Humanos - PNDH-3”
    • PDC 2396/2010: ficha de tramitação · Chamber of Deputies Official record
      Where: Last Legislative Action. Accessed October 14, 2026.
      “31/01/2019 Mesa Diretora ( MESA ) Arquivado nos termos do Artigo 105 do Regimento Interno da Câmara dos Deputados.”

  35. 35. The National Truth Commission was created by Law No. 12,528 of November 18, 2011, approved by the National Congress and signed into law by President Dilma Rousseff, within the Casa Civil (Chief of Staff's Office) of the Presidency of the Republic.

  36. 36. Law No. 12,986 of June 2, 2014, signed into law by President Dilma Rousseff, transformed the Council for the Defense of the Rights of the Human Person into the National Human Rights Council (CNDH).

  37. 37. In 2021 the Ministry of Women, Family and Human Rights issued Ordinance No. 457 of February 10, 2021, which established a working group for ex ante analysis of the National Human Rights Policy; PDL 112/2021, by Senator Humberto Costa, which asked for the ordinance to be suspended, was declared moot on May 5, 2023.

  38. 38. At a public hearing of the Senate Human Rights Committee on June 30, 2025, the chair Damares Alves argued for evaluating and perhaps turning the PNDH into law; the executive secretary of the Ministry of Human Rights and Citizenship, Janine Mello dos Santos, said she did not feel that the PNDH needs to become law to be more respected, according to Rádio Senado.

    • CDH debate Programa Nacional de Direitos Humanos · Rádio Senado Government communication
      Where: header. Accessed October 14, 2026.
      “Bruno Lourenço 30/06/2025, 13h09”
    • CDH debate Programa Nacional de Direitos Humanos · Rádio Senado Government communication
      Where: transcript. Accessed October 14, 2026.
      “A secretária-executiva do Ministério dos Direitos Humanos e Cidadania, Janine Mello dos Santos, disse não sentir que o PNDH precise virar lei para ser mais respeitado.”
    • CDH debate Programa Nacional de Direitos Humanos · Rádio Senado Government communication
      Where: transcript. Accessed October 14, 2026.
      “ponderou que o PNDH foi instituído em 2009 por decreto, e que talvez seja a hora de atualizá-lo ou mesmo transformá-lo em lei, em política de estado e não de governo.”

  39. 39. The same Agência Senado note describes the PNDH-3 as a program that establishes principles, guidelines and 520 actions of the federal Executive Branch, a number different from the 521 programmatic actions cited by the SEDH's 2009 publication.

  40. 40. According to the Senate's federal legislation record, Decree No. 7,037 of December 21, 2009 was published in the Official Gazette (DOU) of December 22, 2009, p. 17.

  41. 41. In the guiding axis on public security, Decree No. 7,037/2009 records that the proposals systematized in the PNDH-3 bring together, in this context, the contributions offered by the process of the 11th National Human Rights Conference and also advance on topics that were not the subject of debate.

  42. 42. In the presentation of the PNDH-3, signed by Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, the president declares that in January 2008, in Rio de Janeiro, he convened a series of discussions, debates and seminars to update the PNDH that Brazil had had since 1996, expanded in 2002.

  43. 43. In the PNDH II (Decree No. 4,229/2002), execution was detailed in annual Action Plans and monitoring was the responsibility of the State Secretariat for Human Rights of the Ministry of Justice; expenses were charged to the appropriations of the participating bodies.

  44. 44. According to the presentation text of the PNDH II (reproduced in an annex to the PNDH-3 publication), the State Secretariat for Human Rights held a public consultation over the internet from December 19, 2001 to March 15, 2002, from which resulted the PNDH II text with 518 proposals for government actions.

  45. 45. According to the base text of the 11th National Human Rights Conference, the 1st National Human Rights Conference, held in 1996, was a key moment in the process of drawing up the PNDH, and part of the 1st Conference's proposals was incorporated into the PNDH. On the 2nd Conference, in 1997, the text records that at the time State Human Rights Programs and the National Human Rights Secretariat, then linked to the Ministry of Justice, were also created.

  46. 46. The official PNDH-3 publication describes the program as the third version of the Programa Nacional de Direitos Humanos: the PNDH I was launched in 1996 and the program was revised and updated in 2002, with the incorporation of economic, social and cultural rights (PNDH II).

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