On this important day, I send my congratulations to the Government and people of Brazil on their efforts to promote truth and national reconciliation through the work of the National Commission of Truth.

The United Nations encourages and supports efforts all over the world to uncover the facts about gross violations of human rights and of international humanitarian law, and to promote justice and reparation.  This support is based on the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which we celebrate on this day every year, and international human rights treaties, including the International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance.

I join Brazil in honoring the memory of those who suffered as a result of the gross and systematic human rights violations that took place between 1946 and 1988.  I urge everyone involved to disseminate the findings and recommendations of its Final Report as widely as possible.

Every victim has the right to know the truth about violations that affect him or her. Knowing the truth offers victims and their relatives a possibility of coming to terms with their loss and their grief.  It grants them dignity and at least a small measure of remedy for their losses and suffering.

Informing society and engaging in dialogue about fundamental freedoms, and how they have been violated, is a vital safeguard against the recurrence of abuse.

The United Nations stands together with all Brazilians in remembering their losses, and in their efforts to strengthen the protection of human rights and promote national reconciliation.