Brazil

Chamber of DeputiesFederal Senate

Federal Senate

Political system Political systems: Presidential, Parliamentary, Presidential-Parliamentary, Monarchy, Communist, Transitional.
Presidential system
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Structure of parliament Structure of parliament: Unicameral, bicameral
Bicameral
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IPU membership Current membership status
Yes
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Specialized body - Gender equality

Women's Special Prosecutor’s Office
(October 2013)
See other specialized bodies

About

Nature
Permanent
Related to Chambers
Federal Senate
Notes
The Special Attorney for Women in the Senate was created in 2013 by the President of the Senate, Renan Calheiros (PMDB-AL), through Resolution No. 9 (2013) to support the construction of a society in which women and men have the same rights, with the mandate to act against all forms of discrimination. The office is headed by the Special Attorney for Women of the Federal Senate and supported by the Senate Women's Bench(Bancada Feminina do Senado).

The mission is to care for, monitor, control and encourage women's rights and to create empowerment mechanisms, especially in situations where gender inequality exists. The office's task is to fight for full equality and confront violence against women, guarantee and support their rights in favor of women's empowerment via individual emancipation and by raising the collective awareness necessary to overcome social dependence and political domination. The Public Prosecutor's Office uses legal and practical mechanisms to effectively support women in all vulnerable situations and systematically focuses on encouraging female participation in politics, with a view to equalizing gender representation in the country's decision-making spaces.


Link to projects: https://www12.senado.leg.br/institucional/procuradoria/outros-projetos
Link to rules
https://www12.senado.leg.br/institucional/procuradoria/documentos-oficiais/resolucao-que-cria-a-procuradoria

Members

Number of members
All MembersBelow 45 years of age
Total161
Women161
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Political affiliation of members
Majority parties
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Opposition parties
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Chairperson(s)

Chair 1
Leila Barros
Chairperson: Sex
Female
Date of birth
30 Sep 1971
Political affiliation
Opposition
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Chairperson

Chairperson: Sex
Female
Age: Chairperson is below 45 years of age
No
Political affiliation
Opposition

Committee functions

Mainstream gender equality into the work of (other) parliamentary committees and of Parliament as a whole
Yes
Scrutinise all Bills from a gender perspective
Yes
Scrutinise the Executive’s policy from a gender perspective
Yes
Obtain information from the Executive about the justification for actions or inaction which affect gender equality and women’s rights
Yes
Scrutinise State compliance with the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW)
Yes
Initiate inquiries of its own choosing
No
Scrutinise proposed treaties on gender equality, and other international treaties with implications for gender equality and women’s rights, and report to Parliament thereon, prior to ratification
No
Ascertain and review the Executive’s reasons for not acceding to or ratifying existing international human rights treaties on gender equality and women’s rights
No
Scrutinise the Executive’s response to human rights judgments - of national, regional and international courts – that have gender considerations
No
Monitor the adequacy of the existing national system for the promotion of gender equality
Yes
Review the allocation and expenditure of funds in the State budget to support measures to promote gender equality and protect women’s rights
Yes

Committee involvement in international and national reporting mechanisms

Such as the UN Human Rights Council and its' Universal Periodic Review, the UN CEDAW Committee etc.
Consulted in the preparation of the most recent national report to the CEDAW Committee
No
Included in the official delegation which orally presented the most recent national report to the CEDAW Committee
No
Discussed the conclusions and recommendations which the CEDAW Committee adopted as a result
No
Conducted hearings with the Executive about its plans to implement CEDAW conclusions and recommendations
No
Involved in the preparation of national reports to other international or regional mechanisms (Resolution 1325 of the United Nations Security Council on Women, peace and security, the Beijing Platform for action…)
No

Committee powers

The Committee has the power to:
Propose amendments to legislation
Yes
Introduce bills into Parliament
No
Initiate parliamentary debates on its reports or on subjects of its choosing
Yes
Carry out inquiries
Yes
Hold oral evidence hearings
Yes
Compel witnesses to attend
No
Compel the production of documents and papers
No
Make recommendations to the Executive
Yes
Conduct visits, including visits abroad
Yes
Access places of detention without notice
Yes

Committee working methods

The Committee:
Adopts an annual or longer-term work plan
Yes
Publishes reports on its work on the parliamentary website
Yes
Usually reaches consensus on the issues on which it reports
Yes
Systematically follows up its reports and recommendations
Yes
Reports regularly to Parliament on its activities
Yes
Number of specialised staff to service committee
3

Cooperation and coordination

The Committee regularly cooperates and coordinates (e.g. through sharing of reports; meetings; joint follow-up action) with:
Other parliamentary committees
Always
Civil society organisations
Always
National Human Rights Institution(s) and National Institution(s) for the promotion of gender equality Often called “Commissions” and/or “Ombudspersons” in the area of human rights
Always
Academic institutions, including human rights and gender equality research institutes
Always
The media
Always

Contact information for the Committee