Human development and race in the Amazon: Public policies on racial inclusion and human rights in Pará (Brazil) under the scope of capabilities approach

Abstract

This article examines whether racial inclusion and human rights policies in the State of Pará, Brazil, can be assessed not only by their formal legality or administrative outputs, but by their contribution to the real freedoms of historically marginalised groups in the Amazon. Its guiding question is: how can the work of the State Secretariat for Racial Equality and Human Rights of Pará (SEIRDH/PA), as presented in the 2024 Voluntary Local Report on the Sustainable Development Goals, be evaluated and improved through Amartya Sen’s capability approach? The study adopts a qualitative, normative-doctrinal, and document-based method. It reconstructs the constitutional duty to protect vulnerable groups, reads the 2030 Agenda as an interpretive framework for State action, and applies the capability approach to the policies reported by the State government. The argument is that SEIRDH/PA is a necessary institutional instrument for racial equality, but its effectiveness depends on whether its programmes expand capabilities such as bodily integrity, political participation, affiliation, education, health, and control over one’s environment. The article also acknowledges the limits of the Voluntary Local Report as a self-reported governmental source and therefore treats it as a policy document to be critically interpreted, rather than as conclusive evidence of impact. The conclusion proposes a monitoring framework that combines legal due diligence, capability-based indicators, and participatory hermeneutics, allowing courts, audit institutions, and civil society to assess whether racial inclusion policies transform constitutional promises into substantive freedom.