This book offers a legal and socio-political analysis of the Brazilian Program for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders. Discussing Colombian, Guatemalan and Mexican experiences, it fills a gap in the literature regarding Latin American public policy by investigating the creation, work, beneficiaries, broader effects, challenges, and effective ways to improve the Brazilian Program.

Identifies the forces and interests involved, and contrasts what the Brazilian Program for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders is supposed to do with what it does in reality Presents new knowledge regarding the protection of human rights defenders in Brazil based on documents and legal analysis Combines the perspectives of diverse theoretical areas such as international human rights law, politics of human rights, sociology of human rights, constitutional law, international relations, human rights scholarship, and transnational political sociology

Autorentext
Ulisses Terto Neto is a human rights lawyer and lecturer at IESB, Brasilia,Brazil. He was the legal adviser for the Brazilian Program for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders (2009-2010). Dr. Terto Neto also served as Deputy Vice-President of the Human Rights Council (Federal District) and worked as a human rights consultant for the Pan American Health Organization, Brazil.

Inhalt
Chapter 1: Introduction.- Chapter 2: Protection of Human Rights Defenders.- Chapter 3: Brazil's Path Towards Human Rights.- Chapter 4: State and Civil Society's Responses to State and Non-State Actors' Violence Towards Human Rights Defenders.- Chapter 5: The Path to the Creation of the Program for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders.- Chapter 6: The Legal Framework and Legal Functioning of the Program for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders.- Chapter 7: The Effects in Practice of the Program for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders.- Chapter 8: The Broader Effects of the Program for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders.- Chapter 9: What is Preventing the Program for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders from Fulfilling its Potential, and What Can Be Done?.- Chapter 10: Conclusion.