Guest Editor
Executive Editor
The first edition of the Sur Journal, published in January 2004, reproduced a talk given by the Brazilian diplomat Sérgio Vieira de Mello in February 2003, a few months before his tragic death in Baghdad, Iraq, where he was serving as Special Representative for the then-UN Secretary-General, Kofi Annan. In his speech, Vieira de Mello outlined five major human rights issues, for which he said he had no answer, but that he considered critical for the world at that time. They included non-state terrorism, religion, and limitations on expanding human rights.
Twenty years later, Sur remains true to its founding mission, so well exemplified in Vieira de Mello’s contribution to that inaugural edition: to challenge the human rights field with honesty, commitment, and critical curiosity regarding the issues that connect the experience of advocating for human rights—although in different forms in each territory—across the Global South. This is the spirit underpinning this commemorative issue. The following pages are evidence that this effort has been renewed in its forms and mechanisms. In addition to a new graphic design, Issue 33 is the first to be produced entirely by guest authors, who have generously shared theoretical, practical, and strategic perspectives that act as beams of light amid the shadows. It is important to highlight that the perspectives shared here are those of their authors and do not necessarily reflect the institutional understanding of Conectas Human Rights or the publishers.
Their ideas intertwine against the shared backdrop of the rise of authoritarianism, in its multiple forms and mechanisms, which has established itself as a lasting reality, taking ever deeper root in society and in institutions and demanding a vigorous response from organizations and social movements. This was the theme that inspired the debates that took place during the 2024 International Human Rights Colloquium and it continues in this collection of articles, interviews and essays.
As will become clear, there is a shared call to action, grounded in the understanding that this action largely requires reclaiming a fundamental mandate—what the Indonesian defender Haris Azhar calls “substance”, in his interview. This reclaiming involves finding ways through the constraints of bureaucracy, institutional structures, and funding systems; it must be able to combine a healthy demand for professionalism and resources with the kind of hope, proactivity, and radicalism that the moment calls for. This is how we approach this process of “re-enchantment”, drawing on the philosopher and activist Sueli Carneiro’s brilliant definition—and we do so with burning energy and unwavering solidarity.
From struggles to defend traditional territories, to the climate emergency, the judicial persecution of activists, battles in the digital realm, and the genocide in Gaza, the Journal reveals a mosaic of realities and perspectives that reflect the ways state authorities and corporations interact in increasingly authoritarian arrangements—in some cases even embedded within formally democratic structures—that have benefitted from the failures of the democratic ideal and the subsequent loss of popular support. The picture painted in Sur 33 also shows the uneven impacts of these authoritarian moves on historically vulnerable populations, as well as the effects of policies that dismantle the rule of law, on agendas such as the environment, Indigenous peoples, feminism, freedom of expression and protest, to mention but a few.
From struggles to defend traditional territories to the climate emergency, the judicial persecution of activists, battles in the digital world, and the genocide perpetrated by Israel in Palestine, the Journal reveals a mosaic of realities and perspectives that reflect the ways state authorities and corporations interact in increasingly authoritarian arrangements. Even when embedded within formally democratic structures in some cases, it is clear that these arrangements have benefitted from the failures of the democratic ideal and the subsequent loss of popular support. The picture painted in Sur 33 also shows the uneven impacts of these authoritarian moves on historically vulnerable populations, as well as the effects of policies that dismantle the rule of law, on agendas such as the environment, Indigenous peoples, feminism, freedom of expression and protest, to mention but a few.
In addition to a collection of six articles by authors from South Africa, Argentina, Brazil, Palestine, and Kenya, the Journal features three in-depth interviews with activists in Brazil, Indonesia, and Egypt; an inspiring essay, adapted from the speech delivered by Sueli Carneiro at the opening ceremony of the Colloquium; and a visual section dedicated to the memory of resistance processes in the Global South. Finally, through the words of professor and Conectas co-founder Oscar Vilhena, we revisit the trajectory of Pedro Paulo Poppovic, founder and editor of Sur, to whom we dedicate this issue of the Journal.
Sur 33 is the result of a collective effort and would not have been possible without the collaboration of partner organizations and funders, as well as the dedicated contributions of the following people: Carla Vreche, Carolina Diniz, Carolina Machado, Gabriel Sampaio, Jeferson Batista Silva, João Godoy, Juliana Miranda, Malak Poppovic, Morgana Damásio, Muriel Asseraf, Nadine Sherani Salsabila, Pedro Borges, Sherylle Dass, and Vladimir Chorny.
We would particularly like to thank Camila Asano, executive director of Conectas Human Rights, and Julia Mello Neiva and Susana Barbery, the organization’s director and advisor for the Strengthening Human Rights Movement, who led the production of the Journal with sensitivity and commitment.
