Father Lancellotti Law banning hostile architecture now regulated

To commemorate the anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, Brazil’s federal government this week unveiled measures to implement the National Policy for the Homeless, which are part of the Visible Streets Plan. In addition to the allocation of funds and the launch of the National Human Rights Observatory (ObservaDH), set up in September, lawmakers have approved the regulation of the Father Júlio Lancellotti Law.

The name of the law is a reference to churchman Júlio Lancellotti, who has been promoting social work aimed chiefly at homeless people in São Paulo city since 1986. Coordinator of the Homeless People’s Pastoral, Father Lancellotti went viral when he used a sledgehammer to remove sharp stones that had been installed by city authorities on a viaduct to prevent the place from being used as shelter.

Hostile architecture

The law bans hostile architecture in public spaces, such as the installation of structures to make access difficult for homeless people. Approved by lawmakers last year, the piece of legislation was first blocked by former President Jair Bolsonaro, but the veto was overturned by Congress and the law was enacted.

At the Planato presidential palace for the ceremony, Father Lancellotti praised the restoration of public policies for groups that have been rendered invisible in recent years and addressed President Lula.

“We fought really hard to have you elected, so that, after you returned to the Planalto Palace, the poor, the homeless, women, LGBT people, indigenous people, people of African descent, people with no religion, and people who fight for human dignity could return to this palace. No scratches will be found on public property once they’re here, as we’re going to preserve what belongs to all of us,” he said, in reference to the attacks on the headquarters of the government headquarters in Brasília on January 8.

At the Planato presidential palace for the ceremony, Father Lancellotti praised the restoration of public policies for groups that have been rendered invisible in recent years - Jose Cruz/Agência Brasil

The priest expressed his gratitude for the regulation of the law that bears his name and called for the effective implementation of the initiatives in the plan launched on Monday. “A sledgehammer on all hostile architecture! May all hostile architecture be removed and never used again. We must take special care of mental health, the suffering of the homeless. It’s a specific, urgent issue, just as it is urgent to have somewhere to live, to have the dignity to live, with autonomy, balance, and the necessary affection,” he said.

“Homeless people are not angels or demons. They’re people, and should be treated as such. Article 6 [of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights] says ‘every human being has the right to be recognized everywhere as a person before the law.’ This article needs to be lived out in health, housing, social development, human rights, education, culture, leisure. The people on the streets also love, the people on the streets want to be respected in all their dimensions,” he went on to state.

During the ceremony, Human Rights Minister Silvio Almeida said that over 221 thousand people live on the streets across Brazil. “These are people, including children, who live in extreme poverty, subjected to intense vulnerability, exposed to all kinds of violence,” he said, arguing that the Visible Streets Plan reflects the federal government’s commitment to turning the promises in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights into reality.