BUSINESS AND HUMAN RIGHTS / Šturma, Mozetic (eds)

Affirmative action measures’ notion commonly associates to public or private policies’ promotion, coercive or voluntary, aimed at certain discriminated social groups 10 due to their peculiarities (concrete or fictional), purposing to correct the existing inequality among those groups, and the other society members, through economic, social or legal inclusion. 11 The first controversy lays on whether or not considering private actions as affirmative action measures. The ones, who understand only public policies may enforce affirmative action measures, denying any private initiative, assert that, historically, the law is the main instrument of imposing affirmative action measures. 12 The state creates temporary rules that privilege some discriminated groups. Regarding this initiative, affirmative action measures cannot derive from private initiative or any other means but the law. In this sense, an affirmative action measure is a government response to situations civil society is not capable of solving. Therefore, whenever civil society creates mechanisms of reducing or extinguishing social inequality, what truly happens is a collective change in social behaviour, instead of an affirmative action measure itself. However, the majority of authors consider affirmative action measures can derive from private initiative actions aimed at achieving full equality and diminishing all kinds of discrimination. 13 Thus, they declare these actions may raise from a businessperson that might invent a plan or an action intended to diminish social inequality and benefit historically excluded groups of people. 14 However, it would not arise from a cultural change in society, but it would come from private initiative, a portion of society, steering to fight discrimination through affirmative action measures. Achieving affirmative action measures is another polemic aspect. Some authors sustain these measures only represent a definite and effective solution when imposed by the law. 15 They explain the awareness campaigns, tax credits, and other non-coercive measures usually cannot achieve the same results as legal measures can. The idea of affirmative action measures being effective only when imposed by law is not true in Brazil, because the creation of a large number of affirmative action measures in its territory occurred due to civil rights movements, for instance, those developed by groups that have been discriminated by their sexual orientation. 16 Those groups have promoted not only awareness initiative actions, but also have fought for their rights, until they had the legal provision of their rights, definitely solving their discrimination 10 CRUZ, Á. R. S. O direito à diferença . Belo Horizonte: Arraes Editores, 2009, p. 164. 11 PISCITELLI, R. M. O Estado como promotor de ações afirmativas e a política de quotas para o Accesso dos negros à universidade . Curitiba: Juruá, 2009, p. 64-5. 12 RIBEIRO, R. F. S. Estudo Sobre as Ações Afirmativas. Revista SJRS . Rio de Janeiro, v. 18, n. 31, Agosto de 2011, p. 170. 13 GOMES, J. B. B. Ações Afirmativas e Princípio Constitucional da Igualdade: o direito como instrumento de transformação social - A experiência dos EUA . Rio de Janeiro: Renovar, 2001, p. 06. 14 BERGMANN, B. In defense of affirmative actions . New York: BasicBooks. 1996, p. 7. 15 RIBEIRO, R.F.S. Estudo Sobre as Ações Afirmativas. Revista SJRS . Rio de Janeiro, v. 18, n. 31, Agosto de 2011, p. 170. 16 ALVAREZ, S. A globalização dos feminismos latino-americanos. ALVAREZ; DAGNINO; ESCOBAR (Orgs.). Cultura e política nos movimentos sociais latino-americanos . Belo Horizonte: Editora UFMG, 2000, p. 385.

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