HUMAN RIGHTS COMMITTEE

CONSIDERATION OF REPORTS SUBMITTED BY STATES PARTIES

UNDER ARTICLE 40 OF THE COVENANT

Second periodic report

BRAZIL*

[15 November 2004]

1. Introduction

1. Since Brazil's ratification of the 1966 International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights on January 24, 1992, a number of political and institutional changes have been implemented and significant progress has been made in the effort to build a normative framework capable of guaranteeing the fundamental rights of individuals in the country. Despite those changes and the process of democratic consolidation pursued up to now, significant challenges remain with respect to securing economic and social improvements capable of ensuring application of those rights, as well as transforming the guarantees formally assured in the Constitution and the infra-constitutional legislation into a cultural mindset. The experience of the decade since the first report on the Covenant on Civil and Political Rights was submitted by the federal government, in 1994, has been marked by a disturbing contradiction: while on the one hand, Brazil has never before achieved a comparable level of progress in building a legal order committed to Human Rights, on the other hand, some of these achievements have yet to be reflected in public policies or effective guarantees for the Brazilian population.

This Second Report gives particular consideration to the observations, suggestions, andrecommendations made by the Human Rights Committee following its analysis of Brazil's InitialReport. It focuses on the measures adopted by Brazil in response to the Committee's principalconcerns, as well as those measures intended to implement the Committee's suggestions andrecommendations, as set forth in official UN document CCPR/C/79/Add.66, of 24 July 1996.

In accordance with these specific items, the Second Brazilian Report on the InternationalCovenant on Civil and Political Rights adopts the same systematic approach used in the InitialReport. It is composed of three parts: 1) an introduction; 2) information on articles 1 to 27; and 3) anannex containing Brazil's legislation concerning the Covenant. Note that this approach conformsfully to United Nations' directives governing the preparation of reports.

The introduction presents a general analysis of the advances, obstacles, and challenges ofimplementing the civil and political rights set out In the Covenant. Following ageneral overview ofthe application of civil and political rights in Brazil, the second part of the report is devoted to aspecific examination of the manner in which Brazil has implemented each of the rights enumeratedin articles 1 to 27 of the Covenant. Because of the delays in submitting the Second Report, the document covers 2 more extensive period of time, from 1994 to June 2004. In this time, it is possible to point to a number of significant institutional developments specifically regarding the Covenant's implementation in Brazil including:

The launch of National Human Rights Programs I and II through Decrees no. 1904, of 13May 1996 and no. 4229, of 13 May 2002, respectively, which reflected the demands andexpectations of civil society and elevated the priority extended to the struggle on behalf ofHuman Rights in Brazil by proposing government actions to protect and promote civil andpolitical rights in the country. Following this initiative, many states developed regionalHuman Rights plans, leading to a series of innovative experiments and enactment ofhumanistic public policies;

The establishment of the National Human Rights Secretariat, in April 1997. President LuizInácio Lula daSiiva's administration has renamed the Secretariat the Special Secretariat forHuman Rights, conferred ministerial-level status on the agency, and placed it under thedirect authority of the Presidency of the Republic;

The approval of Law no. 9140/95, which officially recognizes the death of those personsdisappeared as a consequence of their political activities during the military dictatorship andrequires the Union to compensate the victims' families;

The approval of Law no. 9100/95, which establishes quotas for women candidates tolegislative positions with a view to stimulating political participation by women;

The approval of Law no. 9029/95, which prohibits the requirement that individuals presentproof of pregnancy and sterilization certificates, as well as other discriminatory practices,used as instruments in hiring or determining the continuation of a legal employmentrelationship;

The approval of Law no. 9099/95, which establishes the Special Civil and Criminal Courtsto assure expanded access to the justice system and increased speed in the resolution ofminor disputes; (in compliance with item 24 of the suggestions and recommendations of theUnited Nations' Human Rights Committee);

The approval of Law no. 3299/96, which transfers jurisdictional authority over intentionalcrimes against human life committed by military police officers from the Military Courts tothe Common Courts, thereby eliminating the privileged forum that had previously shieldedmilitary police officers responsible for the deaths of civilians; (in compliance with item 18 of the suggestions and recommendations of the United Nations' Human Rights Committee):

h) The approval of Complementary Law no. 88/96, which establishes summary expropriations aimed at carrying forward the agrarian reform process;

i) The approval of Law no. 9503/97, which enacts the Brazilian Traffic Code;

j) The approval of Law 9534/97, which mandates the issuance of essential documentation such as birth and death certificates at no charge;

k) The approval of Law no. 9455/97, which specifically defines the crime of torture; (in compliance with item 18 of the suggestions and recommendations of the United Nations' Human Rights Committee);

I) The approval of Law no. 9459/97, which expands on the provisions of Law no. 7716/89 governing the crimes of racism and racial discrimination and includes crimes of discrimination based on ethnicity, national origin, and religion; (in compliance with item 27 of the suggestions and recommendations of the United Nations' Human Rights Committee);

m) The approval of Law no. 9437/97, which outlaws the illicit possession of arms and establishes the National Arms System ( Sistema Nacional de Armas );

n) The approval of Law no. 9474/97, which establishes the Statute on Refugees;

o) The approval of Complementary Law no. 93/98, which establishes the "Bancoda Terra" to serve as an additional instrument in the implementation of agrarian reform;

p) The approval of Law 9741/98, which institutes eight new alternative penalties; (in compliance with item 25 of the suggestions and recommendations of the United Nations' Human Rights Committee);

q) The implementation of Human Rights training courses for civil and military police officers; (in compliance with item 13 of the suggestions and recommendations of the United Nations' Human Rights Committee);

r) The establishment of Police Ombudsman offices in several states to act independently and receive complaints involving crimes and improper conduct by police officers; (in compliance with item 22 of the suggestions and recommendations of the United Nations' Human Rights;

s) The approval of Federal Law no. 9807/99, which implements the National Victims' Assistance and Witnesses Protection Program (Programs Nacional de Assistênciaa Vítimas e Proteção às Testemunhas Ameaçadas ) and includes provisions governing the protection of individuals accused or convicted of crimes who effectively cooperate with police investigations and the criminal justice system;

t) The approval of Law no. 10216/2001, which sets out provisions on the protection and rights of individuals suffering from mental illnesses or disturbances and reorders the mental healthcare system;

u) The approval of Law no. 10098/2000, which establishes the general rules and basic criteria for promoting access for individuals with disabilities or limited mobility;

v) The approval of Constitutional Amendment no. 20/98, raising the minimum working age for adolescents to 16 and the minimum age for apprenticeships from 14 to 16;

w) The approval of the Disarmament Statute, Law no. 10826/2003, which sets out provisions restricting the registration, ownership, and sale of firearms and ammunition and on the National Arms System;

x) The approval of the Elderly Statute, Law no. 10741/2003, which consolidates and introduces measures protecting the elderly.

5. At the international level, two important advances in Brazilian Human Rights policy deserve mention, which formalize the recognition of the pertinent international jurisdictional competences charged with protecting such rights. The first refers to Brazil's accession to the statute establishing the Permanent International Criminal Court, approved in Rome, in July 1998. The second advance involves the enactment of Legislative Decree no. 89, of 3 December 1998, which approved the executive branch's request to recognize the jurisdictional competence of the Inter-American Court of Human Rights.

II. Information on articles 1 to 27 of the Covenant

The purpose of this section is to offer a brief overview of the achievements and innovationsintroduced in Brazil since 1994 with regard to the Covenant's implementation for each of the 27articles under consideration, as well as set forth the difficulties and limitations that persist.

The report gives special emphasis to constitutional norms and federal laws in light of theirapplicability and enforceability nationwide. It would be of value to survey the measures adopted bythe individual states, as well as collect data on their concrete experiences. However, this wouldpresent an insurmountable problem for a report that cannot be exhaustive or overly focused onspecific situations. For this reason, the experiences of the federal states will be mentioned onoccasion in this report to illustrate either the ample opportunities that have opened up in thestruggle for Human Rights or the limitations that Brazil confronts.

In light of Brazil's federative system, the states enjoy autonomy, to the extent that theUnion's intervention in the states' sphere of action is prohibited except as expressly authorized inthe Federal Constitution (article 34). The investigation and punishment of a large part of HumanRights violations are the responsibility of the states, although the Constitution does mandate federalintervention to safeguard the rights of the human person.

Indeed, there are specific bodies in the federal sphere charged with safeguarding HumanRights that are linked to the Special Secretariat for Human Rights, including the Council for theDefense of the Rights of the Human Person ( Conselho de Defesa dos Direitos da Pessoa Humana CDDPH), the National Council for the Rights of the Child and the Adolescent ( Conselho Nacional dos Direitos da Chança e do Adolescente- CONANDA), the National Council for the Rights ofPeople with Disabilities ( Conselho Nacional dos Direitos da Pessoa com Deficiência- CONADE),the National Council to Combat Discrimination ( Conselho Nacional de Combate à Dischminação - CNCD), the National Council for the Rights of the Elderly ( Conselho Nacional dos Direitos do Idoso CNDI), the National Commission for the Eradication of Slave Labor ( Comissão Nacional de Erradicação ao Trabalho Escravo - CONATRAE), and the National Committee for Human RightsEducation ( Comitê Nacional de Educação em Direitos Humanos ). The following agencies andbodies, furthermore, are under the authority of the Ministry of Justice: the National IndianFoundation ( Fundação Nacional do Índio - FUNAI), the National Council for Criminal andPenitentiary Policies ( Conselho Nacional de Política Criminal e Penitenciária- CNPCP), theNational Council for Refugees ( Conselho Nacional para Refugiados - CONARE), and theDepartment of Foreigners ( Departamento de Estrangeiros ). In addition, the current administrationhas established two new bodies with ministerial-level status and directly subordinated to thePresidency or the Republic to develop and implement public policies: the Special Secretariat for thePromotion of Racial Equality ( Secretaria Especial de Políticas de Promoção da Igualdade Racial -SEPIR) and the Special Secretariat for Women's Policies ( Secretaria Especial de Políticas para as Mulheres - SPM). The first is linked to the National Council for the Promotion of Racial Equality ( Conselho Nacional de PromoçãodaIgualdade Racial — CNPIR) and the second to the National Council for Women's Rights ( Conselho Nacional dos Direitos das Mulheres - CNDM).

10. To illustrate the importance of these bodies, one need only look at the efforts of the CDDPH, which this year is commemorating its 40th anniversary in the struggle to promote Human Rights through measures aimed at preventing, correcting, redressing, and punishing violations of these rights. Today, most states have a State Council for the Defense of Human Rights. From the National Human Rights Program's launch, the Council has played an active role in some particularly serious cases of violation, going so far as to visit the locations of specific violations and proposing that the Federal Police open inquiries into these matters. The meetings of the Councils have been regularly attended by Governors, Secretaries of Justice, State Attorneys, and police officials. The Council has sent commissions to the states on a regular basis to investigate complaints and prepare reports setting forth concrete measures to address and prevent the cases considered. Moreover, the National Congress is currently considering a draft bill designed to establish the National Council for Human Rights to replace the CDDPH so as to confer greater independence and power on the body, as well as to expand the role of organizations representing civil society. Beyond the activities of the CDDPH and other federal bodies, the federal government can exercise an even more important role in the area of Human Rights by prompting changes in the states and even establishing conditions on access to federal appropriations. Finally, it is important to note that a majority of states today have State Councils for the Defense of Human Rights.

Article 1 - The right of self-determination of peoples and to the free use of their natural wealth and resources

Article 1 of the 1988 Brazilian Constitution enshrines sovereignty, citizenship, dignity of thehuman person, the social values of labor and free enterprise, and political pluralism as principles ofthe Federative Republic of Brazil. In accordance with the Constitution, all power emanates from thepeople, who exercise that power indirectly through representatives elected by means of universalsuffrage, in direct and secret balloting, or directly by way of plebiscites, referendums, or popularinitiatives. The purpose is the consolidation of a participative model of Democracy and the LegalDemocratic State.

Similarly, the principles that guide Brazil's international relations are the self-determinationof peoples, the prevalence of Human Rights, national independence, non-intervention, equalityamong States, thedefense of peace, the peaceful resolution of conflicts, therepudiation ofterrorism and racism, as well as cooperation among peoples to ensure the continued progress ofhumanity. Of these principles, it is important to highlight the self-determination of peoples. Brazilexercises and respects the right of self-determination in freely establishing its political, social, cultural, and economic statute. Brazil is a signatory to the 1945 United Nations Charter, which enshrines the underlying goal of developing friendly relations among nations on the basis of the adherence to the principle of equality of rights and the self-determination of peoples. Brazil has no colonies or any foreign territories under its administrative control.

With regard to the social groups that make up the Brazilian State, the Federal Constitution (article 215, paragraph 2) mandates that the States shall protect popular, indigenous, and Afro-Brazilian cultural expressions, as well as those of other groups engaged in the nation's civilizingprocess. In this context, the groups that warrant special mention are the country's indigenouspeoples and the runaway slave communities ( quilombos ).

The indigenous policy adopted by the Brazilian State is prescribed by Chapter VIII (articles231 and 232) of the Title designated the Social Order. The social organization, customs, languages,beliefs, and traditions of indigenous communities are recognized, as are their original rights to theland they have traditionally occupied. The Union has the duty and authority to demarcate theselands by means of acts decreed by the Ministry of Justice and ratified by the President of theRepublic. The Constitution also establishes that only the National Congress may authorize the useof the water and mineral resources on indigenous lands following consultations with the affectedcommunities, which shall be entitled to a part of the gains obtained from the use of such resources.Coordination of indigenous policy and the human rights of indigenous peoples were furtherbolstered following the Brazilian State's ratification, in April 2004, of International LaborOrganization (ILO) Convention no. 169 on Indigenous Peoples and Tribes.

With regard to the remaining runaway slave communities ( quilombos ), article 216,paragraph 5, of the Federal Constitution establishes the preservation of the former quilombosasnational heritage sites. In 2003, Decree no. 4887 regulated the procedures for identifying,surveying, delimiting, demarcating, and titling the land occupied by the remaining runaway slavecommunities. It is expected that the regulation will represent an important step in increasing thegranting of titles and recognition of these rights. Further, Law no. 19639/2003 adjusted the Law onNational Education Directives and Bases to include "Afro-Brazilian History and Culture" as amandatory subject of the educational system's official curriculum.

Article 2 - Guarantees of the rights assured in the Covenant and legal remedies

16. Article 5 of the 1988 Brazilian Constitution mandates the equality of all before law, without distinction of any kind, and guarantees Brazilians and foreign nationals who are Brazilian residents the inviolable right to life, liberty, equality, security, and property. The Constitution buttresses the right to equality by providing for legal penalties in cases of any discriminatory act that violates fundamental rights and liberties. Thus, racism constitutes 3 non-bailable, without statutory limitations crime.

On March 27, 1868, Brazil ratified the Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of RacialDiscrimination and on February 1, 1984, the Convention on the Elimination of all Forms ofDiscrimination against Women. Additionally, the Brazilian State has the duty to guarantee allindividuals within its territorial boundaries who are subject to its jurisdictional authority the rights setforth in the Covenant and expressly prohibit all forms of discrimination.

Paragraph 1 of article 5 of the 1988 Constitution provides for the immediate application ofthe norms that define pertinent rights and fundamental guarantees. Paragraph 2 of the same articleadds that the rights and guarantees set forth in this Constitution shall not exclude others arising from the regime and the principles adopted thereby or from the international treaties to which the Federative Republic of Brazil is a party. To settle divergences in Brazilian courts over theconstitutional or infra-constitutional status of these treaties, the National Congress is considering aconstitutional amendment determining that the ratification of such international norms shall followthe same procedures of consideration and adoption used for proposed amendments in order toensure their constitutional status.

The Brazilian constitutional order enshrines a series of guarantees aimed at safeguardingand restoring fundamental rights in cases of their violation. Thus, the Brazilian system includesprinciples such as open access to the judicial branch - which ensures the law will not excludeexamination by the judicial branch of any damages or threats to rights - and the prohibition ofexceptional courts or tribunals. Every person has the right to petition the branches of government totake all necessary measures to defend guaranteed rights against illegal actions or abuses of power.To the right of petition we can add the constitutional guarantees of habeas corpus, writs ofmandamus, collective action, court injunctions, habeas data, class action, and public civil actions.

The purpose of habeas corpus is to ensure freedom of movement in cases in whichindividuals have in fact been threatened, or feel they have been threatened, with violence orcoercion. The purpose of habeas data is to assure individuals the right to information on thepetitioner, as well as adjust personal information. Since 1996, 21 requests for habeas data havebeen submitted to the Federal Supreme Court ( Supremo Tribunal Federal - STF). For its part, thewrit of mandamus is designed to safeguard any and all evident and clear rights not covered byhabeas corpus or habeas data in cases of illegal acts or abuses of power. The 1988 Constitutionbreaks new ground in mandating collective action, which can be entered by political parties, unions,class entities, or associations. Yet another innovation involves the creation of court injunctions toassure, through the judicial branch, the exercise of constitutional rights and freedoms even in the absence of a pertinent statutory norm. Since 1996, there have been 179 court injunctions filed with the STF. Popular actions, for their part, allow for the repeal of acts that harm public property and assets, administrative morality, the environment, and the nation's historical and cultural heritage. Finally, civil public actions are aimed at safeguarding the environment, the nation's historic, artistic, and cultural heritage, and various other collective rights.

21.In this way, the Brazilian State guarantees all persons the right to effective remedies whenthe rights and liberties recognized in the Covenant have been violated. The authorities have theduty to fulfill the judicial decisions handed down, under penalty of the crime of responsibility.

Factors and difficulties:

A significant portion of the Brazilian population, particularly that segment victimized bymisery and social exclusion, is unable to turn to the judicial system to guarantee its rights.Frequently, those in poverty do not have the necessary information about the specific rights grantedby law; in other cases, although they may be aware that their rights have been violated, the moredisadvantaged do not have access to the courts either because they lack the means to retaincounsel or as a result of the insufficient numbers of public defenders available to represent them atno charge. The Office of Public Defender of the Union is charged with providing free representationat the federal level, while the state public defender's offices have this responsibility in the individualstates. Their effectiveness is limited, however, due to their lack of financial and budgetaryautonomy. There are still other cases, including the states of São Paulo, Santa Catarina, andGoiás, in which public defender's offices have yet to be introduced.

The relative lack of trust in the police agencies, the slow pace of the Brazilian legal system,the high levels of impunity witnessed, and the fear of reprisal drive many victims to opt for not filingcriminal complaints with the competent authorities.

To address the problem of restricted access to the legal system in Brazil, first a profoundrestructuring of the public security system must be carried out followed by the correspondingimplementation of associated reforms in the judicial branch; and these are questions the NationalCongress and civil society have tackled in recent years. Recently, the government submitted a draftconstitutional amendment on the reform of the judicial branch for a vote by the National Congress.The objective of the amendment is to speed judicial process and expand access to the justicesystem. The central elements of this reform, which arenow under consideration, include a proposalto federalize crimes against human rights, to impose outside oversight of the judiciary and thepublic prosecution service, and to grant functional and budgetary autonomy to the public defenders service.

Government Actions

25.With a view to ensuring all individuals access to the justice system, the federal governmenthas, since 1996, lent its support to the establishment of Legal Desks ( Balcões de Direitos ). Locatedfor the most part in low-income communities or areas into which public services have limitedaccess, the Legal Desks, maintained in partnership with a number of non-governmentalorganizations, primarily neighborhood associations, provide free legal counseling and conflictmediation services.

Article 3 - Equality of Rights between men and women

The Brazilian State strives to ensure equality of rights between men and women throughprohibitions on discrimination based on gender and the promotion of equality. Article 5 of the 1988Brazilian Constitution establishes that all are equal before the law, without distinctions of any kind.Subsection I of the same article sets forth the principle of equality between men and women byspecifying rights and obligations, pursuant to the Constitution. For its part, paragraph 5 of article226 emphasizes that the rights and obligations of marriage are equally exercised by the man andthe woman. Similarly, Brazil's major Law provides for penalties in cases of discrimination or theviolation of fundamental rights and freedoms. Subsection XX of article 7 forbids differences insalaries, the exercise of positions, and hiring criteria based on sex, age, color, or marital status.Article 3 of the Constitution enshrines as a central objective of the Republic the well-being of all,without prejudice based on origin, race, sex, color, age, or any other form of discrimination.Subsection XX of article 7 prescribes the protection of the employment market for women throughspecific incentives, pursuant to the applicable legislation.

With regard to the problem of domestic violence, the 1988 Constitution is the first inBrazilian history to address the issue, mandating that the State ensure assistance to each individualfamily member through the creation of mechanisms to restrain violence within the family setting.

Concerning the open clause in the Federal Constitution regarding the treaties to which theFederative Republic of Brazil is a party, it is important to highlight that Brazil has been a party to theConvention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination against Women since February 1, 1984, and to the Inter-American Convention on the Prevention, Punishment, and Eradication ofViolence against Women since November 27, 1985. Brazil supported the 1993 Vienna Declaration on Human Rights (which condemns violence against women and affirms that the human rights of women and girls are an inalienable, integral, and indivisible part of the universal human rights); the 1993 Declaration on the Elimination of Violence against Women; the 1994 Cairo Declaration on Population and Development; and the Beijing Declaration and Action Plan approved at the Fourth World Conference on Women's Rights, in 1995. In fact, since 1995 Brazil has been a party to the Inter-American Convention on the Prevention, Punishment, and Eradication of Violence against Women, also known as the "Belém do Pará Convention." The Convention was the first international Human Rights treaty to recognize violence against women as a prevalent phenomenon that affects a large number of women regardless of race, class, religion, age, or any other condition and, therefore, as a problem of regional scope. Additionally, the Brazilian State ratified the Optional Protocol to the CEDAW, in 2002, enabling the submission of individual petitions to the UN's Commission on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women. Finally, in March of this year, the Brazilian State also ratified the Additional Protocol to the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime to Prevent, Suppress, and Punish Trafficking in Persons, especially Women and Children.

At the infra-constitutional level, another provision that warrants mention, in addition to thelaws cited in the introduction, is Law no. 10224/2001, which modifies the Penal Code through theintroduction of a new provision, namely sexual harassment (article 216-A). The act of subjecting an individual to degrading circumstances for purposes of obtaining sexual advantage or favor through imposition of the agent's status as a hierarchical superior or the inherent predominance of such agent's office, position, or function is subject to a sentence of confinement for a period of two years.The expectation is that the norm will help bring the problem of sexist acts involving hierarchicalsubmission into the public light and ensure they are subject to penal sanctions. The approval of Lawno. 10406, of 10 January 2002, enacting the new Brazilian Civil Code, also deserves mention. Thenew Code eliminated a series of patriarchal and sexist notions contained in the 1916 Code, whilerecognizing the rights secured by women over the last several decades.

Beyond these legislative breakthroughs, we should point out the establishment of thePresidency of the Republic's Special Secretariat for Women's Policies, the aim of which is toincorporate gender-oriented considerations in sectoral policies. The Secretariat oversees theNational Council for the Rights of Women, which in its almost 20 years of existence has served asan example of the importance of wedding the efforts of government and civil society.

Factors and difficulties

31.In spite of these legal achievements and expanded opportunities in the job market and high-level positions within the State and civil society, Brazilian women continue to be victimized by an array of violent and discriminatory practices. Domestic violence constitutes a phenomenon that is as long-standing as it is urgent in the country and that poses, at the same time, significant difficulties. The majority of public officials are unaware of the problem, while, moreover, there continue to be insufficient resources available to develop and sustain public policies in this area. Throughout Brazil, there are only 71 shelters for women in conditions of violence, and this, in a country with over 5,000 municipalities. Over the last decade, more than 400 Police Departments specializing in providing assistance to women in conditions of violence have been established in Brazil, representing, to be sure, an important advance, albeit a limited one given the magnitude of the problem.

A survey by Human Rights Watch ("Criminal Injustice x Violence against Women in Brazil,"1991) revealed that of every 100 murders in which women were the victims, 70 occurred within thedomestic setting. Another survey conducted by the National Human Rights Movement - Movimento Nacional de Direitos Humanos- ("Spring Has Departed," 1998) found that 66.3% of those chargedwith the murder of women were partners of the victims. A survey of women over the age of 15performed by the PerseuAbramo Foundation, in 2000, reported that 19% of the respondentsspontaneously recounted acts of violence committed against them by men.

Note that the UN’s own data demonstrates that domestic violence constitutes the principalcause of injury to women between the ages of 15 and 44 worldwide, a figure that exposes theseverity of the problem. Gender violence, which reflects historically unequal and asymmetric powerrelations between men and women, is a serious violation of Human Rights and limits the ability ofwomen to exercise their other rights. According to the Inter-American Development Bank (IADB), one in five women who are absent from work are the victims of physical aggression. Domesticviolence aggravates the problem of the feminization of poverty and, when witnessed by childrenand adolescents, serves as a predictor for aggressive and criminal behavior. Economicallydependent women, for their part, are more vulnerable to domestic violence. It is, then, a viciouscycle which effectively links the violation of civil rights to the violation of social rights.

34.important initiatives have been implemented at the federal level to confront the problem. OnNovember 25, 1998, for example, the Ministry of Justice signed the Community Pact against Intra-Family Violence ( Pacto Comunitário Contra a Violência Intrafamiiiar ). It involves an effort by theUnited Nations and the Brazilian government (Ministry of Justice/National Secretariat for HumanRights), in partnership with non-governmental organizations, to prevent and combat intra-familyviolence in the country. The effort is the product of the "A life free of violence is our right" (" Uma vida iivre sem vlolência é um direito nosso ") campaign promoted by women's organizations, the federalgovernment, and the United Nations. Initiatives of this type offer, in, one way or another, important contributions and close a chapter on a story of invisibility and silence that has historically gone hand in hand with the violence perpetrated against women.

35. Sexual exploitation of young women continues to represent a serious problem in Brazil, having reached alarming levels in some states and at times involving the participation or implicit consent of the authorities. In response to this challenge, the Special Secretariat for Human Rights of the Presidency of the Republic established, in 2003, the National Action Plan Against Sexual Violence and Exploitation of Children and Adolescents (Piano Nacional de Enfrentamento à Violência e Exploração Sexual Infanto-Juvenil ). Also created was the Intersectoral Commission to Confront Violence and Sexual Exploitation of Children and Adolescents ( Comisaão Intersetorial para o Enfrentamento da Violência e Exploração Sexual de Crianças e Adolescentes ), composed of representatives of the federal government, Congress, civil society, and international organizations. This unprecedented joint effort led to an increase in the number of cases investigated by the Federal Police and the formation of a task force within the Public Ministry in every state of the Union for the sole purpose of addressing cases of sexual exploitation of children and adolescents.

The law establishing quotas for electoral lists, meanwhile, has fostered increasedparticipation among women in the political process, although it has not succeeded in reversing thevirtual monopoly enjoyed by men in the country's legislatures and offices of the executive branch. In1994, women occupied 5.7% of the elected public offices, whereas one year later this figure hadrisen to 13.1%. This trend, however, was not sustained, and today women occupy only 8.75% ofthe elected seats in the National Congress. In the 2002 elections, women won the followingpercentages of elected offices: 14.81% in the Senate; 8.19% in the Chamber of Deputies; 12.56%in the Legislative Assemblies; and 11.61% in the local and state Chambers of Deputies. Thisimbalance was also found in elected positions within the executive branch: 7.4% of stategovernorships and 5.7% of mayoral seats.

By contrast, in the judicial branch, where access is secured exclusively through civil serviceexams, the number of women judges has increased progressively. The judicial branch's primarychallenge is to promote women to senior judgeships in higher jurisdictions in the state and federalcourt system.

In general, women continue to receive less than men for performing the same function. InSeptember 1996, the Government Working Group on the Elimination of Discrimination in Work andOccupation ( Grupo de Trabalho Governamanial pars Eliminar a Discriminação em Matéria de Emprego e Ocupação - GTEDEO) was established, with the participation of the National Council forthe Rights of Women. Its main purpose is to eliminate discrimination based on sex and promotenational legislation against discrimination and Convention 111 of the international Labor Organization- Another of the central objectives of the Group is to ensure compliance with Law no. 9029/95, which prohibits and establishes penalties for requiring proof of pregnancy and sterilization certificates, or other discriminatory practices, for purposes of hiring or maintaining employment.

On the basis of the conclusions of the April 1998 seminar "Promoting Equality between Menand Women in the Public Service" {" Promoção da Igualdade entre Homens e Mulheres na Função Pública "), the National Secretariat for Human Rights and the National Council for the Rights ofWomen presented a series of proposed actions to promote equal opportunities between men andwomen in the public service, which was then submitted to all government ministries forincorporation in their action plans.

Growing awareness of the problem, moreover, has contributed to the expansion andconsolidation of several important projects developed by NGOs and entities representing civilsociety. Entities such as the NGO Themis - AssessoriaJurídica e Estudos de Gênero (PortoAlegre), the União de Mulheres (São Paulo), the Instituto de AdvocaciaPública (São Paulo), theSOS-Mulher (Campinas), and the SOS-Mulher (São Jose dos Campos), among others, developprograms to train "popular public prosecutors" to prepare community leaders, who, through theirrole as multiplier agents, offer legal assistance services to women in need or who have beenvictimized by discrimination or violence.

Through these actions, the Brazilian State seeks to fulfill in very concrete terms therecommendation of the Human Rights Committee (item 30 of document CCPR/C/79/Add.66, of 24July 1996) with regard to the implementation of measures to combat violence against women.

Another issue that warrants consideration involves reproductive rights. The currentgovernment has committed itself to undertake a review of the repressive legislation governingabortion so that the principle of free choice in the exercise of individual sexuality is fully respected. Itis not the purview of the State to interfere in this area of individual autonomy, although it does havea duty to offer all necessary information and assure access to the various methods of contraceptionin order to ensure people are provided with the ideal conditions to prevent unwanted pregnancies.The 1988 Federal Constitution recognized the universality of the right to healthcare and mandatedthat the State provide services in this area at no charge. It also guarantees the right to familyplanning, thereby anticipating the recommendation of the World Conference on Population andDevelopment held in Cairo. The right to family planning was officially ordered by Federal Law, in1898, with the introduction of the principle of full healthcare for women in all stages of their lives,assuring, in this way access to reversible contraceptive methods and recognizing the right to tuballigations and vasectomies. The same legislation set out guarantees against abuses and imposed or manipulative sterilization practices.

However, the autonomy assured by the Law with regard to a woman's decision to not bearchildren has yet to be fully implemented. Difficulties in access to contraception and the smallnumber of services available to assist women who have been the victims of sexual violence play arole in the problem of unwanted pregnancies and back-alley abortions, which, in turn, predisposewomen to maternal death. Abortion is currently the fifth leading cause of maternal death in Brazil.

The Brazilian Penal Code dates to 1940. Despite the reforms that have been introduced inthe Code, some discriminatory clauses persist, such as subsection VII of article 107, which providesfor waiving punishment when the sexual aggressor is married to the victim. That same legislation,meanwhile, mandates stiff penalties for abortion, except in cases of imminent risk to the mother andpregnancy induced by rape.

Brazilian legislation has not yet been adjusted to conform to the recommendation of thePlan of Action of the 1995 World Conference on Women, held in Beijing, in which abortion wasdefined as a public health issue. The Brazilian government is hopeful that the National Congresswill consider one of the draft bills now in Congress aimed at correcting the repressive manner inwhich abortion is today addressed.

Through the Special Secretariat for Women's Policies and the Ministry of Health, theBrazilian government has carried out several actions to reduce morbimortality caused by abortion. Aspecific protocol was introduced requiring notification in the event of maternal death; reviving theNational Commission against Maternal Mortality ( Comissão Nacional Contra a Mortalidade Materna ); implementing prevention Committees in all state capitals and municipalities with morethan 100,000 residents; establishing the "Dial Women's Health" hotline designed to provide accessto information on existing services; and mobilizing the country for a debate on sexual andreproductive rights with an emphasis on family planning and conscious and involved paternity.

Finally, we should mention the efforts to end violence perpetrated against women, carriedforward in conformity with established international guidelines, specifically the Belém do ParáConvention cited above. Law no. 10714, of 13 August 2003, authorized the executive branch toestablish a nationwide telephone number to receive complaints regarding acts of violencecommitted against women. On November 24, 2003, the law requiring mandatory notification ofpolice authorities in cases in which women victims of violence receive public and private healthservices was published. This legislation represented an unprecedented initiative aimed at givingwide publicity to the plight of women subjected to acts of violence. Further, in response to the recommendation of the 29th Session of the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women ( Comitê para a Eliminação da Discriminação contra a Mulher - CEDAW), the Secretariat for Women's Policies established the Inter-Ministerial Working Group to develop proposals for legislative measures designed to limit domestic and family violence against women. The group's efforts have been based on the work of a consortium of non-governmental organizations, in what represents yet another indication of the utility of government-NGO partnerships. The results of the working group's efforts will be submitted to the National Congress as a draft bill introduced by the executive branch.

Article 4 - Restrictive measures in emergency situations

Measures that restrict rights may only be decreed in a "State of Defense" or "State ofSiege," which allow for the imposition of extraordinary constitutional laws. According to article 136 ofthe Federal Constitution, the President of the Republic has the authority, following consultationswith the Council of the Republic and the National Defense Council, to decree a State of Defense forpurposes of preserving or quickly reestablishing public order or the social peace in restricted andspecific locations in the event these are threatened with serious or imminent institutional instabilityor struck by widespread calamities.

The decree enacting a State of Defense shall determine the measure's time and duration,which may not exceed thirty days (one extension of the established period is permitted if theconditions that gave rise to the act persist); specify the areas covered; and indicate the applicablecoercive measures, among the following options: a) restrictions on the freedom of association; b)restrictions on the secrecy of correspondence; c) restrictions on the secrecy of telegraph andtelephone communications; d) the occupation and temporary use of public assets and services inthe event of a public calamity, for which the pertinent authorities shall be accountable to the Unionwith respect to the associated costs or resulting damages.

The National Congress shall have the duty and authority to examine the decree institutingthe State of Defense.

Similarly, the President of the Republic may enact a State of Siege, following consultationswith the Council of the Republic and the National Defense Council and the authorization of theNational Congress, in cases of serious unrest with nationwide implications, evidence demonstratingthe ineffectiveness of the measures adopted during a State of Defense, or the declaration of a Stateof War or in response to armed foreign aggression.

52. As with the State of Defense, the decree instituting a State of Siege shall determine the time and duration of the measure and indicate the applicable coercive measures. In cases of internal unrest or the ineffectiveness of a State of Defense, only the following restrictive measures may be imposed: a) the obligation to remain in specific locations; b) detention in structures not used to house individuals charged or convicted with common criminal acts; c) restrictions relative to the inviolability of correspondence, the secrecy of communications, the channeling of information, and freedom of the press and radio and TV broadcasting; d) suspension of the freedom of association; e) the search and seizure of homes; f) intervention in companies providing public services; and f) the requisition of assets. In the event of armed international conflict, individual rights shall be assured by the rules relative to Humanitarian Law, including the Geneva Convention and Additional Protocols, all ratified by Brazil.

In contrast to the State of Defense, the State of Siege may not be decreed for more thanthirty days, nor may it be extended for a greater period of time, unless the situation of war or foreignarmed aggression that prompted the measure persists.

Upon termination of the State of Defense or the State of Siege, the pertinent effects shallalso be terminated, while not exonerating the act's executors or agents of responsibility for illicitactions committed during such act's effectiveness. Neither the State of Defense nor the State ofSiege constitutes a situation of arbitrary rule, but is, rather, constitutionally ordered and subject topolitical controls (exercised by the legislature) and judicial controls (exercised by the judiciary).Since the promulgation of the 1988 Constitution, no State of Defense or State of Siege has beeninstituted, nor has the possibility of such a measure been considered.

In permitting the adoption of restrictive measure, neither the State of Defense nor the Stateof Siege represents a violation of the obligations imposed by international law or discriminatoryconduct of any type. Brazil's legal order adheres to the provision of paragraph 2 of article 4 of theCovenant, which prohibits the repeal of articles 6, 7, 8 (paragraphs 1 and 2), 11, 15, 16, and 18 ofthe Covenant during a State of Defense or a State of Siege.

Article 5 - Extension of rights

56.In an unprecedented move, the 1988 Brazilian Constitution incorporated internationalHuman Rights treaties in its Declaration of Rights, as set out in paragraph 2 of article 5. Pursuant tothis open constitutional clause, the Brazilian legal order identifies three categories of fundamental rights: a) the rights expressly granted by the Constitution; b) implicit rights (arising from constitutionally adopted regime and principles); and c) the rights enumerated in international treaties to which Brazil is a party. Subsection IV of paragraph 4 of article 60 of the 1988 Constitution also contains an unprecedented provision mandating individual rights and guarantees among the Constitution's "immutable clauses" (" cláusulas pétreas "). No amendment intended to abolish individual rights or guarantees is permitted.

Article 6 - Right to life

a) The right to life and the prohibition on the death penalty

Article 5 of the 1988 Brazilian Constitution ensures the inviolability of the right to life.Subsection XLVII of the same article prohibits the death penalty, except in cases of declared war,as specified in article 84, subsection XIX, of the Constitution. The 1988 Constitution mandates thatthe President of the Republic may grant pardons and commute sentences for all convictions (including the death penalty in cases of war). The death penalty was last applied in Brazil in 1855under the imperial regime.

The Brazilian State has been a party to the American Convention on Human Rights sinceSeptember 25, 1992. Paragraph 3 of article 4 of the Convention forbids the reenactment of thedeath penalty in States in which it has been abolished. The 1988 Constitution enshrines individualrights and guarantees as an immutable clause ( cláusula pétrea ), thereby prohibiting anyamendment intended to rescind those rights and guarantees. Thus, during the time the 1988constitutional order is in force, the right to life and the prohibition of the death penalty shall remainfully safeguarded.

b) Genocide

Brazil has been a party to the Convention on the Prevention and Repression of the Crime ofGenocide since April 15, 1952. Internal Law no. 2889/56 defines and sets out penalties for thecrime of genocide by applying precepts contained in the Convention against Genocide to theBrazilian legal order. With the advent of Law 8072/90, genocide was henceforth considered ahideous and non-bailable crime not subject to mercy or amnesty. The crime of genocide isspecifically defined as the act of killing members of a national, ethnic, religious, or racial group inorder to bring about its total or partial destruction. Additionally, in light of Brazil's accession to theInternational Criminal Court, a draft bill on the crime of genocide, as defined by the Rome Statute,will be presented to the National Congress for purposes of applying the norms of the internationalcourt in the domestic sphere.

The 1988 Constitution establishes the promotion of the general well-being, withoutprejudice based on origin, race, sex, color, age or any other form of discrimination as a fundamental objective of the Federative Republic of Brazil. The values of tolerance, pluralism, and respect for differences make up the distinctive constitutional feature of the Brazilian Legal Democratic State.

c) Disappeared Persons

61. The period of military rule in Brazil, which extended from 1964 to 1985, was marked in the political sphere, specifically in the 1970s, by torture, arbitrary detentions, extrajudicial executions, and forced disappearances committed by agents of the state security apparatus against political opponents. With the restoration of democracy, entities representing civil society demanded investigations aimed at locating the remains of the disappeared and identifying those responsible for the disappearances. A significant achievement was secured in 1995 with the approval of Law no. 9140, which officially recognized that the deaths of the disappeared had been a consequence of their political activities during the dictatorship, assigned responsibility for those deaths to the State, and granted compensation to the victims' families. Law no. 10875, of 1 June 2004, transformed Provisional Measure no. 176, of 3 March 2004, into law and adjusted the law cited above, expanding the period subject to compensation for disappearances connected to the military regime, expanding the legal scope for extending compensation to the families of individuals who disappeared for their political activities, while consolidating the role of the Special Commission before the Special Secretariat for Human Rights with respect to the payment of compensations. The State's official recognition of the disappeared and of those whose deaths in law enforcement and associated facilities may not have been due to natural causes represented an important step in correcting the historical record.

62. Article 8 of the Constitutional Provisions Act of the 1988 Constitution grants amnesty to those individuals who were the targets of exceptional acts during the period extending from September 18, 1946, to the promulgation of the Constitution for purely political motives. The Special Amnesty Commission ( Comissão Especial de Anistia ) was established in Brasilia to grant political amnesties. In 1988, the state of São Paulo formed the Special Amnesty Commission ( Comissão Especial de Anistia ) at the state level to process and order the measures specified in article 8 of the Transitional Constitutional Provisions Act. The states of Rio Grande do Sul, Paraná, and Santa Catarina also approved specific laws granting political detainees who were subjected io torture and mistreatment during the dictatorship the right to compensation.

d) Peaceful Resolution of Conflicts and Limitations on Nuclear Arms

63. One of the principles that guide Brazil In the context of its international relation is the peaceful resolution of conflicts and the defense of peace, as set forth in subsections VI and VII of article 4 of the 1988 Constitution. The Union has the duty and authority to develop nuclear services and installations in the country. However, the Constitution only permits the use of nuclear energy for peaceful ends and with the express consent of the National Congress, pursuant to article 21 subsection XXIII, "a," of the text. Brazil is also a signatory to treaties that proscribe nuclear arms, such as the Treaty of Tlateloco, encompassing the Latin American region, the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Arms (NPT), and the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty (CTBT).

e) Measures adopted to increase the population's life expectancy and reduce mortality

By virtue of the public policies adopted by the federal and state governments, we canidentify a general trend toward reduced infant mortality rates, although these remain relatively high.

According to UNICEF's "The State of Children - 1998" report Brazil ranked seventy-ninthwith regard to mortality rates for children under the age of 5, pointing to a statistical probability ofdeath between birth and age 5 equivalent to 52 per 1,000 live births. A marked decline in infantmortality rates is evident, however, in analyzing the 1990-2000 period: from 48.3 deaths per 1,000children to 29.6. This corresponds to a reduction on the order of 40%. The government hasimplemented various actions to reduce infant mortality levels. The community health agentsprogram, for example, has contributed significantly to this effort by providing assistance to 6.7million Brazilians in 1996 alone.

At the same time, the existence of acute regional disparities must be highlighted. Themortality rates in the more highly developed states are far better than those registered in thecountry's most impoverished states. On this point, it is important to mention Brazil's sharp incomeinequality. The average annual income of the wealthiest 20% is US$ 18,563, a total 30 timesgreater than that recorded among the poorest 20%, who earn an average of US$ 578 per year.

Another factor that deserves to be mentioned is the decline in the number of children livingwith HIV. Whereas, in 1991, this segment represented 6.3% of all cases, in 2000, it accounted foronly 3.7% of all cases. The most positive aspect of this data involves the approximately 50%reduction in vertical transmission (mother to child) rates as a consequence of the introduction ofuniversal anti-retroviral treatments, in 1996. From 1991 to 2000, the rate of reported cases of HIVinfection among individuals under the age of 19 constituted a mere 4.9% of the total. Brazil's policyof universal access to anti-retroviral medications established at the beginning of the 1990s andconsolidated by Law 9313, of 1996, provides for highly active anti-retroviral therapy (HAART) for allpatients infected with HIV, including children and adolescents. Through December 2001, there were113,000 people receiving treatment, of which 6,100 were under the ace of 13.

68. Another area of children's healthcare that has shown progress involves vaccination coverage, which between 1995 and 2002 reached 95% for the triple DTP vaccine and 100% for the poliomyelitis, BCG, and measles vaccines among children under the age of 1. Poliomyelitis was eradicated in 1994, and Brazil has registered no autoctonous cases of measles since 2001. Furthermore, the country has brought diphtheria, whooping cough, and the more virulent strains of tuberculosis under control.

Maternal mortality rates have also dropped. Between 2001 and 2002, a decline of 28% wasrecorded in the country's state capitals. In 2001, for every 100,000 children born alive, 71 womendied during pregnancy, delivery, or post-partum. These figures have prompted the government topursue policies to reduce the number of cesareans performed, given that the risk of death duringthese procedures is five times higher than during natural births. Other important initiatives, such asspecialized training for obstetric nurses, the implementation of the High-Risk Pregnancy AssistanceSystem ( Sistema de Atenção à Gestação de Alto Risco ), which has invested on the order of R$ 100million reais, and the Pre-Natal and Birth Humanization Program ( Programa de Humanização do Pré -Natal e Nascimento ) implemented in 2000, have constituted vital achievements.

In 1940, the average life expectancy of the Brazilian population was only 39 years. By thebeginning of the 21st century, that figure had risen to 68 years and is expected to reach 80 years by2025. Currently, there are 14.1 million people in Brazil over the age of 60, corresponding to 9.1% ofthe population. Within 20 years, the country's elderly population will total 32 million, or 15% of thetotal. This dramatic shift in the country's demographic make up presents new challenges topolicymakers, beginning with healthcare, which will come under increasing pressure as chronicdegenerative diseases, higher hospital internation costs, among other factors, will have to beaddressed. With this in mind, Brazil recently approved new legislation to protect the rights of theelderly: Law no. 10741/2003, the Elderly Statute, representing a new and significant achievement.

At the same time, IBGE data reveals that a black child has a greater probability to die thana white child from causes linked to the lack of proper sewage, potable water, education, andreasons connected to difficulties in accessing the public health system. A black child has a 67%greater chance of dying before the age of 5.

f) Traffic Fatalities

72.Another problem that has sparked concern within the government concerns the high levelsof fatalities due to traffic accidents. !n Brazil traffic accidents are among the primary causes ofdeath. The Ministry of Justice, and since 2003 the Ministry of Cities, through the National TrafficDepartment ( Departamento Nacional de Trânsito ), has implemented a series of programs to reduce

the rate of traffic-related fatalities, including the National Traffic Statistics System ( Sistema National de Estatística de Trânsito ) and the approval of the new Brazilian Traffic Code - Law no. 9503/97. The new Traffic Code introduces "traffic crimes," as they are referred to, defined as the conduct in which the driver of a vehicle jeopardizes the well-being, life, safety, and physical integrity of other persons. Data from the Ministry of Health provides an idea of the seventy of the problem: each year between 30,000 and 35,000 people die in traffic accidents in Brazil.

Factors and Difficulties

73. Throughout the 1980s and 1990s, the largest Brazilian cities registered increases in violent crime rates accompanied by shifts in criminal activity. The annual murder rate in modern-day Brazil is 27 per 100,000 of population. In Brazil's metropolitan centers, where the problem of violence is most acute, murder has primarily affected poor youth between the ages of 15 and 24. According to the most recent survey on this subject conducted by the IBGE in April 2004, if we consider for computational purposes only those murders that affect the male population, Brazil's murder rate rises to 49.7 per 100,000 of population. If we focus our field of inquiry on young Brazilian men, the murder rate reaches 95.6 murders per 100,000 of population. In the state of Rio de Janeiro, the murder rate for that same category of individuals reveals the alarming figure of 205 murders per 100,000 of population. This tragedy has produced demographic shifts in some regions of the country similar to those witnessed in times of war, and the issue of public safety is today one of the nation's top concerns.

I) Police Violence

74. Police violence, especially lethal police violence, continues to represent a serious problem. The civil and military police are responsible for law enforcement in the individual states. The duties of the civil police, which are principally investigative, correspond to those of a judicial police force, while the military police is charged with concrete preventive law enforcement activities. A high number of deaths continues to occur in confrontations involving the police. Generally, the victims of police homicides have been criminal suspects, inmates, children and adolescents in high-risk settings, as well as rural inhabitants and union leaders. In the state of Rio de Janeiro, deaths caused by police action have risen 298.3% over the last seven years: from 300 cases, in 1997, to 1,195 cases, in 2003. In the state of São Paulo, deaths resulting from police activities have increased 263.17%, from 239 victims, in 1996, to 868, in 2003.

75. Police violence against criminal suspects has also been a constant feature of Brazilian law enforcement. The victims are invariably poor. The majority are young and black. When approached on the streets, they are commonly treated in a disrespectful or even offensive manner. For many police officers, those who are already socially marginalized are deemed, implicitly, "suspects." Cases of verbal and physical aggression by police officers are common in Brazil, as are cases of racial discrimination and homophobia. There are increasing reports of sexual crimes and violence perpetrated by police officers against women and even adolescents. Various cases of individuals targeted and killed by police officers on roads and at checkpoints simply because they failed to follow an instruction or were suspected of car theft provide sufficient illustration of the wholly inadequate levels of preparation that precede and lay the groundwork for these kinds of criminal acts.

Government Actions

76. One of the central problems as regards police violence lies in the "law of silence," by which eyewitnesses refuse to clarify the facts of an incident for fear of reprisal. Thus, the establishment of an effective system to protect witnesses who have been threatened is essential for addressing the problem. The first witness protection program in Brazil was created in Pernambuco at the end of the 1990s through a joint initiative between the NGO Gabinete de AssessoriaJurídicadasOrganizaçõesPopulares - GAJOP and the government. The Pernambuco program is known as PROVITA (the same name assigned to the national witness protection program). Rio Grande do Sul, meanwhile, approved the first Brazilian legislation enacting a law to assist the victims of violence and a witness protection program, in 1998, designated PROTEGE. Today, there are sixteen state-level witness protections operating in partnership with the federal government, in addition to the federal program, which is responsible for cases of police violence in the remaining states. All of Brazil's witness protection programs lack adequate investments, a fact that has reduced the potential for expanding these programs. Similarly, a guideline ordering the procedures for providing witnesses and their families with new identities has yet to be developed. Notwithstanding these limitations, the witness protection programs - a recent phenomenon in Brazil - are essential instruments and have produced important results.

77. In 1996, Law no. 7865, which introduced the National Arms System, was approved. The law establishes the conditions for registering arms and defines the illegal possession of arms by civilians or law enforcement and security agents as a crime, in that same year, Law no. 9299, which transfers jurisdictional authority over crimes against life committed by military police officers - an issue that will be considered further in the comments to article 14 of the Covenant - from military to civilian courts, was approved. In 2003, the National Congress approved new and advanced legislation ordering gun control in Brazil by enacting Law no. 10826/2003, known as the "Disarmament Statue." The measure significantly restricts the ability to obtain and carry guns and calls for a national plebiscite, in 2005, on the enactment of a total gun ban. All opinion polls to date have shown over 70% approval for the proposed permanent prohibition on the purchase and possession of guns by civilians in Brazil.

III. Detainees

The Federal Constitution and Brazilian legislation contain advanced provisions regulatingthe treatment of detainees. However, the conditions in Brazil's prison system are incapable ofassuring effective application of these precepts, due to overcrowding in detention facilities andcompromised execution of the duties the system is charged with fulfilling, to violence perpetrated bypolice officers and prison guards, or to violence incited by the detainees themselves stemming fromdisputes among rival factions.

According to data from December 2003, there are approximately 308,000 inmates in theBrazilian penitentiary system, of which 139,000 are incarcerated in a closed regime, 31,000 are in asemi-open regime, 67,000 are under provisional arrest, and 2,500 are held under detention orders.Of this total, 240,000 are housed in the system itself, translating in a shortage of 60,000 vacancies,while 68,000 are in public security units. The prison population is 96% male and 4% female. In spiteof the difficulty in maintaining updated data on the state prison systems, the National PenitentiaryDepartment of the Ministry of Justice monitors the temporal and spatial trends associated with theshortage of vacancies in federal units in an effort to foster a more disciplined consideration of thepolicies adopted. The effort, in place since November 2003, is based on studies of the historicprofile of the Brazilian penitentiary system and frequent submissions of questionnaires to the stategovernments. It establishes, furthermore, conditions on all agreements ordering the concession ofbudget resources of the National Penitentiary Fund to the states.

IV. Children and Adolescents in Situations of Risk Street Children

80. One of the main problems that draw the attention of Brazilian society with regard to children and adolescents at risk refers to those who depend on the streets for their survival, commonly known as "street children." The problem has been widespread, particularly since the end of the 1970s.

81. Various studies and surveys have been performed in the country to estimate the number of street children, the root causes of the phenomenon, and the most effective means for "removing children from the streets." Today the number of children and adolescents who actually live on the streets without any family ties is far below the usual estimates of millions. In the city of São Paulo, the largest city in South America, for example, a 1996 survey conducted by the Municipal Secretariat for the Family and Social Weil-Being ( Secretaria Municipal de Família e Bem-Estar Social) indicated that nearly 3,000 (three thousand) children and adolescents were regularly on the streets, although they did not live on the streets, while a mere four hundred and sixty-six (466) actually lived on the streets.

The majority of these children spend their days on the streets selling small objects, sweetsand candies, committing petty thefts, or panhandling. At night, many of them return to their families.However, the situation of those who are forced to sleep on the streets of the largest cities is direindeed, exposed as they are to all forms of exploitation, drug use, and child prostitution. Althoughthe underlying cause for this is related to poverty and misery, other factors are equally important,such as mistreatment and abuse, changes in behaviors that trigger family crises andestrangements, the lack of educational, sports, and recreational programs that are compatible withthe needs and aspirations of young people.

Prior to the enactment of the 1988 Constitution and the Child and Adolescent Statute, Lawno. 8069, of 13 July 1990, the problem was addressed through repressive measures involving theremoval of children and adolescents to boarding facilities and shelters. In the mid-1980s, allegingthat the government's actions were not only ineffective, but harmful and unjust as well, a groupformed by technical staff from what was then the FUNABEM, with the support of UNICEF, sought,with the sponsorship of non-governmental organizations, information on the alternative assistanceefforts that were then in place throughout the country. The product of this groundbreaking groupwas designated the “Alternative Street Children Assistance Project" {" Projeto Alternativas Comunitárias de Atendimento a Meninos de Rua ") of the Pastoral do MenordaArquidiocese deSão Paulo.

In 1985, one of the most influential non-governmental organizations in the long struggle onbehalf of the rights of children and adolescents in the country was created: the National StreetChildren's Movement ( Movimento National Meninos e Meninas de Rua ), which, together with otherHuman Rights NGOs, particularly the Pastoral do Menor, played a central role in the elaboration ofarticle 227 of the Constitution, the development of the Child and Adolescent Statute ( Estatuto da Criança e do Adolescente - ECA), and the dissemination of the principles and dictates of theConvention. The movement also contributed, on the basis of the experiences of its activists, to thereformulation of the programs aimed at fulfilling public policies.

Sexual Abuse and Exploitation

Article 227, paragraph 4, of the Federal Constitution establishes that the law shall severelypunish those responsible for committing acts of sexual abuse, violence, and exploitation againstchildren and adolescents. With regard to violence perpetrated within the domestic setting, article226, paragraph 8, of the Constitution mandates that the State shall assure assistance for eachfamily member by creating mechanisms to prevent violence within families.

Pursuant to the principle stipulated in the Constitution and articles 240, 241, and 244-A ofthe Child and Adolescent Statute, the following acts are defined as crimes: to present, produce, sell,supply, broadcast, or publish, through any means of communication, including the World Wide Webor the Internet, photographs or images containing pornographic or sexually explicit scenes involvingchildren or adolescents; or to subject a child or adolescent to prostitution or sexual exploitation. Inaccordance with article 244-A, added to the Statute by means of Law no. 9975, of 23 June 2000,the owner, manager, or party responsible for a location in which a child or adolescent has beenforced to submit to prostitution or sexual exploitation shall also be considered to have committed acrime subject to a mandatory sentence and repeal of the property and operating license.

The sexual abuse and exploitation of children and adolescents is a complex phenomenonthat is difficult to confront. It is part of a social and historic context marked by endemic violence withdeep cultural roots. Only in the last decade have children been afforded the legal classification ofindividuals with rights. Previously, they were defined as the object of guardianship, whose soleobligation was obedience and submission given their inherent lack of capacity and status as minors.The rupture with past standards and the introduction of a new culture based on protection andrespect for human rights requires bringing to light and preventing abuses in the development offamily and educational relationships, as well as protecting the vulnerable and witnesses and holdingaggressors accountable for their actions.

Sexual violence against children and adolescents in Brazil was first addressed at thepolitical level in the 1990s, when the phenomenon, a product of social, gender, racial, and ethnicinequality, was confronted by society at large as an issue related to the national and internationalstruggle for the human rights of children and adolescents, as extolled in the Constitution of theRepublic of Brazil, the Child and Adolescent Statute (Law no. 8069/90), and the InternationalConvention on the Rights of the Child. This period, which represented an historic juncture in thefight for the rights of the child and the adolescent, was marked by a dynamic process of coordinatedaction, mobilization, and consolidated experiences through which Brazilian society was spurred toview the act denouncing sexual violence as a way to confront the problem.

In 1993, the House of Representatives established a Parliamentary inquiry Commission ( Comissâo Pariamentar de Inquérito - CPI) on Child Prostitution in Brazil. In the years following theCPI, sexual violence against children and adolescents was confronted in Brazil with greaterintensity both by society at large and the media, on the one hand, and the government, thelegislature, and international bodies, on the other. This process shed greater light on thephenomenon and was accompanied by studies, surveys, campaigns, and the development ofdatabases.

This movement triggered the emergence of assistant programs, investments directedtoward training social agents, efforts by police forces focused on protecting children andadolescents, and specific legislation. The first initiative was an assistance program launched by thefederal government to aid child and adolescent victims of sexual abuse and exploitation carried outthrough the Brazil Child Citizenship Program ( Programa Brasil Criança Cidadã ) and the Cunhantãand Curumim Project ( Projeto Cunhantã e Curumim ) in the state of Amazonas.

The ratification of Convention 182 of the International Labor Organization (ILO), which setsforth guidelines that include sexual exploitation among the demeaning and degrading forms of workto which adolescents may not be subjected, is among the various initiatives undertaken by theBrazilian government.

After obtaining congressional approval for the Optional Protocol to the Convention on theRights of the Child on the Sale of Children, Child Prostitution, and Child Pornography, Brazildeposited the document with the UN Treaty Section in New York on January 27, 2004. The Protocolwas promulgated by Decree no. 5007, of 8 March 2004.

In February 2003, the National Congress formed a Joint Parliamentary Inquiry Commission( Comissão Pariamentar Mista de Inquérito - CPMI), on the initiative of a member of the Chamber ofDeputies and two Senators, to investigate cases of child and adolescent sexual violence andprostitution rings in Brazil. The CPMI presented its final report on July 7, 2004. During the course ofits work, the CPMI visited 22 Brazilian states, convened 34 meetings and public hearings, and held20 proceedings.

The cases investigated point to the existence of serious forms of exploitation - prostitutionrings, domestic and international trafficking, sex tourism networks offering services to foreignvisitors, sexual violence and abuse committed against adolescents with disabilities - practicedwithin those spheres "occupied by the economic and political elites." On the basis of these findings,indictments were handed down against politicians - parliamentarians, local councilmen, mayors, military police officers, businessmen from various industries, religious leaders, advisors, drivers, specific groups, fathers, mothers among others. The large minority of child 2nd adolescent sexual! exploitation cases are organized within a single, intricate web of networks; even when small or badly organized, these groups must be investigated with the same “last generation" techniques "(...) used to break up the narco-trafficking, money-laundering networks (...) of organized crime"

95.Beyond investigating and reporting on and referring cases to the Public Prosecuting Office,the CPMI recommended measures to improve the implementation of the basic sectoral publicpolicies now under development

Child Labor

Although child labor exists for the most part in response to economic conditions in whichfamilies, unable to cover their expenses, employ their children, it is also true that the problemcannot be reduced simply to economic circumstances. In theory, this would lead us to theconclusion that once misery is eradicated child labor will instantly disappear.

It is essential to clearly state the prevalence of a negative, but widely accepted, paradigm inBrazilian society, one often reproduced by the media and government authorities themselves. Itinvolves the rhetorical argument that juxtaposes work and crime, whereby the idle child ispurportedly more susceptible to enlistment in illicit activities. One can challenge this false paradigmon the basis of two main points. The first is that surveys of the prison population in Brazil show thata significant percentage of inmates began working at an early age, suggesting that they wouldactually have benefited more from not working. By contrast, one can legitimately suppose that thevery fact that they were forced to devote their childhood and adolescence to work and not educationmade them easier prey for criminal activity. The second and decisive associated point is that thereal paradigm - a positive one, at that - can be drawn from a juxtaposition of work and education.True freedom, the only real independence available to the individual, stems from knowledge, fromthe ability to perceive the world and oneself, and results in considered choices and cognizance ofthe need to integrate oneself in society in a healthy and civilized manner.

Based on this, we can offer a succinct illustration of the principles and actions that haveguided the efforts in Brazil to eradicate child and adolescent labor can be drawn.

In 1992, the National Family Survey ( Pesquisa National por Amostra de Domicílios-PNAD), reported that there were 4,092,580 children and adolescents between the ages of 5 and 14working throughout the country. This statistic was alarming in light of the political, economic, and social difficulties the country faced at the time and, above all, the absence of strong and integrated public policies aimed at preventing and repressing child labor.

Over the last decade, a radically different picture emerged. On the basis of policiesdesigned to bring together the various levels of government (federal, state, and municipal) and civilsociety, a structure of bodies and entities working together to coordinate their efforts, combine theircapacities, and achieve significant results was built.

Data from the PNAD indicated that in 2001 there were 2,232,974 children and adolescentsbetween the ages of 5 to 14 engaged in work. This figure represents a reduction of 45.46% in a ten-year period. Between 1999 and 2001 alone, 740,000 children between the ages of 5 and 14 wereremoved from work, amounting to a 24.86% decline.

As an illustration of the progress made, the table below presents the number of personsbetween the ages of 5 and 14 engaged in work in Brazil, namely those who worked at least onehour during the week covered by the survey (the last full week of September):

Number of persons between 5 and 14 years engaged in work in Brazil

Year	Children 5 to 9 years	Children 10 to 14 years	Total
1992	613,843	3,478,737	4,092,580
1993	526;2l2	3,431,764	3,957,976
1995	518,770	3,269,553	3,788.323
1998	402,016	2,532,965	2,887,505
1999*	375,376	2,587,281	2,908,341
2001	383,51	1,935,269	2,231,974

Source: IBGE – Pesquisa Nacional por Amostra de Domicílios.

* Figure corrected on the basis of 2000 Census

Brazil – Child Labor by age group – 2001 and 2002

Age Group		Year
		2001		2002
5 to 10 years		495,924		483,938
11 to 15 years		2,598,323		2,538,993
Total		3,094,247		3,022,931

Source: IBGE/PNAD 2001 and 2002.

Note: Rural areas of the North Region not included, except for the state of Tocantins.

Obs: Data relative to child labor for 2003 will only be available at the end of 2004.

According to the PNAD data, child laborers are concentrated in small family enterprises especially in the agricultural sector (58.7% of working children between the ages of 5 and 14 years), where they receive no remuneration. On the basis of this information, it can be stated that many of these individuals do not perform activities that fall within the strict definition of work, given that they execute small tasks and are not subject to regular work obligations. Similarly, the weekly workload of one hour per week used in the survey is not sufficient to characterize a full workday. The conclusion drawn from the information presented, then, is that the contingent of children involved in child labor activities in the country could be reduced even further than that reflected in the published figures.

Recruitment of Children and Adolescents into Narco -Trafficking

The issue of child labor involved in narco-trafficking deserves special attention, for itinvolves morally reprehensible work that places the child and the adolescent at great risk. That iswhy ILO Convention 182, to which Brazil is a signatory, includes this form of labor among the worstforms of child labor.

In the area of law enforcement, the trafficking of narcotics is the purview of the FederalPolice. Adolescents identified as participating in this activity are referred to the Public ProsecutingOffice. The Public Prosecuting Office then proposes, where applicable, the actions prescribed in theChild and Adolescent Statute (ECA) to the Specialized Child and Juvenile Court (JustiçaEspecializadadaInfãncia e daJuventude), which may apply the socio-educational measures aimedat rehabilitating the offender.

With regard to prevention, mention should be made to the National Antidrug Secretariat (Secretaria National Antidrogas - SENAD), which is linked to the Office of Institutional Security(Gabinete de Segurança Institutional) of the Presidency of the Republic. SENAD operates inprevention, treatment, rehabilitation, and reintegration activities on the basis of the directiveslaunched by the National Antidrug Policy (Política National Antidrogas). The entity sponsorstraining courses centered on the basic principles of drug use prevention for its target audience,made up primarily of educators from around the country, although in fact the focus of those coursesare their students. It is a strategic initiative spurred by studies and analyses indicating significantpotential for illicit drug use in childhood or adolescence.

Government Actions Street Children

The federal government does not have a specific program devoted to reducing the number

of street children. However, there is a variety of programs geared toward addressing the problem,

including, among them, the Child Labor Eradication Program (Programs de Erradicação do

Trabalho Infant!!- PET!), which will be described in greater detail below. Two other programs that

contribute to the effort against this problem include the Literate Brazil (BrasilAlfabetizado) and the

Educated Brazil (BrasilEscolarizado) programs, both run by the Ministry of Education. The first is

an initiative aimed at eliminating illiteracy, a goal set forth in article 208 of the Federal Constitution:

The duty of the State in the area of education shall be fulfilled by ensuring the following: I -

mandatory and free elementary education, including the assurance of its free offer to all those who

did not have access to it at the proper age." The objective of the second program is to universalize

education by ensuring that all children, adolescents, young persons, and adults are enrolled and

remain in school. According to the IBGE's 2000 demographic census, nearly 3.9 million children

between the ages of 4 and 6 years neither are in school, as well as approximately 1.5 million

children between the ages of 7 and 14 years, who should be attending pre-school or primary

school, respectively.

Along these same lines, there are also programs under the direction of the Ministry ofSocial Development and Hunger Alleviation: the Social Childhood, Adolescence, and YouthProtection ( Proteção Social à Infância , à Adolescencia e à Juventude ) program, the purpose ofwhich is to assist disadvantaged children, adolescents and youth up to the age of 24 years in low-income communities who are either at personal or social risk; and the Income Transfer withConditionalities( Transferência de Renda com Condicionalidades ) program aimed at combatinghunger, poverty, and other forms of deprivation faced by families and promoting food and nutritionalsecurity and access to public health, education, and social assistance services, thereby allowingfamilies to secure their permanent independence to develop.

Finally, we must mention the Ministry of Social Development and Hunger Alleviation'sFamily Grant Program ( Programa Bolsa Família ). The Family Grant is an income transfer programaimed at poor families with monthly per capita incomes of less than R$100.00, which associates thetransfer of financial benefits to the access to basic social rights - health, food, education, and socialassistance. With total investments on the order of R$296.8 million, the program is present in 5,465municipalities, where it currently provides assistance to 4.25 million families. The Family Grant isone of the primary programs supporting the social inclusion policy of hunger alleviation known as"Fome Zero."

Sexual Abuse and Exploitation

110. To promote the coordination and organization of the federal government's programs aimed at combating sexual abuse and exploitation of children and adolescents so as to ensure greater efficiency and effectiveness, the National Plan to Confront Sexual Violence against Children and Juveniles (Piano Nacional de Enfrentamento da Violência Sexual Infanto-Juvenil ), duly approved by the National Council for the Rights of the Child (CONANDA), was developed in June 2000. That same year the Brazilian government included the Program to Combat Sexual Abuse and Exploitation of Children and Adolescents ( Programa de Combate ao Abuso e a Exploração Sexual de Crianças e Adoiescente ) in its 2000-2003 Multi-Annual Plan and again in its 2004-2007 Multi-Annual Plan.

As part of the effort to aid affected individuals, the Sentinela Program ( Programa Sentinela )was implemented to offer children, adolescents, and relatives involved in cases of sexual violencespecialized social assistance. The municipalities selected by the program include the state capitals,metropolitan regions, tourist centers, port areas, cargo warehouses, highway junctions, wildcatmining areas, and border regions.

The table below sets out data on sexual abuse and exploitation for 2001, 2002, and 2003.

2003
Male	Total Male	Female	Total Female	TOTAL CHILDREN AND ADOLESCEN TS
O to 6	7 to 14	15 to 18	O to 6	7 to 14	15 to 18
Sexual Abuse	304	917	252	1473	782	3057	1416	5,255	2,333
Sexual Exploitation	01	16	205	222	23	1138	1144	2,305	1,160
2002
Male	Total Male	Female	Total Female	TOTAL CHILDREN AND ADOLESCEN TS
O to 6	7 to 14	15 to 18	O to 6	7 to 14	15 to 18
Sexual Abuse	503	1355	125	1983	1004	4755	2250	8,009	3,605
Sexual Exploitation	11	324	201	536	58	1706	1719	3,483	2,043
2001
Male	Total Male	Female	Total Female	TOTAL CHILDREN AND ADOLESCEN TS
	Oto 6	7 to 14	15 to 18	O to 6	7 to 14	15 to 18
Sexual Abuse	204	545	103	852	500	1.609	675	2,784	3,636
Sexual Exploitation	17	179	87	283	2	923	974	1,899	2,182

Source: Programa Sentinela do Ministério do Desenvolvimento Social e Combate à Fome.

113. At the beginning of 2003, the federal government assumed responsibility for the Abuse Hotline (D isque Denuncia ), which, to that point, had been operated by entities representing civil society. The service plays an important social role by assuring responses to the most severe cases of abuse. It is an indispensable tool for understanding and monitoring these types of crimes in Brazil. Between May 2003 and May 2004, the Abuse Hotline received more than 5,500 complaints, of which those considered to have a legal basis were referred to the responsible authorities in each state. The table below breaks down the complaints called in to the Hotline.

DATA ON COMPLAINTS BY STATE – MAY 2003 TO MAY 2004

State	Physical Violence	Sexual Abuse	Negligence	Prostitution	Psychological Violence	Pornography	Sexual Tourism	Trafficking	Total
SP	325	193	191	57	30	14	0	1	811
RJ	303	160	95	53	10	16	1	0	638
RS	336	81	56	109	9	2	0	2	595
BA	150	156	29	55	6	9	0	0	405
MG	115	151	52	63	7	5	0	1	394
CE	87	141	25	102	4	5	4	0	368
PR	107	70	42	36	9	5	0	0	269
PE	109	87	28	36	2	0	0	1	263
AM	110	66	41	29	0	0	0	0	246
MA	79	105	10	43	3	3	2	0	245
PA	78	59	22	15	3	2	0	0	179
SC	77	42	18	1	1	0	0	0	157
DF	63	47	19	10	3	1	1	0	144
ES	60	21	15	13	5	1	0	0	115
PB	38	31	18	23	2	0	0	0	112
GO	30	45	8	12	1	2	0	1	99
AL	30	25	4	16	1	1	0	0	77
MS	20	19	9	8	1	0	0	0	57
RN	19	14	5	15	0	1	0	0	54
PI	22	19	5	2	2	9	0	0	59
TO	7	24	8	9	1	0	0	0	49
MT	15	24	1	3	1	0	0	0	44
RO	11	16	2	8	0	0	0	0	37
SE	10	12	6	5	1	0	0	0	34
AP	9	7	5	3	0	0	0	0	24
MNI*	1	3	0	0	0	15	0	0	19
AC	4	6	0	0	0	4	0	0	14
RR	3	3	1	1	1	0	0	0	9
Total	2,218	1,627	715	744	103	96	8	6	5,517

Source: Disque Denúncia SEDH/PR

* Municipalities not identified

114. At the same time, the federal government maintains programs SUCH AS THE Program of Measures to Prevent and Combat the Trafficking of Human Beings (Programa de Medidas de Prevenção de CombateaoTráfico de SeresHumanos – TSH) and the Integrated Reference Actions Program to Confront Sexual Violence against Children and Juveniles within the Brazilian Territory (Programa de AçõesIntegradasReferenciais de EnfrentamentodaViolência Sexual Infanto-Juvenil no TerritórioBrasileiro – PAIR), a partnership between the federal government / USAID / POMMAR.

115.The Program of Measures to Prevent and Combat the Trafficking of Human Beings wasdeveloped by the National Secretariat for Justice/MJ in partnership with the United Nations Officeon Drugs and Crime (UNODC). Pursuant to the provisions of the "Protocol to Prevent, Suppressand Punish the Trafficking in Persons, especially Women and Children," which complements theUnited Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime, the principal objective of theproject is to strengthen the mechanisms available to the Brazilian government to prevent andcombat the trafficking of human beings, children, adolescents, and women for purposes of sexualexploitation.

The Integrated Reference Actions Program to Confront Sexual Violence against Childrenand Juveniles within the Brazilian Territory (PAIR) is a program established by the Braziliangovernment in response to the recommendations contained in the "Analysis of the Trafficking inWomen, Children, and Adolescents for purposes of Commercial Sexual Exploitation" (" Pesquisa de Trafico de Mulheres , Crianças e Adolescentes para fins de Exploração Sexual Comercial " - PESTRAF) and carried out by a cooperation agreement between the Brazilian government andUSAID in October 2003. Seven municipalities were targeted by this effort: Pacaraima (RR), Manaus(AM), Rio Branco (AC), Corumbá (MS), Feira de Santana (BA), Campina Grande (PB), and SãoPaulo (SP), all identified in the survey as sources or destinations for the trafficking in children andadolescents for purposes of commercial sexual exploitation.

The criteria for selecting the municipalities included their strategic location in dry borderregions on the Venezuelan and Bolivian frontiers, in Northeastern Brazil in two municipalitiessituated at highway junctions, and São Paulo, in the Southeast region, a Brazilian megalopolis withthe largest international airport and the principal destination of internal migrants.

Between June 2003 and March 2004, there were 63 cases of children and adolescentsinvolved in trafficking routes in six municipalities where the program was already in place - with theexception of São Paulo. To dismantle these routes, a strategy of mobilizing, coordinating, andtraining the various social actors engaged in this effort was applied, in addition to repressivemeasures. As a consequence, today there are nearly three thousand entities, agencies andorganizations, and public policy administrators representing the judiciary and law enforcement inthese municipalities strengthening the social protection networks aimed at addressing the issue.

Another major advantage of the PAIR is the potential for using the program as a means forcreating networks based on communication as a strategy for developing a methodology to addresssexual exploitation and trafficking through the strengthening of local protection networks. Theproject relies on communication as a mobilizing strategy through access to the websitewww.caminhos.ufm.br.

In September 2003, the Special Secretariat for Human Rights - SEDH, through anagreement with UNIFEM and in partnership with the Ministry of Education, launched the "SchoolGuide - methods for identifying signs of sexual abuse and exploitation of children and adolescents"(" Guia Escolar - métodos para identificação de sinais de abuso e exploração sexual de crianças e adolescentes '), a tool for aiding in the prevention of this kind of violence.

Pilot programs have been implemented to integrate the School Guide in daily schoolactivities: methodological instruments aimed at the implementation of the School Guide, teachinginstruments for educational professionals, direct and distance teacher training courses andmodules, and guidance for collective and individual efforts in the area of School - Family relationsdesigned to stimulate educational and creative approaches to the issue are being identified.

During the week of December 1 to 5, 2003, the SEDH/MEC/Canal Futura/TV-Escolabroadcast five programs in the "Leap into the Future" (" Salto para o Futuro ") series as a means ofoffering distance training to teachers.

Partnerships with government and domestic and international non-governmental entities,agencies, and bodies have been encouraged to raise and increase the resources required toensure adequate instruments and materials for performing school-related tasks. A further goal is todisseminate the printed and electronic versions of the School Guide in all Brazilian schools so as touniversalize the methods and practices for preventing and combating the sexual abuse andexploitation of children and youth. In addition to the Guide, the SEDH sponsors the "Peace inSchool" ("Paz nas Escolas ") program, developed by schools and partner entities to make better useof school areas and foster an active role by children and youth. In addition to these actions, theMinistry of Education's National Secretariat for Educational Inclusion ( Secretaria National de Inclusão Educational) operates a program to strengthen NGOs that in partnership with publicschools develop complementary actions in school areas aimed at preventing sexual violenceagainst children and youth.

Child Labor

The initiatives undertaken by the federal government to reduce child and adolescent laborincludes the Child Labor Eradication Program ( Programa de Erradicação do Trabalho Infantil-PETI), which, in 2003, benefited almost 810,000 children and adolescents (data from March 2004) in 27 states and 2,601 municipalities. The PETI has been noteworthy for its direct role in lowering the incidence of child and adolescent labor. The Program is based on three main pillars: the Citizenship Grant, the extended school day, and efforts carried out with the families to address the three main causes of the problem. The monetary benefit represents an alternative to limited access to basic goods and services. The extended school day offers socio-educational and cultural activities by fostering learning among the children and adolescents involved. The efforts undertaken with the family entail developing socio-educational and job and income creation efforts. The graphs below set forth the evolution in the number of children receiving assistance from PETI and the program's budgetary outlays.

Nos Gráficos I e ll apresenta-se a evolução do Programa. Gráfico I - Evolução do número de crianças e adolescentes atendidos pelo PETI de 1996 a 2003 (em números absolutos)

809.2.28

749 353

Fonte: Relatório de Gestão 20O1 – PETI e Gerência Nacional do PETI Brasíl ia , agosto 2003

Gráfico II – Evolução dos recursos aplicados no PETI pola esfera federal de 1996 a 2003 (R$)

Fonte: Relatório de Gestão 2001 – PETI e Gerência Nacional do PETI Brasíl ia , agosto 2003

Recruitment of Children and Adolescents into Narco -Trafficking

125.The federal government manages the National Drug Supply and Demand Reduction(Program Programs National de Redução da Demands e da Oferta de Drogas ) through theNational Antidrug Secretariat of the Office of Institutional Security of the Presidency of the Republic.The objective of the program is to prevent the improper use of substances capable of causingphysical or psychological dependence and promote treatment, recovery, and social reintegrationfor individuals with disturbances stemming from drug use.

V. Rural inhabitants and Union Leaders

The distribution of land in Brazil is extremely unequal, generating the conditions for socialconfrontation. Approximately 1% of the population, or 1.5 million individuals, controls 47% of allprivate property. The Landless Movement ( Movimento dos Sem Terra - MST) reports that there are12 million people without access to land. The death of rural inhabitants and labor leaders in thecountryside generally results from land disputes in regions marked by high concentrations of realproperty.

In 1985, the number of rural workers murdered in Brazil reached 180. Thereafter, there wasa significant drop in the number of murders of rural workers, and by 2000, reported cases stood atonly 10. In the following years, however, there was a notable increase in these statistics,culminating in 2003 when 42 rural leaders were reported to have been the victims of violent deaths.

Government Actions

Through February 1997, the government had expropriated nearly 4,500,000 hectares ofland, an area larger than the territory of Belgium. In May 1996, the Extraordinary Ministry ofAgrarian Reform was established. Also in 1996, a series of laws was approved to stimulate rationalland use and encourage the sale of large unproductive properties for purposes of advancingagrarian reform efforts, particularly through the increased taxation of large properties. The "Law ofSummary Expropriation" (Complementary Law no. 88/96) was approved. The intent was to reducethe time between expropriation and the granting of ownership rights and, in this way, limit theincidence of land disputes in cases of expropriations carried out for purposes of advancing agrarianreform.

In 1998, the Bancoda Terra was established to serve as another instrument to accelerateagrarian reform, pursuant to Complementary Law no. 93/98. Mention should also be made to theapproval of Law no. 9437/87, which defines the illegal possession of weapons as a crime and hasthe effect of reducing the prevalence of weapons in the countryside. The federal governmentcreated the National Agrarian of Ombudsman Office ( Ouvidoria Agrária National), in conjunctionwith the Regional Agrarian Offices of Ombudsman, an initiative that has enabled permanent dialogue with the landless, descendants of the remaining communities of former slaves ( quilombolas ), indigenous populations, gypsies, miners and tappers( extrativistas ), those displaced by dams, leaseholders, and river-dwellers ( ribeirinhos ). The "Peace in the Countryside" ("Paz no Campo") program, which, is devoted to conflict mediation, is yet another initiative aimed at reducing violence in rural areas that deserves mention.

VI. Homosexuals:

There is a great deal of prejudice and discrimination against homosexuals, bisexuals,transvestites, and transgenders in Brazil. The core issue is that Brazil faces a cultural heritage ofintolerance and homophobia that must be countered with humanist values and also confronted witha determined stance by the authorities and the government. Prejudice against homosexuals is alsowidespread in the media, particularly Brazilian comedy programs. Worse yet, is the violence towhich homosexuals in Brazil are regularly subjected.

The federal government has endeavored to address discrimination and violence againsthomosexuals. In a pioneering initiative, the Special Secretariat for Human Rights launched the"Brazil Without Homophobia" (" Brasil sem Homofobia ") plan in May 2004 - the Program to CombatViolence and Discrimination against GLBT and to Promote Citizenship for Homosexuals ( Programa de Combate à Violência e à Discriminação contra GLBT e de Promoção da Cidadania Homossexual ). One of the program's central goals is to educate and modify the behavior andattitudes of public officials. The expectation is that inter-ministerial integration, in partnership withthe homosexual movement, will succeed in moving forward the implementation of new parametersfor public policies aimed at incorporating millions of Brazilians in a dignified and representativemanner.

Additional measures include (a) Ministry of Culture Administrative Rule no. 219, of 23 July2004, which established the Working Group to Promote Citizenship for GLTB in order to prepare aplan for fomenting, stimulating, and supporting artistic and cultural productions that promote cultureand non-discrimination based on sexual orientation; (b) publication of a directive by theSuperintendence for Private Insurance ( Superintendência de Seguros Privados - Susep ) ensuringgay couples the right to mandatory car insurance (DPVAT) compensation payments; and (c)Ministry of Health Administrative Rule no. 880, of 20 May 2004, which created the Gay, Lesbian,Transgender, and Bisexual Population Health Advisory Committee (ComitêConsultivo de Saúde da População de Gays, Lésbicas Transgêneros e Bissexuais ) to develop health policies and a nationalhealth plan for that population.

Despite the absence of any specific laws recognizing their civil rights, Brazilian homosexuals have found a significantly greater response to their demands for respect and dignity in the judicial branch. A number of decisions upholding the civil rights of homosexuals have been handed down by the federal courts and the state judiciaries. The right to support in cases of the death of a partner in a stable same-sex relationship, for example, has been fully recognized. Because of this, a specific normative directive from the National Social Security Institute (Instituto Nacional de Seguridade Social – INSS), no. 50/2001, was put into effect administratively ensuring standard procedures for the granting of benefits to homosexuals. A recent decision from the Rio Grande do Sul state Judicial Internal Affairs Office requires public notaries to register homosexual unions. Several states of the federation and a number of Brazilian cities have approved laws banning anti-discrimination and protecting the rights of homosexuals. Based on these and other achievements, it can be said that a strong social movement on behalf of the civil rights of homosexuals is emerging, which is reflected in the organization of the annual “gay pride parades.” Recently, in São Paulo, a demonstration for homosexual rights rallied over one million people to the streets, a show of public support that signals how far Brazilian homosexuals have come as a result of their struggle.

Article 7 – Prohibition of Torture

134.Article 5, subsection III, of the 1988 Brazilian Constitution mandates that no individual shall be subjected to torture or to inhuman or degrading treatment. Subsection XLIII of the same article adds that the law considers torture to be a non-bailable crime not subject to mercy or amnesty and for which those who order and execute or are omissive in light of their ability to prevent such acts are accountable.

Brazil has signed the Convention on Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment or Punishment on September 28, 1989, and the Inter-American Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of Torture on July 20, 1989. On April 7, 1997, Law no. 9455, which sets out the applicable penalties for the crime of torture, was approved. As specified in article 1 of Law no. 9455/97, the crime of torture involves subjecting an individual to duress through the employment of violence or serious threat, thereby causing physical or mental suffering for purposes of: a) obtaining information, a statement, or a confession from the victim or a third party; b) provoking actions or omissions of a criminal nature; and c) discriminating on the basis of race or religion. Torture is also considered any act that subjects the victim in an individual’s custody, or under his power or authority, to violence or serious threat and intense physical and mental suffering as a form of personal punishment or a preventive measure. Thus, the Brazilian statute governing torture offers a broader definition of the crime than that generally found in the international sphere. The sentence for the crime of torture is 2 to 8 years of confinement. Those guilty of omissiveconduct in the perpetration of torture who were duty bound to prevent or verify such act are subject to 1 to 4 years of confinement. Sentences are increased by one-sixth to one-third of the total if the crime is: a) committed by a public agent; b) perpetrated against a child, pregnant woman, disabled person, or adolescent; and c) committed during a kidnapping. In cases involving public agents, the sentence will result in the loss of such agent's position and a suspension of the exercise of the corresponding post for a time equivalent to twice the total applied sentence. Another mechanism aimed at controlling the incidence of torture is Law no. 7960, of 29 December 1989, which regulates the implementation of provisional custody. The law establishes that temporary detainees must undergo a medical exam prior to and following their detention within a maximum of five days and only through an express judicial order.

Factors and Difficulties

136.In spite of the progress arising from the promulgation of Law no. 9455/97, torture persists inthe country's police precincts and prisons. Torture is applied to extract information, forceconfessions, extort, or punish. These incidents occur primarily during the period of temporarydetention employed to conduct investigations and search for evidence. At the same time, thenumber of complaints formally submitted to the judicial branch alleging the perpetration of the crimeof torture continues to be very small, while the number of convictions is even smaller.

Government Actions

At the federal level, several measures have been taken to confront the problem of torture.The first is related to the Optional Protocol to the Convention on Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman,and Degrading Treatment and Punishment, signed by Brazil on October 13, 2003. Followingfindings from the pertinent technical areas of the government in favor of the instrument's ratification,the Protocol was submitted to the National Congress for its approval. In establishing a system ofunannounced visits to prisons and detention centers by a Sub-Committee on InternationalPrevention, the Protocol will serve as an additional instrument to combat torture and impunity.

A second measure refers to the National Plan to Combat Torture (Piano Nacional de Combate à Tortura ), launched in 2001 and currently under review and revision following adetermination of the Special Commission of the Council on the Defense of the Rights of the HumanPerson (CDDPH) on June 2 of last year. As with the preparation of the National Plan for theEradication of Slave Labor (Piano Nacional de Erradicação do Trabalho Escravo ), the government,in partnership with civil society, has assumed responsibility for guiding the review process. The newplan will include mechanisms to monitor the pertinent actions so as to ensure its execution.

139. Another important measure to reduce the incidence of torture was the establishment of Police Ombudsman Offices in several Brazilian states. Currently, institutions of this type operate in 13 states of the federation (Rio Grande do Sul, Santa Catarina, Paraná, São Paulo, Minas Gerais, Rio de Janeiro, Bahia, MatoGrosso, Goiás, Rio Grande do Norte, Ceará, Pernambuco, and Pará). The Police Ombudsman Offices are autonomous and independent bodies headed by representatives of civil society and directed toward strengthening oversight of police actions. The Police Ombudsman Offices have the duty and authority to receive, forward, and track the investigations into claims of irregularities committed by civil and military police officers. As an example of the work performed by these bodies, in 1996-1997, the Police Ombudsman Office of the state of São Paulo received and monitored the investigation of 6,432 complaints against police officers. Of these, 1,471 constituted allegations of homicide, torture, and abuse by authorities. Specifically, 434 involved alleged cases of torture, 896 referred to abusive acts by authorities, and 141 dealt with allegations of murder. Of the 6,432 complaints received and monitored by the Ombudsman Office, 3,828 (59.5%) were satisfactorily investigated by the office of internal affairs of the civil and military police, of which 1,382 (21.5%) led to administrative penalties (544) or criminal indictments (833).

The SOS Torture hotline effort was successful to the extent that it assisted in identifying theprincipal focal points of torture in the country. The federal government will take full advantage of thiseffort in the "dial 100" (Human Rights Hotline) service it recently implemented. Through the hotline,the Brazilian State has, in unequivocal terms, assumed responsibility for referring and verifyingcomplaints involving human rights violations, with particular emphasis on cases of torture. Theobjective is to ensure the system operates 24 hours, seven days a week.

The Mobile Group to Combat Torture implemented by the CDDPH is currently consolidatingthe information collected to date for purposes of instituting a policy of unannounced visits to prisonestablishments. Once fully operational, the Mobile Group will represent an effective and innovativemechanism for combating torture.

With regard to forensic examination procedures used in investigating crimes of torture inJune 2003 a Working Group made up of eight experts, in addition to representatives designated bythe CDDPH, was established under the Special Secretariat for Human Rights. The group's workresulted in the preparation of a Brazilian Protocol on Forensic Examinations of Crimes of Torture ( Protocolo Brasileiro de Perícia Forense no Crime de Tortura ). The Protocol includes norms andrules for guiding forensic experts, police ombudsmen, police forces, and members of the PublicProsecuting Office.

The National Plan for the Establishment of Juvenile Offender Detention Center ConstructionStandards represents another significant measure. The plan and two conduct agreements signed by the states and municipalities are intended to provide for appropriate detention conditions aimed at the application of socio-educational measures for children and adolescents who are in conflict with the law.

144.The government has adopted other initiatives such as the introduction of Human Rightscourses, some in partnership with Amnesty International, for civil and military police officers.Another measure aimed at reducing the incidence of torture involves the implementation in somestates of interactive and community policing intended to forge closer ties between the police and thecommunity. The state of São Paulo created the Victim's Reference and Support Center (Centro de Referenda e Apoio à Vítima - CRAVI). The state of Paraná established the Crime Victim'sRestructuring and Reorientation Program ( Programa de Reestruturação e Reorientação à Vítima de Crime - PROVIC), while the state of Santa Catarina set up the Crime Victim's Assistance Center(Centro de Atendimento às Vítimas de Crimes - CEVIC). Lastly, mention should be made to theapplication of mandatory medical examinations to verify the health of inmates prior to and followingtheir arrest.

145.Through these actions, the Brazilian State has striven to fulfill, in concrete terms, therecommendations of the Human Rights Committee (items 18, 19, and 21 of documentCCPR/C/79/Add.66, of 24 July 1996) as regards the approval of the law that typifies the crime oftorture, human rights education for police agents, and the establishment of Police OmbudsmanOffices.

Article 8 ° - Ban on slavery, servitude, and forced or mandatory labor

The Brazilian Federal Constitution enshrines liberty as one of the fundamental rights ofindividuals. Art. 5, subsection XLVII, c, includes a prohibition on sentences of forced labor. Article149 of the Penal Code defines the consignment of an individual to a condition equivalent to slaveryas a crime, subject to a sentence of two (2) to eight (8) years of confinement. Other provisions ofthe Code also protect the right to freedom by typifying kidnapping and unlawful imprisonment.Detainees, in turn, may not be subjected to forced labor. Prison labor in Brazil is understood as adignified activity that must be guaranteed, which aims at preparing inmates for reintegration intosociety. Thus, prison work must always be remunerated, whether the inmate performs work onprison grounds or in another location. Prison labor is regulated by articles 28 to 37 of Chapter ill("Labor") of Law no. 7210, of 11 July 1984.

For an analysis of the situation regarding children and adolescents, see the comments toarticle 24.

148.Military service in Brazil is mandatory. However, for those who invoke a supersedingimperative based on religious faith and philosophical or political conviction the performance of strictly military activities may be waived. Women and members of the clergy are exempt from military service in times of peace, although they are subject to other obligations set out in law.

149.With regard to international agreements, Brazil remains a party to the Convention onSlavery, of 7 December 1953, ratified by legislative decree no. 66, of 14 July 1965, and the 1956Supplemental Convention on the Abolition of Slavery, the Slave Trade, and Institutions andPractices Similar to Slavery, ratified on 6 November 1966.

Factors and Difficulties Forced Labor

Allegations of forced labor in specific Brazilian states are still quite prevalent, especially inrural and mining activities. The most serious problems persist in Para state (of a total of 872 peoplesubjected to slave labor in Brazil, in 1997, 528 were located in Para,) followed by Tocantins,Maranhão, and MatoGrosso. The existence of slave labor was also verified in Acre, Alagoas,Pemambuco, Rondônia, and São Paulo.

The list indicates that the cases of slave labor in Brazil have been identified mainly in powerplants and on agricultural properties located at considerable distances from the large urbancenters. However, the reduction in the number of cases of slave labor in Brazil (in 1992, 16,442cases were confirmed while, in 1997, only 872 were recorded) can be attributed to the efforts oflabor and religious organizations in the affected communities and of the Brazilian government,through the Ministry of Labor, the Special Secretariat for Human Rights, the Ministry of Justice, andthe Public Prosecution Service of Labor.

Sexual exploitation of children and adolescents

152.Cases of sexual exploitation of girls have been reported in the wildcat mines of Para, Acre,Rondônia, and Amapá. In the South, sexual exploitation is more prevalent in rural areas, while inthe Southeast, the problem is concentrated in the urban centers. In the Center-West, primarily theFederal District, large numbers of girls are the victims of rape. In the Northeast, the sexualexploitation of children and adolescents is linked to "Sexual Tourism," as it is known. However, theBrazilian government has, in response to concern, no. 14 of the Final Observations of the HumansRights Committee and recommendation no. 31 (document CCPR/C/79/Add.66, of 24 July 1996),launched an intense National Campaign to Combat the Sexual Exploitation of Children and Juveniles ( Campanha Nations! de Combate à Exploração Sexua ! Infanto-Juvenil ), involving the Brazilian Tourism Company ( Empresa Brasileira de Turismo ) and the Brazilian Childhood and Adolescence Multiprofissional Protection Association ( Associação Brasileira Multiprofissional de Proteção à Infância e à Adolescência ) as well as the creation of an "Abuse Hotline." Currently, the Hotline is operated by the government and has received information on thousands of cases of abuse. There are, additionally, a number of other social entities and movements that make up the National Network to Prevent and Combat the Exploitation, Abuse, and Mistreatment of Children and Adolescents ( Rede Nacional de Prevenção e Combate à Exploração , Abuso e Maus Tratos de Crianças e Adolescentes ).

Government Actions in the area of Forced Labor

The Brazilian government has, in response to concern no. 14 and recommendation no. 31of the Final Observations of the Human Rights Committee, launched numerous initiatives to combatforced labor. First, it formed the Executive Group to Repress Forced Labor ( Grupo Executivo de Repressão ao Trabalho Forçado - GERTRAF) that, together with the Mobile Enforcement Services,has performed countless enforcement operations and freed thousands of workers from degradingconditions.

In addition, cognizant that the elimination of slave labor constitutes a basic condition of theLegal Democratic State, in 2003, the federal government launched the National Plan for theEradication of Slave Labor (Piano Nacional para a Erradicação do Trabalho Escravo ). The plansets forth measures that the various bodies of the executive, legislative, and judicial branches, thePublic Prosecution Services, and entities representing Brazilian civil society must fulfill. Toguarantee and monitor the implementation of the National Plan, the Special Secretariat for HumanRights created the National Commission on the Eradication of Slave Labor ( Comissão Nacional de Erradicação ao Trabalho Escravo - CONATRAE), formed by representatives of the federalgovernment, the Public Prosecution Service, non-governmental organizations, and internationalinstitutions and bodies.

In October 2003, the government launched the National Campaign on the Eradication ofSlave Labor ( Campanha Nacional de Erradicação do Trabalho Escravo ), in partnership with theILO. To influence opinion-makers, electronic and print materials were produced for broadcast on thecountry's television networks and publication in the major newspapers and magazines.

To lend further support to the campaign, the National Agriculture and LivestockConfederation ( Confederação da Agricultura e Pecuária do Brasil - CAN) has developed the LegalFarm Program ( Fazenda Legal) to disseminate information on the rights and obligations of rural producers with regard to the applicable labor legislation, in the May-June 2004 period, 11 events were held under the auspices of the Program (10 in municipalities in southern Para and 1 in Imperatriz, Maranhão) for rural employers. At the events, which included the participation of Labor Enforcement Auditors of the Ministry of Labor and Employment, various aspects of labor legislation and situations of slave labor were widely discussed. The second stage of the Legal Farm Program will consist of seminars on these same subjects in northern MatoGrosso, Tocantins, Rondônia, and Acre.

157.In those regions where recruitment of slave labor is prevalent, such as Maranhão and Piauí,a preventive diagnostic survey of the regions from which laborers are supplied has beenundertaken. Through the Ministry of Labor and Employment's Secretariat for Cooperative Economyof the Ministry of Labour and Employment ( Secretaria de Economia Solidária ), the government hasalso shaped actions to generate work and income opportunities aimed at allowing workers toremain in their original locations.

In addition to the work of the Mobile Group of Labor Inspection, directly coordinated bythe Secretariat for Labor Inspection ( Secretaria de Inspeção do Trabalho ) in Brasilia, the Ministry ofLabor and Employment has also launched initiatives developed by its Regional Offices ( Delegacia Regionais- DRT), particularly the Pará Regional Office.

The Pará Regional Office has performed competently in the eradication of slave labor,as demonstrated by the following initiatives:

The creation of a Chamber for Monitoring and Promotion of Rural Labor ( Câmara de Fiscalização e Promoção do Trabalho Rural) designed to prevent and repress the non-compliance of labor legislation and slave labor;

The launch of the State Campaign ( Campanha Estadual ) in the municipalities of Belém and Redenção;

The launch of the State Plan for the Eradication of Slave Labor (Plano Estadual de Erradicação do Trabalho Escravo ), an effort that adapts the National Plan to the realities of the state of Pará;

The unveiling and distribution of the Rural Work, yes! Slavery, no! ( Trabalho Rural, sim ! Escravo , Não !) pamphlet.

160.In addition to the Para Regional Office, the Regional Offices have also undertakenefforts in Piauí, Maranhão, and MatoGrosso through the creation of inter-institutional forums andcommissions to prevent and combat slave labor. These are carried out at the state level through joint discussions between the state governments and the local populations in campaigns against slave labor and through the search for joint solutions to eliminate this problem.

161.The Rondônia Regional Office has also implemented specific actions aimed at combating slave labor. In addition to investigating and verifying complaints, the Office's Enforcement Auditors have pursued prevention efforts by regularly meeting with employers and workers' unions in an effort to solve conflicts.

162. Although there is still a need to strengthen the Federal Police's structures, the institution has registered progress specifically with regard to increases in the number of active police officers and the effective performance of its role as the Union's judicial police force. In spite of continued inadequate numbers of personnel, the Federal Police provides officers and agents when requested to monitor the actions of the Mobile Group.

163.In regard to the training of Federal Police and Federal Highway Police teams, the Ministry ofLabor and Employment, with the support of the ILO and the Attorney General's Office of theRepublic, has held training sessions to strengthen the actions of the police forces under theauthority of the Union with a view to combating crimes related to the environment, social security,and slave labor. The training sessions also center on helping federal highway police units identifythe irregular transportation and recruitment of laborers.

Beginning in 2003, the Federal Prosecution Service of the Citizens' Rights { Procuradoria Federal dos Direitos do Cidado ) fully committed itself to eradicating slave labor. To achieve thisobjective, it created a Task Force to combat this illicit practice.

From March 2003 to June 2004, a number of judicial measures were filed, including 26criminal complaints charging the owners of farms with the practice of slave labor and recruitment.(See table below).

Federal Prosecution Service of the Citizens' Rights - Federal Public Prosecution Service Complaints Filed March/2003 - June/2004

	State	Complaints	Number of Affected Persons (property owners, managers, and others)
	MA	1	02
	IMT	10	I 29
	PA	11	66
	RJ	1	05
	RO	2	05
	TO	1	11
TOTAL	06	26	118

The Federal Public Prosecution Service - PFDC also established a comprehensivedatabase containing a wide range of information on the main agents engaged in the fight againstslave labor.

The Public Prosecution Service of Labor also strengthened its efforts in the struggle againstslave labor. To this end, it set up a National Coordinating Body and structures under the RegionalProsecutors' Offices in those states with the highest incidence of slave labor.

Based on the data collected by the Mobile Group, the Public Prosecution Service of Laboropens public civil inquiries and files suits for collective moral damages, which often result in fines, attimes for considerable sums, to employers.

The issue of slave labor has increasingly become a topic of interest to the media and thesubject of studies by students and researchers at all levels. In May 2004, the RepórterBrasil, aninstitution representing civil society connected to CONTRAE sponsored the Seminar "The NewSlavery in Brazil" {"A Nova Escravidão no Brasil "), with the support of the ILO, for journalists andrepresentatives of civil society.

At the event, that same institution launched, in partnership with the ILO, the "Journalist'sGuide to Slave Labor" (" Guia para Jornalistas sobre Trabalho Escravo "), which continues to bedistributed free of charge to all journalists interested in the subject.

In November 2003, the names of the 52 individuals and companies cited and found guilty in a final decision not subject to appeal of employing slave labor were published. The list - referred to as the "dirty list" - was used by the government to block public financing to the responsible individual farm producers and companies. An updated version of the list with 48 names was published in July.

172.The National Congress is now considering draft bills that include the issue of forced labor.One, for example, would provide for penalties in cases of coercive labor practices, such astransporting farm laborers on unsafe trucks, illegally recruiting laborers in areas outside the locationwhere the work is to be performed by means of fraud or charges imposed on them and in casesinvolving violations of the freedom to enter into contracts through the unlawful retention of essentialdocumentation, the effect of which is to impede the termination of an employment relationshipbecause of an unpaid debt. Another bill would provide for the expropriation of rural lands where theexistence of slave labor has been determined.

Article 9 - Individual freedom and safety

In accordance with the Federal Constitution, individuals can be taken into custody only inflagrante delicto(during the commission of a crime) or by means of a written and well-founded orderfrom the competent judicial authority. In all other cases, the accused shall have the right to contestthe charges set out against them and to a full defense. The Constitution also guarantees thatindividuals shall not be deprived of their freedom or assets in the absence of the due process oflaw. Additionally, the Constitution establishes that all evidence collected through illicit means shallbe inadmissible. Further, it declares that all individuals shall be considered innocent until a finallegal conviction has been handed down.

The Federal Constitution specifically sets forth the principle of legal reserve ("there is nocrime in the absence of a prior law establishing such crime, nor a sentence that has not beenpreviously sanctioned in law"). The judicial authority must provide immediate relief in cases of anillegal arrest (art. 5, LXV, of the Federal Constitution). The Penal Code typifies conduct involving theindividual who orders or executes an illegal arrest and prescribes a sentence of 1 month to 1 yearof confinement. The Federal Constitution establishes the duty to provide immediate notification ofan arrest to the competent judge. Failure to provide notification is also considered a crime, pursuantto art. 4 of Law no. 4898/65. The failure to provide notification in cases of the arrest of children oradolescents to the judge and the families or guardians of such children and adolescents is alsotypified as a crime under art. 231 of the Child and Adolescent Statute and is subject to a sentenceof 6 months to 2 years of confinement. The Federal Constitution also establishes that no individualshall be taken into custody or detained in cases in which the law provides for conditional freedom,whether subject to bail or not (art 5, LXVI.) Title IX of the Penal Code orders the rules governing arrests and conditional freedom. The Code establishes that with the exception of individuals taken into custody during the commission of a crime, arrests can only be executed by means of an order, a copy of which must be provided to the individual detained, issued by the judicial authority and containing the required legal clarifications justifying the specific arrest.

Procedural detentions, also referred to as provisional detentions, include arrests in flagrante delicto(ordered by arts. 301 to 310 of the Penal Code), preventive detentions (governed by arts.311 to 316, which may be authorized to preserve public order or the economic order, to fulfill thepertinent criminal instruction, or to assure application of the law, when a crime is identified or thereis sufficient evidence demonstrating the commission of such crime), arrests arising from indictments(arts. 282 and 408, paragraph 1, of the Penal Code), detentions to execute a criminal sentence(art. 393,1, of the Penal Code), and temporary detentions (Law no. 7960, of 21 December 1989).

The writ of habeas corpus, ensured in the Federal Constitution and ordered by the PenalCode (art. 647 and following articles) provides for immediate relief by the judicial branch in cases ofillegal coercive acts (art. 660). If following the release of the detainee the coactive authority isdeemed to have engaged in abuse of power, a copy of all pertinent records shall be forwarded tothe Public Prosecution Service for purposes of prosecuting the responsible party.

Book III of the Penal Code addresses nullities and appeals in general. Nullities occur as aresult of the incompetence, suspicion, or bribery of a judge, the illegitimacy of the parties, and theabsence of specific formulas or terms prescribed in law. Appeals are voluntary, except thosejudges are required to submit in the performance of their office. As a rule, appeals are heard bysecond tier (appeals) courts.

Factors and Difficulties Prolonged Sentences

178.Many detainees remain in penitentiaries after completing their sentences. This occursbecause prison overcrowding in conjunction with case backlogs often delay issuance of therequired release order. The Federal Constitution, however, mandates that the State mustcompensate "a convict for judicial error, as well as the person who remains imprisoned for a periodlonger than the one established by the sentence" (art. 5, LXXV).

179. With regard to cases requiring compensation by the State, the example of the state of SãoPaulo indicates that by the time these cases are heard and recognized eight or ten years elapse before payment is actually executed. However, a major achievement was registered on December

30, 1998, with the promulgation of state Law no. 10177/98, the Law of Administrative Procedures (Lei de Procedimento Administrativo ). The new law allows petitioners to request compensation without having to retain an attorney to formally file suit. The request must set forth the facts, reasons, include the necessary documents, and be addressed to the State Attorneys Office, which will then have ten days to reach a determination and investigate the case in question. Subsequently, each agency will be responsible for its specific cases, and there will be deadlines for issuing the pertinent instructions. The state government shall have a total of 120 days to reach a decision on the case. If the petitioner's right to compensation is recognized, the government shall make the corresponding compensation available through its account of administrative requests and effect payment upon enactment of the following state budget. Thus, the cases settled by July 31 will be effectively paid beginning in January of the following year. However, in cases in which the State pays compensation the responsible party will have 30 days to reimburse the public coffers. If such party fails to reimburse the state, a judicial collection process shall be immediately proposed.

Abusive psychiatric incarcerations

180. For more than a century, individuals suffering from mental diseases or disturbances in Brazil have been deprived of their freedom without the right to due process. Throughout this period, the country's mental health system was modeled on asylums and large psychiatric hospitals where a variety of abuses were commonplace. Psychiatric practice at the time authorized the use of hard cells, abusive drug treatments, and the indiscriminate employment, without the benefit of anesthesia or considered criteria, of electroshock therapy, among other invasive procedures. This situation began to change with the emergence of a vigorous social movement on behalf of the civil rights of patients that was legally formalized in the 1990s with the approval of various state laws aimed at securing psychiatric reform. The first such law was approved in Rio Grande do Sul, in 1990. Recently, the National Congress approved specific legislation enshrining and protecting the civil rights of psychiatric patients. The Ministry of Health, for its part, has endeavored over the last several years to implement a series of changes at the state level. Public policies today have promoted alternative forms of mental health assistance, including community-based and ambulatory approaches. As an example, Law no. 10708, of 31 July 2003, established psycho-social rehabilitation assistance for patients suffering from mental disturbances or released from the hospital system who participate in the "Back Home" ("De Volta Para Casa') program coordinated by the Ministry of Health. The monies are paid directly to the beneficiary or legal representative, when the beneficiary is unable to exercise the activities of civil life independently, in those cases in which, among other things, such person's clinical and social condition does not warrant continued hospitalization but indicates technical eligibility for inclusion in a social reintegration program and the need for financial assistance.

Article 10 - Conditions of detention

181.The Federal Constitution assures detainees respect for their physical and moral integrity (art. 5, XLIX). It also requires that sentences be fulfilled in distinct facilities, determined on the basisof the nature of the crime and the convicted person's age and sex (art. 5, XLVIII). !t assuresinmates the necessary conditions to maintain contact with their children during the time they areincarcerated (art. 5, L). Within detention facilities, individuals who mistreat the convicted are subjectto penalties (art. 136 of the Penal Code) of up to 12 years of confinement in cases involving loss oflife.

182.Pursuant to the Law of Penal Execution (Law 7210, of 11 July 1984), the purpose ofincarceration is to fulfill the provisions of the pertinent sentence or criminal decision and provide theconditions for the convicted and committed to reintegrate themselves harmoniously in society. Thestand-alone paragraph of article 3 of the Law establishes that no distinctions shall be made on thebasis of race, social class, religion, or political conviction. Article 5, subsection XLVIII, of the FederalConstitution mandates that the convicted must be classified according to their background andpersonality for purposes of individualizing the execution of the sentence. Article 41 enumeratesfifteen rights assured inmates, among them the right to sufficient food and clothing; protection fromany form of sensationalism; personal and private meetings with counsel; equality of treatment,except as regards to the individualized execution of sentences; representation; and petitions to anyauthority to defend specific rights. With respect to prison facilities, inmates must be housed inindividual cells containing a bed, atoilet and sink, and be provided with the necessary equipmentand conditions to ensure the basic health of their environment, including ventilation, insulation, andregulated internal temperatures, as required for human life, as well as a minimum living space of sixsquare meters (art. 88). For their part, women must be housed in separate facilities adapted to theirpersonal needs that contain nurseries where they are able to breastfeed (paragraph 2 of article 83,which was added to Law no. 9046/95).

Factors and Difficulties

183. However, to date, one of Brazil's major deficits in the area of human rights involves the conditions to which its prison population is subjected. Brazilian legislation has been ineffective in the majority of prison cases. First, with few exceptions - notably those identified in maximum security prisons - inmates are placed in overcrowded cells and subjected to inadequate living conditions. Today, thousands of inmates continue to serve sentences in police precincts where they face dire conditions. In addition to terrible hygienic, health, and nutritional conditions, Brazilian inmates must coexist with daily violence stemming from disputes between rival groups housed in adjacent cell blocks or the same cell block. The circumstances surrounding the execution of sentence in Brazil have triggered several riots in virtually every state. There is a major distortion between the rise in incarceration rates in the country and the government's capacity to address the lack of vacancies: in 2003, for example, the Brazilian State created approximately 5,000 vacancies, while the prison population grew by 40,000, representing a deficit of 35,000 in the period of only one year.

184.It is also important to underscore the disparities among the states and the absence of clearrules establishing the guidelines for prison management and the mechanisms for resolving conflicts.In the Federal District, where penitentiary agents are incorporated in the Civil Police, the startingsalary is 4,223.73 reais and a university degree is required for the position. By contrast, inAmazonas, only a high school degree is required and the base salary for agents corresponds to136 reais, which may, if all benefits and incentives are calculated, reach 1,103 reais. A similarsituation prevails in Pernambuco where the base salary for penitentiary agents is 151.76 reais andthe top available salary is 857, 38 reais.

Children and Adolescents

The ECA introduced a new approach to assistance for adolescent offenders based on thefollowing guarantees: full and formal knowledge of attribution of the act through a citation orequivalent instrument; equality during legal proceedings, wherein the offender may confront victimsand witnesses and produce all the evidence necessary toward his or her defense; a technicaldefense offered by a qualified attorney; free and full legal assistance to the needy, as prescribed inlaw; the right to be heard by the competent authority; the right to request the presence of his or herparents or guardians at any stage of the proceedings.

The country inherited a network of institutions from the Code of Minors that reproduces theprison system and that was conceived with the idea of segregating offenders. Thus, serious casesof violence in detention units are not uncommon. For this reason, the reorientation of assistanceprograms on the basis of the precepts set out in the Child and Adolescent Statue constitutes amajor challenge, principally with regard to adolescents in conflict with the law and to detention units.

The socio-educational measures provided for in article 112 and in the following articles ofthe Child and Adolescent Statue are in strict conformity with the Convention on the Rights of theChild, the Beijing Rules, and the Minimum United Nations Rules on the Protection of JuvenilesDeprived of Freedom. Pursuant to the Constitution (article 5, subsection XLVII, of the FederalConstitution), Brazilian legislation does not allow for application of the death penalty, life in prison,or forced labor, including for young offenders.

The socio-educational system reserved for adolescent offenders, while not ideal, representsan effort to guarantee adolescents who commit violations respect for the unique conditions of their particular stage of human development.

In spite of the widespread repercussions generated by juvenile crime rates in Brazil, thenumber of adolescents performing socio-educational measures is not large if compared to the adultpopulation. January 2004 data from the Sub secretariat for the Promotion of the Rights of the Childand Adolescent ( Subsecretaria de Promoção dos Direitos da Criança e do Adolescente ) shows thatthere are approximately 13,500 adolescents and youth housed in socio-educationalestablishments.

In light of the strengthening of the social-educational assistance system provided toadolescent in conflict with the law, the Sub secretariat for the Promotion of the Rights of the Childand Adolescent has sponsored various studies such as a Survey of the Status of Socio-EducationalDetention Units for Adolescents in Conflict with the Law aimed at Executing Socio-EducationalMeasures ( Mapeamento da Situação das Unidades de Execução de Medida Socioeducativa de Privação de Liberdade a Adolescente em Conflito com a Lei) to assess the situation in units thatexecute detention sentences in order to aid in the reorientation of public policies and thereadjustment of socio-educational programs so as to secure additional advances in the area.

The need to coordinate, mobilize, and qualify the justice system and bring about institutionalreorientation based on the principles of local control and decentralization as a means to promotethe reintegration of adolescent offenders stems from the understanding that in spite of thenumerous advances and efforts implemented to date institutional practices that adhere to theoutdated correctional-repressive model persist, requiring, therefore, a broad mobilizing initiative tosecure institutional reorientation.

The new assistance model for applying socio-educational detention measures is anadvance guaranteed by law, although not yet fully implemented in practice insofar as detentionunits preserve the prison model adopted in large establishments and there continues to be acorresponding lack of educational and human resources available to work with adolescents within atruly socio-educational context. In these cases, detention becomes, then, far more a sanction than arehabilitation process.

To effectively ensure the rights of youth who are in conflict with the law, the followingactions deserve to be mentioned: expanding and improving the quality of the assistance provided tothese adolescents through socio-educational! measures; the development of policies that includeservices in the different areas of assistance on the basis of the broad involvement, coordination, and mobilization of government and non-governmental organizations: analyzing and discussing the complex nature of the innovations introduced in the institutions responsible for fulfilling the EGA with a view to preventing the operation of institutions that have not reoriented their approach based on the Statute's principles; striving to develop shared administration, assuring a central role for youth in the implementation of public policies, and educating society through broad social mobilizing initiatives founded on integrating youth who are in conflict with the law.

Recognizing the imperative of effecting changes, national coordination of the policies forpromoting and defending children's rights is concentrated in the Sub secretariat for the Promotion of the Rights of the Child and Adolescent (SPDCA), which has conferred absolute priority on the provision of high-quality socio-educational measures, in addition to investments in professional training and the reorientation of detention units, all for purposes of overcoming the long-standing culture of repressive assistance employed in Brazil for many years.

The absence of a Law on the Execution of Socio-Educational Measures has left room forarbitrary actions among the system's managers and administrators. The most general principlesestablished in the Child and Adolescent Statute should be applied to develop a specific law thatregulates the execution of measures, primarily those involving detention. The National Council onthe Rights of the Child and Adolescent - CONANDA and SPDCA are preparing a draft bill on theissue.

In addition, the SPDCA is developing a National Socio-Educational Assistance System ( Sistema Nacional de Atendimento Socioeducativo ) to set out the parameters and specify theprinciples on which the elaboration and execution of socio-educational actions must be based.

Factors and Difficulties

Institutions Housing Children and Adolescents:

The reality of children in shelters in Brazil constitutes a serious psycho-social problem,given the various and parallel factors that jeopardize the performance of institutions in their effort tosubstitute for the traditional role exercised by families.

Babies and young children housed in shelters demonstrate developmental disturbancesdue to the emotional deprivation from which they suffer as a result of early separation from their mothers or care-givers. The care-givers in shelters do not fulfill the role of maternal substitutes with whom the babies and children can identify and on whom they can model their behavior. This causes inadequate interaction with their environment.

Collective care for small children suddenly separated from their families often causesirreparable damage to their psycho-emotional development, as a result of the fact that theconsequent emotional vacuum and lack of continuous contact and stimulation acutely compromisethe individual's psychiatric make up.

In recent decades, successive administrations have endeavored to extend the socialassistance network to these families by giving priority to basic policies. Investments in the socialarea may, in the medium term, lead to a reduction in the need to provide children with sheltersthrough the implementation of an open educational service and assistance system.

In a 2004 study by the Institute of Applied Economic Research - IPEA, performed inpartnership with the Special Secretariat for Human Rights, concerning the status of child andadolescent shelters, 20,000 children and adolescents were found to be housed in theseestablishments. The majority (58.5%) were boys of African descent. They were between the ages of7 and 15 years (61.3%), and more than one-third had been in shelters for a period of 2 to 5 years.

The absolute majority of children and adolescents (86.7%) housed in shelters have families.The reason most cited for their presence in shelters was poverty (24.2%). Children and adolescentsgave other reasons as well, including that they: had been abandoned (18.9%), were the victims ofdomestic violence (11.7%), were exposed to chemical dependence of the parents or guardians,including alcoholism, (11.4%), had been living on the streets (7%), and were orphaned (5.2%).

Government Actions: Children in Shelters

203.The Institute for Applied Economic Research ( Instituto de Pesquisa Econômics Aplicada-IPEA) is performing a nationwide study of all shelters in partnership with the Special Secretariat forHuman Right and the National Council on the Rights of the Child and Adolescent (CONANDA) andwith the support of the Ministry of Social Development and UNICEF. The information gathered will assist in the determination of the parameters and guidelines that will regulate the shelters, in accordance with the Child and Adolescent Statute, and in the implementation of public policies for the sector, with a view to reorganizing the nation's network of shelters.

The National Council on the Rights of the Child and Adolescent (CONANDA) has designeda strategy for researching all the shelters in Brazil through the State Councils using IPEA'smethodology.

Some municipalities, such as São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro, conducted their own surveys.It is hoped that in the short term these initiatives will produce new statistics that can be added to theNational Survey.

Article 11 - Prohibition on imprisonment for the non-performance of contractual obligations

206.The Federal Constitution prohibits imprisoning individuals for unpaid debts, except in thefollowing two cases: voluntary and unjustified nonpayment of alimony support and unfaithfultrusteeship. In 1992, Brazil ratified the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. Thearticle under consideration sets out no exceptions forbidding imprisonment due to unpaid debts. In1992, Brazil also ratified the American Convention on Human Rights, art. 7 (7), which establishes,in article 7(7), that no individual should be detained for unpaid debts, while stipulating that thisprinciple does not limit court orders issued in response to the nonpayment of alimony support, inwhat constitutes, therefore, the lone exception to the rule. Given that Brazil ratified these twoinstruments without reservation, the legal authority to impose civil imprisonment in cases ofunfaithful trusteeship is questionable. Taking into consideration the criterion of adhering to thenorm that is most favorable to the victim, the conclusion in the context of the protection of HumanRights is that the provision permitting imprisonment in the case of unfaithful trusteeship should berescinded.

207. In spite of several judicial decisions limiting the possibility of civil imprisonment in cases of unpaid debts, which have been based on art. 42 of the Consumer Protection Code ( Código de Defesa do Consumidor ), art. 5, LXVII, of the Federal Constitution, and the international treaties governing the protection of humans rights, especially the American Convention and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, the provision's applicability has been reaffirmed. In mid-1998, the Federal Supreme Court ruled in favor of the applicability of civil imprisonment in cases of unpaid debts involving fiduciary trustees.

Article 12 - Freedom of movement and residence

208.Article 5, subsection XV, of the Federal Constitution declares that "movement is free withinthe national territory in times of peace, and any person may; under the terms of the law, enter it,remain therein, or leave it with his assets." The subsection prescribes the freedom of movement intimes of peace because, in the event of a declaration of war or in response to foreign armedaggression, a state of siege, with the corresponding restrictive measures set forth in art. 139 of theFederal Constitution, may be decreed, requiring individuals to remain in specific locations(subsection I of art. 139 of the Federal Constitution). The right to establish a residence withoutauthorization is assured not only to native and naturalized Brazilians, but to foreigners as well. Lawno. 4898/65 considers violations of the freedom of movement prescribed in the Federal Constitution (art. 3, line a) an abuse of authority.

Factors and Difficulties

There are no restrictions on movement within the territorial boundaries of Brazil, except withrespect to indigenous reserves. Access to those areas requires government authorization. Thismeasure seeks to protect indigenous peoples against the phenomenon of forced acculturation.

Brazilians are free to enter and leave the national territory at any time. This right is assuredby law. Nevertheless, these guarantees are contradicted by specific cases in which the freedom tocome and go has been restricted. First, it is necessary to recognize that the effective exercise ofthis right in modern societies requires access to the means of mass transportation. This is animportant point insofar as the residents of urban centers are as of yet unable to afford regularaccess to mass transit services. This serves as an alert that Brazil must renew its commitment topolicies that stimulate, develop, and subsidize mass transportation services throughout the country.

At the same time, increased activity by armed groups linked to the drug trade in Brazil,principally in metropolitan regions, has subjected thousands of people in shanties and residentialcomplexes on the outskirts of cities to arbitrary rules regarding circulation through these areas andvarious kinds of interdictory measures, including curfews. People subjected to these circumstancesare clearly unable to exercise the right to come and go.

Government Actions

212.The federal government granted free access to interstate transportation services to personswith disabilities - through Law no. 8899, of 29 June 1994, regulated by Decree no. 3691, of 19December 2000 - and the elderly (over the age of 60) - article 40 of the Elderly Statute, regulatedby Decree 5133, of 7 July 2004.

Article 13 - Status of Foreigners

Pursuant to the Federal Constitution, all are equal before the law, insofar as Brazilians andforeigners are assured the same rights (art. 5, heading). Law no. 6815/80 sets out the legal statusof foreigners in Brazil. According to the text, visas are required for foreigners entering the country,although these may be waived, provided there is reciprocity stipulated in an internationalagreement. Visas are granted to individuals and may be extended to legal dependents. Thoseentering Brazilian territory without the proper authorization are subject to deportation. Foreignersintending to reside in the country on a permanent basis are granted a permanent visa.

Brazilian immigration policy determines that the objective of immigration is to providespecialized labor to the various sectors of the national economy so as to increase productivity,promote technological assimilation, and attract resources for specific sectors.

Political asylum is provided for. The extradition of foreigners may be permitted when therequesting government bases its petition on an applicable convention, agreement, or reciprocity. Noextradition will be granted, however, in the absence of an order from the Federal Supreme Court.The Constitution, moreover, establishes that extraditions will not be carried out against a foreignerwhose crime was of a political nature was related to the expression of an opinion (art. 5, subsectionLll.) Foreigners admitted into Brazil may not exercise any activity of a political nature (art. 106 of theStatute on the Foreigner).

216.Today, Brazil has 2,978 refugees from 50 countries. The largest contingent, 1,692 persons,comes from Angola, followed by Liberia, with 258, the Democratic Republic of Congo, with 186,Sierra Leone, with 161, Cuba, with 90, Colombia, with 83, Iraq, with 72, Serbia, with 48, Peru, with40. Between 1996 and 2004, Brazil has carried out 555 repatriations, 472 deportations, 1,242expulsions, and 106 extraditions.

Factors and Difficulties

217.The Federal Constitution explicitly condemns prejudice based on origin (art. 3, subsectionI). However, there is evidence that some Brazilian employers are still reluctant to grant employmentto refugees. As to the execution of sentences of foreigners convicted in Brazil, the Ministry ofJustice has manifested its support for formalizing prisoner transfer agreements, which would enableforeigners to complete their sentences in their countries of origin. Similarly, a Brazilian convictedabroad would have the opportunity to fulfill his or her sentence within the country's territorialboundaries. The treaty would put an end to the pertinent humanitarian question by permitting theconvicted to fulfill their sentences in their country of origin in greater proximity to their relatives and compatriots. However, it is essential that the penitentiary system responsible for the inmate's rehabilitation be equivalent to that in the location where he or she will be reintegrated into society following completion of the applicable sentence.

An initiative that deserves mention was the conclusion of a treaty with Paraguay, in 1995,under the auspices of the Ministries of Justice and Foreign Relations, enabling the legalization ofthe status of almost sixty thousand (60,000) Brazilians residing in Paraguay.

In spite of the government's efforts aimed at simplifying the legal requirements forforeigners seeking to remain in the country, obstacles remain in this area, it is also important tomention the status of groups of Paraguayans, Bolivians, Peruvians, and Colombians livingclandestinely in Brazil’s largest cities, where they accept degrading working conditions to avoiddeportation.

Government Actions

The status of foreigners and refugees in Brazil has been addressed by the NationalHumans Rights Program, which unveiled a series of short-, medium-, and long-term goals, withspecial emphasis to the short-term goals: the development of a program and campaign to legalizethe status of foreigners currently in the country; the adoption of measures to prevent and punishviolence and discrimination against foreigners in Brazil and Brazilians abroad; the proposal of adraft bill establishing a Statute on Refugees.

Concerned with the influx of irregular and clandestine foreigners, the federal governmentlaunched a package of measures during the week of September 7, 1998, that included extendingan offer of amnesty to allow illegal immigrants in Brazil to legalize their status through a re-registration program held on December 7, 1998.

The Secretariat of Justice of the Ministry of Justice has simplified the rules for securingBrazilian naturalization, while the Federal Police has promoted a new re-registration program forforeigners in the country for purposes of exchanging existing identification cards with more secureones. The Department of Foreigners of the Ministry of Justice, meanwhile, has distributed a"Practical Guide for Foreigners in Brazil."

In fulfillment of one of the goals of the National Human Rights Program, draft bill no.1,936/96, subsequently transformed into Law no. 9474/97, was approved and sanctioned. Its sets out the mechanisms for implementing the 1951 Statute on Refugees.

224. Finally, on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the President of the Republic created the National Committee for Refugees ( Comitê Nacional para os Refugiados- CONARE) composed of representatives of the following bodies: the Ministry of Justice, which presides over the committee; the Ministry of Foreign Relations, which exercises the group's vice-presidency; the Ministry of Labor and Employment; the Ministry of Health; the Ministry of Education and Sport; the Federal Police Department; the non-governmental organization Caritas Arquidiocesana of São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro, devoted to assisting and protecting refugees in the country; the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees - UNHCR, which has a voice, but no vote. CáritasArquidiocesana of São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro was chosen to serve as the official representative of civil society in the effort given its long partnership with the government in taking in and assisting refugees.

225.The National Committee on Refugees ( Comitê Nacional para os Refugiados ) has thefollowing ends: I - to analyze the requests for recognition of refugee status; II - to deliberate on thethe repeal of refugee status, either "ex officio" or upon an official request by the competentauthority; III - to declare the loss of refugee status; IV - to guide and coordinate the actionsrequired for ensuring refugees effective protection, assistance, local integration, and legal supportwith the participation of the Ministries and institutions comprising the CONARE; V - to approvenormative instruments to implement Law no. 9747/97.

Article 14 - Equality before the courts and the right to justice

The Federal Constitution assures all individuals equality before the law, without distinctionof any kind, and confers competence for considering all breaches of or threats to rights on thejudiciary (art. 5, subsection XXXV). The judiciary enjoys full independence and autonomy equal tothe legislative and executive branches. The creation of exceptional tribunals is forbidden (art. 5,subsection XXXVII), and individuals may only be prosecuted or sentenced by the judicial branchand deprived of their freedom or assets upon application of due process (art. 5, LIV). The accusedare guaranteed a full defense, the right to challenge the charges against them, and application of allother pertinent legal instruments (art. 5, LV). Defendants shall only be considered guilty upon afinal decision not subject to appeal (art. 5, LVII). Detainees are ensured the exercise of their rights,among them the right to silence, the right to family assistance, and, as mandated by law, the right tocounsel (art. 5, LXIII).

The State has the duty to provide legal assistance at no charge to those who demonstrate alack of sufficient financial means (art. 5, LXXIV). Judicial hearings and procedural acts are, ingeneral, open to the public and are conducted in the pertinent tribunals and courts at times and ondays specified beforehand. The publicity ensured procedural acts may only be restricted to protect a person's privacy or when the interests of society so require. In these cases, proceedings are held in closed session (art. 5, LX).

228. All legal decisions are subject to appeal to a higher court, and final judgments may only be proffered following a review of the original decisions (article 58 and subsequent articles of the Penal Code). This is denominated the principle of the double degree of jurisdiction. Those convicted as a result of judicial error, as well as those detained beyond the time stipulated in the applicable sentence, may request compensation from the State (art. 5, LXXV). Individuals convicted of a crime who do not speak the national language are guaranteed the presence of an interpreter, designated by the presiding judge, during questioning, the associated costs for which will not be borne by the parties (art. 195 of the Penal Code). Pursuant to articles 25 and 26 of the Law on Penal Execution, no. 7210, of 1984, the former shall receive state protection, with the associated guidance and support to reintegrate them to society, including the provision, when necessary, of shelter and food until such time as employment can be secured. The institution of a jury in trials involving serious crimes against life is recognized, as is the right to a full defense, secret jury voting, and the predominance of verdicts (art. 5, XXXVIII).

The Justice System for Children and Adolescents

Article 145 of the Child and Adolescent Statute enables the states and the Federal Districtto establish special and exclusive courts for children and youth. The judiciary has the duty todetermine the proportionality by population of these courts, provide the necessary infrastructure,and specify their regular business hours and night shifts. The costs and fees associated with judicialactions falling within the purview of the Child and Juvenile Justice System ( Justição da Infância e da Juventude ) shall be waived, except in cases of bad-faith litigation (art. 141, paragraph 2, of theChild and Adolescent Statute.) Minors under the age of sixteen (16) shall be represented, whilethose between the ages of sixteen (16) and twenty-one (21) shall be assisted, by their parents,guardians, or trustees. When the interests of the children or adolescents conflict with those of theirparents or legal guardians, the judicial authority shall serve as a special trustee (art. 142 of theChild and Adolescent Statute).

Publication of judicial, police, and administrative acts that refer to children and adolescentsand reveal the identity of individuals charged with an infraction is prohibited fart. 143, heading, ofthe Child and Adolescent Statute). The Child and Juvenile Justice system has the authority to:receive notification of all applications filed by the Public Prosecution Office to investigate aninfraction attributed to an adolescent, through application of the pertinent measures; grant a pardonto suspend or terminate a case; be informed of adoption requests and their progress, amongothers.

231. Socio-educational measures can be divided into two groups: the first involves those that do not result in depriving individuals of their freedom (warnings, compensation for damages, community service, and supervised liberty); the second includes those that restrict or deprive offenders of their freedom (semi-liberty and detention with or without outside activities). The first measure, warnings, is the most lenient. It consists of a verbal reprimand by the competent authority to the violator in a hearing. This measure is used in cases of minor infractions or in cases in which the individual in question is a first time or occasional offender, thereby leading to the conclusion that a warning is sufficient. For its part, the obligation to make restitution for damages is a measure centered on the material effects of the infraction that can result in the imposition, on the offender or on those legally responsible for the offender, of one of the provisions set forth in article 116 of the Statute: restitution of that which was damaged; or reimbursement for damages or compensation for losses. These alternatives are highly instructional, be it as tools to ensure immediate compensation or as a means to introduce a positive psychological effect based on the possibility of requiring compensation. Community service entails offering adolescents an alternative by which they can recognize the inappropriateness of their conduct and understand their value as human beings through an educational experience within a social setting. The measure can also foster relationships based on solidarity in those cases involving interaction with socially excluded individuals. The services are provided free of charge within established deadlines and at scheduled times. Unhealthy, dangerous, or distressing work or that provided to not-for-profit entities is forbidden. Although supervised liberty involves some curbs on freedom, the measure is executed in a regime of liberty. It is based on designating an individual preferably linked to a governmental or non-governmental public assistance program to monitor and provide the adolescent with guidance, under the oversight of the competent judge. Imposition of a regime of semi-liberty results in the individual's institutionalization and is invoked in cases whose seriousness is considered to lie somewhere between supervised liberty and detention. Under this regime, the offender is subject to the rules of a unit/home, while continuing to exercise normal activities outside the institution. Detention consists of measures that deprive individuals of their freedom, which are, as discussed in the comments to art. 10, subject to the principles of brevity and exceptionality, pursuant to the Federal Constitution and the Child and Adolescent Statute, and have, additionally, an educational as well as punitive character.

Government Actions

232. The Brazilian government, mindful of the concerns laid out in items 8 to 10 and of recommendations 18, 20, 21, and 24 of the Final Observations of the Human Rights Committee, has adopted a series of measures.

233.With regard to equality before the law, the federal government endeavored to ensureapproval of the draft bill that transfers jurisdictional authority over cases involving military police officers charged with intentional crimes against the life of a civilian, whether consummated or attempted, from the military justice system to the civilian courts. On August 7, 1996, the President of the Republic sanctioned the draft bill that expands the number of crimes that fall within the purview of the civilian courts through the approval of Law no. 9299/96.

In the effort to combat impunity, the Federal Senate is now considering a judicial reformplan already passed by the House of Representatives that grants jurisdiction over Human Rightscrimes to the federal justice system.

On the issue of access to the justice system, the approval of Law 9099/95, whichestablishes the Special Civil and Criminal Courts as independent entities presided over by statejudges, deserves mention. In the civil sphere, their jurisdictional authority is restricted to sums notexceeding 40 minimum salaries. Representation, meanwhile, is waived in civil cases involving up to20 minimum salaries. The success of the Special Courts at the state level led to the creation of theSpecial Federal Courts, through Law no. 10259, enacted on 12 July 2001, with jurisdiction toexamine cases under the purview of the federal justice system.

Additionally, in an effort to imbue the legal process with greater efficiency and offer thepopulation greater speed and access, some states have instituted itinerant justice systems. SãoPaulo created its system, in 1998; Rio de Janeiro has had such a system since July 1996 (by theend of last year, 2,478 persons had been assisted by the "Mobile Defense" unit; in 1997, theaverage was five times greater as demonstrated by the fact that by August 28, 1998, 14,066 hadreceived legal assistance); In Alagoas, the judiciary implemented an itinerant justice system, in1997, to operate in districts of the state capital and interior areas of the state.

To assist communities with difficulties of access to the justice system, services such as theItinerant Floating Court was created (one ship with a judge, prosecutor, defender, and staff membernavigates the Amazon River for a week assisting populations living along the banks of the river); theItinerant Terrestrial Court (a bus transformed into a hearing room that circulates throughneighborhoods on the outskirts of the state capital;) the Mobile Traffic Court (which provides timelyassistance for accidents not involving serious injury). The creation of "Legal Desks" (Balcões deDireitos), a program which aims to provide free legal assistance, basic documents and conflictmediation services to low-income communities with limited access to public services, through theestablishment of partnerships between the federal government, state-level governments and civilsociety organizations is also a positive initiative which deserves mention .

Article 15 - Non-retroactivity of criminal law

238. The Federal Constitution and the Penal Code enshrine the principle of non-retroactivity of criminal law. Article 5, subsection XL, of the Federal Constitution states "penal law shall not be retroactive, except to benefit the defendant." The exception to the rule of non-retroactivity is prescribed by art. 2 of the Penal Code, which establishes that no individual may be subject to penalties for circumstances that a subsequent law no longer considers a crime, resulting, therefore, in the suspension of the execution and penal effects of the conviction. Furthermore, the subsequent law that favors the agent shall be applied to previous circumstances, even when such circumstances resulted in a conviction. Thus, the principle set out in the Federal Constitution and the Penal Code is that of non-retroactivity of "lexgravior" (law that does not benefit the defendant) and of the retroactivity of "lexmitior" (law that benefits the defendant), that is, the non-retroactivity of "in pejus" (worst case) and the retroactivity of "in mellius" (best case).

239.The heading of the article referred to presents the potential of a new law that no longerconsiders certain conduct a crime. This constitutes "abolitiocriminis" (abolition of a crime). Thestand-alone paragraph, meanwhile, sets out the case of a new law that is more benign to thedefendant or convicted offender. This is known as "novatiolegis in mellius" (new best case law). Inboth cases, the retroactivity of penal law is prescribed for a new law that is more beneficial to thedefendant or the convicted offender, a circumstance that has the effect of superseding the civileffects of the conviction given that the heading of the article under consideration only mentions the"penal effects of the conviction."

Article 16 - The right to a juridical personality

The Federal Constitution ensures the right to a nationality, for which purpose Brazil adopts"jus solis," with some exceptions. Thus, nationality is assigned to those born within the territorialboundaries of Brazil, even by parents of a foreign country, provided they are not exercising anofficial capacity for their country of origin, in which case the principle of "jus sanguinis" applies.Article 12 of the Federal Constitution was modified by Constitutional Revision Amendment no. 03, of7 June 1994. Pursuant to this determination, the exceptions to "jus solis" includes: those bornabroad by a Brazilian father and mother, provided they return to live in the Federative Republic ofBrazil and opt, at any time, for Brazilian nationality.

Foreigners may opt for naturalization. For those coming from Portuguese-speaking nationsthe only requirement for nationality is uninterrupted residence in Brazil for one year and moralfitness. Foreigners of other nationalities must be residents of Brazil for more than fifteenconsecutive years and have no criminal conviction. !n these cases, provided there is reciprocity in favor of Brazilians, the rights inherent to Brazilian citizens shall be conferred, except for the cases prescribed in the Constitution (paragraph 1 of art. 12).

The same Constitutional Revision Amendment provides for two additional cases throughwhich another nationality could be obtained without resulting in the loss of Brazilian nationality:when the law of a foreign country recognizes the nationality of origin and in the event naturalizationis imposed by foreign legislation on a Brazilian resident of a foreign country as a condition forremaining within such country's territorial boundaries or exercising the applicable civil rights thereof(subsection II of paragraph 4 of art. 12).

Brazilian law specifies the capacity to exercise the activities of civil life (articles 3 and 4 ofthe new Civil Code):

a)Individuals absolutely unable to personally exercise the activities of civil lifeinclude:

I- minors under the age of sixteen (16);

II- those who, due to infirmity or mental deficiency, do not possess thecomprehension to carry out such activities;

III- those who are unable to manifest their will, even if temporarily.

b)Individuals unable to perform specific activities or to perform them correctlyinclude:

I- minors over the age of sixteen (16) and under the age of eighteen (18);

- heavy drinkers, addicts, and individuals with reduced discernment due to mentaldeficiency;

- the persons who lack full mental development;

- the prodigal.

The capacity of indigenous populations shall be regulated by specific legislation.

Pursuant to Law no. 6015, of 31 December 1973, the full exercise of citizenship requirescivil birth registrations. Law no. 9534, of 10 December 1997, ensures that the acts necessary for theexercise of full citizenship rights, including civil birth registrations (as well as their extemporaneousissuance) and death certificates, shall be provided at no charge.

Every year, 800,000 children fail to be registered in their first year of life. Concerned withthis scenario of social exclusion, the federal government promoted a national Civil Birth Registrationmobilization campaign founded on intense coordinated action by agencies and bodies at the three administrative levels of the State and involving the three branches of government and non­governmental organizations. At the federal level, sixty-two institutions make up the National Working Group responsible for coordinating the campaign. All 27 states, moreover, are part of the campaign, having created commissions to coordinate actions in the states and the Federal District. The birth registration mobilization effort is continuous, and the campaign launched on October 25, 2003 - the first national civil birth registration day - is scheduled to run through October 26, 2006.

On October 25, 2003, all the country's notary public offices operated 24 hours for thepurpose of issuing birth registrations. On a single day, 40,000 birth registrations were issued in aneffort that proved critical for educating Brazilian society on the question and introducing it in thenation's political agenda. In May 2004, the government, in partnership with civil society, developedthe National Civil Birth Registration Plan (Piano Nacional Para o Registro Civil de Nascimento ),which was aimed at ending the problem of unregistered children. The Plan provides for short-,medium-, and long-term actions to ensure that all Brazilian children are duly registered by 2006.

As an extension of the national mobilization campaign, the Rural Civil Birth RegistrationMobilization Day will be held on August 6, 2004, while on November 6, 2004, another national civilregistration mobilization campaign, associated to the Global Action effort, sponsored by theIndustrial Social Service the past eight years, will be launched in the state capitals and largesturban centers.

Further, since 1996, the federal government has lent its support to the implementation ofCitizen Mutual-Help initiatives. The Mutual-Help efforts are periodic actions that bring togetherpublic agencies and bodies responsible for the issuance of civil documents. On specific dates,employees of these agencies and bodies travel to municipalities in the remote regions of the statesthat lack adequate civil registration services. The Mutual-Help initiatives and the Legal Desks (seeparagraph 25) benefit more than 200,000 persons every year by providing them with theinstruments they need to exercise their rights and duties as citizens.

Article 17 - Protection against arbitrary or illegal interference

249.The Federal Constitution considers the secrecy of a person's mail, as well as telegraph,data, and telephone communications, inviolable, except in cases of a judicial order, as establishedin Law no. 9296/96 for purposes of performing criminal investigations or legal proceduralinstructions (art. 5, subsection Xii). Intimacy, private life, honor and the image of persons are also inviolable, insofar as the right to compensation is assured for material or moral damages arising from the violation of these rights.

Individuals are assured knowledge of personal information collected on them that is thenentered into government or public databases and have the right to correct such information throughthe constitutional remedy known as "habeas-data" (art. 5, subsection LXXII). The ConsumerProtection Code also enables the consumer who discovers imprecise information in his or her dataand records to demand immediate rectification of the problem, from which point the archivist hasfive business days to notify the recipients of the incorrect information of the modification (art. 43,paragraph 3, of the Consumer Protection Code).

Lastly, the Federal Constitution considers the a person's home as inviolable refuge, intowhich no person may enter without the consent of its inhabitant, except during the perpetration of acrime, a disaster, a medical or other emergency, or, during daylight hours, to execute a judicialorder (art. 5, subsequent XI).

Factors and difficulties:

252.With regard to the principle of the inviolability of the home, there are cases of judges whoissue collective search and arrest warrants without specifying the addresses at which the warrantsshould be executed, thereby allowing police officers to enter any residence considered suspect inthe slums of large urban areas.

Article 18 - Freedom of thought, conscience, and religion

The Federal Constitution enshrines the fundamental right to freedom of thought in its article5, subsection IV.

Freedom of conscience and freedom of religion are also guaranteed by Brazil's normativesystem. Because Brazil is a secular state, the country maintains no links with any establishedChurch. The separation of the State from religious institutions creates a propitious environment forthe freedom to practice cults and rituals. The inviolability of the freedom of conscience and religionis enshrined in the Constitution, as is the freedom to exercise religious rites and the protection ofreligious cults and religious ceremonies (article 5, subsection VI). Law no. 4898/65 defines anyactions against the freedom of conscience and religion, as well as free exercise of religious rites, asan abuse of power.

The deprivation of rights based on religious belief or philosophical or political conviction isprohibited, except in cases in which an individual invokes such rights to exempt him or herself from legal obligations imposed on all citizens and to refuse fulfillment through any alternative means, pursuant to article 5, subsection VIII, of the Brazilian Constitution.

The vast plurality of ideas can be evidenced in Brazil's learning establishments, marked, asthey are, by wide heterogeneity. Both lay and religious establishments can be found in the country.Thus, respect for differences of religious orientation and thought are respected.

Brazilian legislators, heedful of the need to promote full religious exercise, added aprovision to article 140 of the Penal Code, through enactment of Law no. 9458/97, with regard tolibel, setting out more severe penalties for the violator who offends the dignity of a citizen on thebasis of race, color, ethnicity, religion, or origin.

Religious entities in Brazil are exempt from tax obligations.

Factors and Difficulties

259.In spite of the secular nature of the Brazilian State and the fact that it maintains no ties toany specific religious institution, Brazilian cultural tradition is strongly influenced by Catholicism.Some aspects of this tradition can be identified in some of the republic's official rituals. It is for thisreason that all religious holidays in Brazil are Christian, pointing to limits on the State's secularcharacter. In recent years, a significant growth in the presence of evangelical groups has beenregistered, particularly in Brazil's largest cities. There is, to be sure, a certain prejudice againstspecific religious groups, especially those founded on African traditions, such as umbanda. For thisvery reason, many who regularly attend Africanist temples declare themselves to be "Catholics"when queried. Be that as it may, the Brazilian republic has never been victimized by violent religiousdisputes. Christians, Muslims, Jews, Buddhists, Africanists, spiritists, and all other religiousexpressions coexist harmoniously and in mutual respect, to the extent that strengthenedecumenical ties have been forged over the years.

Article 19 - Freedom of opinion, expression, and information

The 1988 Constitution assures the right to freedom of opinion, expression, and information.Censorship, an instrument that directly contradicts the right to free expression and opinion, isprohibited by the Brazilian State, pursuant to article 5, subsection IX. This prohibition ensuresvaried intellectual manifestations.

The right to information, essential for the functioning of the Legal Democratic State, isguaranteed by the Brazilian Constitution. The State, on the basis of the principles that order its activities, is subject to the principle of publicity, which establishes the provision of information concerning its acts to the general population (article 37 of the Federal Constitution).

The media enjoys full freedom, as ensured in article 220, paragraph 2, of the FederalConstitution. For their part, social communication services (radio and television), which are providedthrough government concessions, must observe the constitutional determinations that givepreference to programming with educational, artistic, cultural, and information objectives, as well asto national and regional cultural productions and the respect for the ethical values of the humanperson and the family (article 200, subsections).

The prison population is assured contact with the outside world via correspondence,reading materials, and other communication means. It may also exercise intellectual, artistic, andsports activities.

With regard to national consumer relations policies, the Brazilian Consumer ProtectionCode includes principles mandating education and information for suppliers and consumers asregards their rights and duties in order to optimize the consumer market (Law 8078/90, article 4,subsection IV).

Factors and Difficulties

265.The 1988 Federal Constitution established the right to opinion and expression andeliminated the repressive instruments in force during the military dictatorship. This importantadvance brought with it correspondingly serious responsibilities for the holders of the means ofmass communication. The definition set out in the Constitution with regard to the need to respectthe "ethical and social values of the human person and the family," however, is insufficient toensure effective guidance on this question. In the absence of specific regulations, many radio andTV broadcasters have produced programs that violate civil and political rights and incite violenceand prejudice - most notably against homosexuals, individuals engaged in the sex industry,inmates, and criminal suspects - by invading privacy, disrespecting the constitutional principle ofthe presumption of innocence, and so forth. This is an issue that has sparked great concern inBrazil and has increasingly been the focus not only of seminars but judicial actions as well.Additionally, the National Congress is now considering a Law mandating an "Ethical Code forTelevision Programming," an initiative that once approved will offer new and modern parameters forsecuring the accountability of TV broadcasters while respecting the freedom of information.

Article 20 - Prohibition on propaganda that favors of armed conflict or incites hatred

266.As the primary constitutional principle ordering Brazil's international relations, the peacefulresolution of conflict (article 4, subsection VII) demonstrates the Brazilian State's official policy onbehalf of peace. This orientation is also manifest in the country's internal relations. The existence ofmeasures to protect the harmony of social relations by ensuring the prohibition against propagandathat favors war or expresses sympathy for hate based on nationality, race, or religion are clearlyevident.

With respect to consumer relations, legislators demonstrated their concern with the issue byenacting a prohibition on all abusive publicity that in any way discriminates or incites violence, playson fears or superstitions, takes advantage of children's lower levels of judgment and experience,disrespects environmental values, or induces consumers to adopt behaviors that jeopardize orendanger their health or safety (Law no. 8078/90, art. 37, paragraph 2). In 2002, cigaretteadvertising was abolished by Brazil's federal Law governing television advertising.

The concern with maintaining the harmony of the public peace is reflected in various areasof Brazilian law. Thus, the primacy of the domestic and international struggle for peace and socialcoexistence based on solidarity is amply demonstrated. The Penal Code stipulates in clear termsthe determinations that reveal the special concern with the maintenance of peaceful social relations.In regard to crimes against the public peace, the Code prohibits inciting criminal activity, as well asapologies for criminal acts or their perpetrators.

Article 21 - The right of assembly

Assembly is an activity fully guaranteed by the Brazilian Constitution, which assures theright of peaceful assembly, without weapons, in locations open to the public, for which no specificauthorization is required. However, to ensure respect for all manifestations involving the peacefulassembly of citizens, the competent authority must be notified to avoid conflicts with anothermeeting previously scheduled for the same location (article 5, subsection XVI) and to enable thegovernment, moreover, to assure the safety of those assembling. The right of private assemblies isensured through the inviolability of residences.

Exceptional circumstances enable prohibition on the right of assembly. In accordance withthe Brazilian Federal Constitution, upon the decree of a "State of Defense" or "State of Siege" somecoercive measures may be adopted, among them restrictions on or suspension of the right ofassembly (article 136, paragraph 1, subsection i, "a" and article 13S, subsection IV). Uponconclusion of the "State of Siege" or "State of Defense," the associated effects are also terminated (article 141).

Factors and difficulties

271.The reasons that drive people to organize peaceful demonstrations are varied (political,labor, and environmental questions, among others). Serious incidents relative to thesedemonstrations are uncommon. On certain occasions, specific violations of legal limits - such asthe occupation of public buildings and demonstrations that result in the blocking of streets or roads- have required the presence of police forces called by state governments to reestablish publicorder and guarantee all other citizens the freedom of movement. In these situations, sporadicreports of preventable acts of violence have been registered, usually as a consequence of the lackof preparation on the part of police forces.

Article 22 - The freedom of association

The Brazilian State guarantees citizens the right of association for legal ends, whileprohibiting associations of a paramilitary nature, pursuant to article 5, subsection XVII, of theConstitution. For its part, the establishment of associations in accordance with the law does notrequire authorization, nor may the State interfere in their functioning. In setting out theestablishment of associations, the Constitution also mandates that the compulsory dissolution orsuspension of the activities of an association may only be determined by judicial order. Nothing inBrazilian law requires association, and compelling an individual to associate or remain associated isprohibited (article 5, subsection XX).

Union activity is also fully protected within the territorial boundaries of Brazil, so that itsmanifestation may be freely exercised. There is no requirement establishing State authorization forthe creation of unions. However, these must be registered with the competent bodies. TheConstitution also prohibits interference or intervention by the State in unions (article 8, subsection I).

The right to strike is included among the constitutional guarantees extended to Braziliancitizens. Specific laws, in turn, are charged with determining the services considered essential andtheir provision to the community (article 9, paragraph 1). The 1989 law governing strikes specifiedthe essential services that must continue to be provided even in the event of strikes and establishedthat workers must notify employers 48 hours prior to a planned stoppage.

The abuse of the right to strike is considered to occur when essential services areparalyzed or upon continuation of a strike following a judicial decision against the strike. However,the law mandates that until such time as an abuse of strike case has been heard employers areexpressly forbidden from hiring replacement workers. The Brazilian Constitution prohibits thearbitrary or unfounded dismissal of an employee elected to a position on an internal accident prevention commission from such employee's official candidacy to one year following expiration ofhis or her mandated term.

276.The Penal Code establishes penalties for individuals who act against the freedom ofassociation, prescribing prohibitions against coercive measures intended to secure anotherindividual's participation or removal from a particular union or professional association (article 199).

Factors and Difficulties

277.The Brazilian union system proscribes the formation of more than one union to representthe same professional category within the same geographic area. This is based on the notion of"union unity," the system adopted by Brazil. Union structures are supported by mandatory uniondues, while the right to form unions is extended to all Brazilians, except members of the armedforces and police. Unions are free with regard to decision-making, a relevant fact given theessential and indispensable quality, at times, of labor negotiations. The notion of unity and uniondues however introduced distortions that are only now being confronted through the federalgovernment's decision to prepare a draft bill on the issue and in this way stimulate debate in theNational Congress aimed at reforming Brazil's labor legislation. The reform aims at introducing,among other changes, the plurality of union representation and the end of union dues.

Article 23 - Rights of the Family

The Brazilian Constitution considers the family the essential nucleus of society and extendsspecial protections to that social unit. The Constitution expands on the concept of the family bydefining the family structure not only on the basis of marriage, but on the basis of stable unions aswell.

The rights and duties regarding conjugal relations are exercised equally by man andwoman, pursuant to the Constitution (article 226, paragraph 5). Marriage may be dissolved bymeans of divorce.

On the issue of family planning, the couple's freedom to choose is ensured, while the Statehas the duty to provide the educational and scientific resources necessary to exercise that right,while official or private institutions are prohibited from employing any coercive measures in this area(article 226, paragraph 7).

The Brazilian normative system includes instruments to protect partners (man and woman)with respect to alimony support. Law.' no. 8971/94 assures the partner of a legally separated, divorced, or widowed single man who has lived with such man for more than five years or has borne children fathered by such man the right to alimony support until such time she forms a new union and demonstrates no further need for such support. This protection is also extended to male partners under the same conditions (article 1, stand-alone paragraph).

Law no. 9278/96 regulates the constitutional provision governing stable unions, defining inits first article such unions as those involving the long-term coexistence, of a public nature, betweena man and a woman for the purpose of constituting a family. The Law also sets out the equality ofrights and duties between the man and the woman living together. It regulates, furthermore, issuesconcerning the succession of assets (article 5).

As was already mentioned, the National Congress has been considering a draft bill aimedat recognizing the civil rights of homosexual unions for almost a decade. The absence of a specificLaw on this question, however, has not precluded the judiciary from recognizing the civil rights ofhomosexual unions, in light of the fact that prevailing constitutional principles are committed toending any and all forms of discrimination.

In accordance with the recommendations put forth by the UN Human Rights Committee(UN document CCPR/C/79/Add.66, of 24 July 1996), the Brazilian State has taken important stepsin ensuring observance of civil rights within the family sphere.

Factors and Difficulties

In considering the family, we must be aware of the dramatic situation of children who, byjudicial order, have been removed from the guardianship of their biological parents by virtue ofmistreatment involving neglect, beatings, or sexual abuse. These children are usually referred toprotective institutions identified as "shelters." In a majority of cases, the children cannot be returnedto their parents. Often, the family from which they came has ceased to exist; in other instances, theconditions leading to the mistreatment within the family setting persist. For this reason, the childrencontinue in institutions. Even if the shelters were able to offer services of high quality - which,unfortunately, is not often the case - these children would still be deprived of one fundamental right:the right to live with their families, the right that can only flow from an intense and stable lovingrelationship.

Children in institutions are less likely to be adopted given that adoption in Brazil followsquite traditional patterns, whereby most people seek newborns, preferably white and healthy girls.The children in shelters, however, show a different profile: generally they are older, represent allcolors and races, and have, invariably, sad life stories to recount. There are thousands of children living in these circumstances in Brazil, children who dream of having someone they can call "Mom" and "Dad."

287.Brazil has not yet been able to offer a response capable of fulfilling such a simple, butcompelling, dream. The country lacks policies to promote the adoption of older children and mustmove beyond its traditional culture of adoption.

Article 24 - Rights of the Child

In absolute conformity with the applicable international standards, in particular theConvention on the Rights of the Child and the 1988 Brazilian Constitution, the Child and AdolescentStatute introduced a new paradigm in Brazilian jurisprudence inspired on the idea that children andadolescents constitute true individuals with rights who are in a specific stage of humandevelopment.

This new paradigm advances the doctrine of full protection to children and adolescents andenshrines its own logic and underlying principles based on assuring the prevalence and primacy ofthe interests of children and adolescents. As individuals with rights in a specific stage of humandevelopment, children and adolescents are guaranteed the right to special protections. From theperspective of Human Rights, the 1988 Constitution and the Child and Adolescent Statute provide afull vision of the human rights of children and adolescents by considering the indivisibility of thoserights, their reciprocal implementation, and the equivalent importance of all rights, whether civil,political, social, economic, or cultural.

. The preparation of the 1988 Federal Constitution in the context of the country's return todemocratic rule led to a national debate with the active participation of civil society. As aconsequence, social questions and the rights of the child and adolescent were addressed by thecurrent Constitution in a manner unprecedented in the nation's history.

The priority conferred on children and adolescents runs through the entire 1988 FederalConstitution, although it is the inclusion of an article aimed specifically at ensuring the civil, economic, social, and cultural rights of children that enshrines the importance of this issue forBrazilian society as a whole.

292.Article 227 of the 1988 Brazilian Constitution establishes that "it is the duty of the family,society, and the State to assure children and adolescents, as an absolute priority, the right to life,health, food, education, leisure, professional training, culture, dignity, respect, liberty, and familyand community life, in addition to safeguarding them from all forms of neglect, discrimination,exploitation, violence, cruelty, and oppression."

In light of the vulnerability of children and adolescents, special and distinct legal protectionsare afforded them that reflect the process of specifying the individual with rights, as it is known. Thatis, general, generic, and abstract protections are not sufficient; rather special protections must beadopted for particular groups that require specific legal guardianship. In the case of children andadolescents, that specific guardianship is justified on the basis of their constituting individuals withrights in a specific stage of human development in light of an "adult-centered" culture thatessentially conceives the world from the perspective of adults, while "diminishing" children andadolescents and viewing them as inferior subjects.

As individuals with rights in a specific stage of human development, children andadolescents are guaranteed the right to special protections. The special rights recognized forchildren and adolescents stem from their particular status as human beings in development.Consequently, the State and society must assure all the opportunities and means through laws orother measures required to enable the full physical, mental, spiritual, and social development ofchildren and adolescent, ensuring their freedom and dignity in the accomplishment of theseobjectives.

Article 227, paragraph 3, of the 1988 Constitution mandates that the right to specialprotection shall encompass the following elements: I. a minimum age of fourteen years foradmission to employment positions, pursuant to the provisions of article 7, subsection XXXIII; II. theright to social security and labor guarantees; III. the right of access by adolescent workers toeducation; IV. the full and formal guarantee of knowledge concerning the attribution of an infraction,equality in court proceedings, and a technical defense by a qualified professional, as set out in thespecific legislation; V. adherence to the principles of brevity, exceptionality, and respect for thespecific developmental stage of the individual upon the application of any detention measure; VI.the offering of fiscal incentives and subsidies by the government, by means of legal assistance andpursuant to the law, for those who assume guardianship of orphaned or abandoned children andadolescents; VII. prevention programs and specialized assistance for children and adolescentssuffering from narcotic or other drug-related dependencies. Note that the previous repressive andcorrectional approach to adolescent offenders is transformed into an effort centered on providingspecial protections and direct involvement by the family, society, and the State as a means to reintegrate children and adolescents into society, as set out in the Child and Adolescent Statute.

In 1990, the Child and Adolescent Statute (ECA), Law no. 8069, of 13 July 1990, waspromulgated, leading to the repeal of the Code of Minors and the adaptation of the infra-constitutional norms to the prevailing constitutional principles. The objective of the Statue is toregulate the legal status of individuals up to the age of eighteen years, with children defined asindividuals up to the age of twelve years and adolescents defined as individuals between the agesof twelve and eighteen years.

In developing the Child and Adolescent Statute, the Minimum United Nations Rules on theAdministration of Child and Juvenile Justice (Beijing Rules, 1985), the Minimum United NationsRules on the protection of Youth Deprived of Freedom (1990), and the United Nations Guidelineson the Prevention of Juvenile Delinquency (Riyhad Guideline, 1990) were taken into consideration,in addition to the Convention on the Rights of the Child. The Statute was also based on provisionsstemming from International Labor Organization Convention no. 138, of 1973, on the Minimum Agefor Admission to Employment, which establishes a minimum age of sixteen years; the HagueConvention on the Protection of Children in Matters relative to International Adoption, ratified byBrazil, in 1999; and ILO Convention no. 182, of 1999, on the Worst Forms of Child Labor andImmediate Action Aimed at its Elimination, ratified by Brazil, in 2000.

The Statute guarantees children and adolescents under Brazilian jurisdiction all the rightsset forth in the Convention on the Rights of the Child and emphasizes the democratic principle ofparticipation by civil society in the development and execution of policies and actions aimed atpromoting and safeguarding rights.

With respect to legal doctrine, the previous legislation and policies in force in Brazil, basedas they were on the concept of the "minor in an irregular situation," pursuant to the Code of Minors,Law no. 6697, of 10 October 1979, and the National Policy on the Weil-Being of Children ( Política Nacional do Bem-Estar do Meno- PNBEM), articulated through Law no. 4513, of 1964, the Childand Adolescent Statue secured the following advances:

replaced the generic term "minor" with "child and adolescent," considered"individuals in development," with distinct characteristics and needs;

conferred absolute priority on the rights of the child and adolescent;

shifted the focus of the interpretation of socially disadvantaged, abandoned, ordelinquent minors to individuals in development subject to all applicable legal rights.

> substituted the repressive and correctional focus by which children and adolescents in situations of abandonment and/or in conflict with the law constituted a "matter for law enforcement and the justice system" with a concept based on special protections involving the joint responsibility of families, society, and the State.

One of the Statute's most innovative features is its applicability to all individuals under theage of eighteen years, in contrast to the previous Code of Minors, which applied only to those in anirregular situation. This created a legal dichotomy with children and adolescents considered to be inregular situations by virtue of the fact that they lived with their families or the provisions of theapplicable legislation and the legal and doctrinal interpretation of such legislation covering childrennot living with their parents. The term "minor," then, came to be associated with irregular situationsand, subsequently, discrimination, resulting, ultimately, in its elimination from the current legislation.

Under the Brazilian legal system, children and adolescents enjoy all the fundamental rightsguaranteed to the human person, whether those recognized by domestic law or those prescribed inthe international treaties to which Brazil is a party. In addition, they enjoy the full protectionsensured by the Statute.

The characterization of the rights of children and adolescents as human rights underscoresthe inalienability of those rights and commits the State to respect, defend, and promote such rightsboth on the domestic front and in the international sphere. Moreover, absolute priority must beconferred on those rights, as well as the fulfillment of the needs of children and adolescents.

In light of the fact that the most recent international human rights instruments underscorethe indivisibility of civil, political, economic, cultural, and social rights, the rights of children andadolescents as a whole must be fully guaranteed. This suggests that the violation of any rightconstitutes, in one form or another, a violation of all human rights given their interrelationship andthat the guarantee of one right presupposes the guarantee of all rights.

Consistent with this guideline, the Statute endeavors to address the rights of children andadolescents in an interrelated manner by referring to other rights that assure protection for aparticular right and linking individual and social rights under a single title. The rights to life, health,liberty, respect, dignity, family and community life, education, culture, sports, leisure, professionaltraining, and employment protections are, in this way, prescribed. Again, there is absolute harmonybetween the areas focused on by the Statute and the Convention on the Rights of the Child, whichendorses, similarly, the indivisibility of the human rights of children, their reciprocal implementation,and the equivalent importance of all rights.

305.One of the most important innovations of the Child and Adolescent Statute is the judicialprotection assured to individual, diffuse, and collective interests (articles 208 to 224) of children andadolescents. The Statute provides for liability and civil actions in cases involving the violation ofthese rights. The Statute's fundamental focus is on civil society's direct democratic participation inthe coordination and control of the Public Policies within the Councils on Rights.

Factors and Difficulties

Income distribution in Brazil constitutes one of the country's most serious problems.Because of the extreme inequality of wealth distribution, the adequate education of children standsas adifficult challenge. A high percentage of Brazilian children are born and raised in conditions ofpoverty and exclusion. At the same time, we must also highlight other factors that fuel violenceagainst children and adolescents in Brazil, such as the reduced role schools play in combatingviolence; insufficient policing on the outskirts of urban centers; inadequate training and preparationof police officers; and the poor quality of the institutions that house adolescent violators.

Although the Brazilian legal system prohibits any and all forms of violence and mandates aseries of safeguards and mechanisms aimed at ensuring the rights of the child and the adolescent,the fact is that some are the victims of grave violations. To start, within the family setting childrenand adolescents are all too often the victims of aggression, beatings, and disrespect. The habit ofsubjecting children to physical punishment is still prevalent among Brazilian families, including inmiddle-class and upper-class families. Children and adolescents are victimized on the streets, mostnotably those who live on the streets as a result of extreme poverty and/or domestic violence.Children are also the target of violations in many of the shelters built to protect them; similarly, manyjuvenile offenders are subject to humiliation and aggression in the juvenile detention centers wherethey should, pursuant to the Child and Adolescent Statute, receive socio-educational assistance.

Government Actions

308.The federal government has undertaken efforts, in partnership with the other levels ofgovernment and civil society, to strengthen the national, state, and municipal councils on the rightsof children and adolescents and protective councils, which are considered the foundation of theChild and Adolescent Guaranteed Rights System ( Sistema de Garantia dos Direitos da Criança e do Adolescente ). Through the Special Secretariat for Human Rights of the Presidency of theRepublic (SEDH), the federal government established a series of partnerships with state and privatecompanies to develop actions and apply financial resources toward the establishment and strengthening of those councils. The resources are applied directly by the companies in consultation with SEDH and the National Council for the Rights of the Child and Adolescent (CONANDA) or by means of donations to national, state, and municipal funds for children and adolescents, which are managed by the respective councils.

309.Recently, the Pró-conselhoBrasil program was implemented, in partnership with an institutelinked to a private company. The objective of the program is to conduct a broad study of thecouncils in the country, as well as to establish new councils where none exist or to strengthenexisting ones through training of council members and the promotion of donations to child andadolescent funds. The United Nations Fund for Children is a strategic partner in this effort.

Article 25 - The right to participate in the public sector, to vote and be elected, and to access public positions in the country

The Federative Republic of Brazil is a Legal Democratic State formed by the indissolubleunion of the states and municipalities and the Federal District. Its guiding principles are sovereignty,the dignity of the human person, the values of work and free enterprise, as well as politicalpluralism. One of the underlying presumptions of the Brazilian Legal Democratic State is popularsovereignty exercised through universal suffrage and direct, secret, and equal voting by all, as wellas plebiscites, referendums, and popular initiatives.

The Brazilian Federal Constitution proclaims, additionally, mandatory voter registration andvoting for individuals over the age of eighteen and voluntary voter registration and voting for theilliterate and persons over the age of seventy and minors over the age of sixteen and under the ageof eighteen (article 14, paragraph 1, subsections I and II).

Foreigners are prohibited from registering to vote and from voting, as are conscripts duringthe period of their mandatory service. To qualify as a candidate to elective office, specificconstitutional requirements must be met, specifically the individual must: have Brazilian nationality,enjoy full exercise of his or her political rights, be registered, have his or her residence in thepertinent electoral district, and have a party affiliation. Another condition involves eligibility based onmandatory age limits, namely: thirty-five for President, Vice President, and Senator of the Republic;thirty for State Governor and Vice Governor; twenty-one for Federal Representative, State orDistrict Representative, Mayor, and Vice Mayor and justice of the peace; and eighteen forCouncilman. Those not registered to vote and the illiterate are ineligible to hold office.

The formation, merger, amalgamation, and extinction of political parties is free, with dueregard for national sovereignty, the democratic regime, the plurality of political parties, thefundamental rights of the human person, while observing the precepts of national character, the prohibition on the receipt of financial resources from foreign entities or governments, and the rendering of accounts related to campaign finances to the electoral courts.

314.Political parties are assured the independence to determine their internal structures andfunctioning, the specific statutes of which must be set forth in the norms regarding party loyalty anddiscipline. Political parties may not employ paramilitary organizations, are ensured access toresources of the party fund, as well as free access to the means of mass communication, pursuant to the applicable electoral legislation.

In accordance with Constitutional amendment no. 16, of 4 June 1997, reelection ispermitted once for a single equal term for the President of the Republic, state governors, includingthe Federal District, and mayors, as well as those who succeed or substitute the aforementionedduring the course of their terms of office.

As provided for by the Constitution (article 14, paragraph 8, subsections I and II), militarypersonnel registered to vote may be eligible for election.

The disenfranchisement of political rights is forbidden. The repeal or suspension of suchrights is only permitted in cases of the cancellation of an individual's naturalization following a finaljudgment not subject to appeal, absolute civil incapacity, criminal conviction following a finaljudgment not subject to appeal, in which case the repeal or suspension herein considered shallextend for the time the legal effects of such conviction apply, refusal to fulfill an obligation or providean alternative service, and administrative misconduct.

The Brazilian electoral legal system is charged with organizing the country's electoraldistricting; voter registration; adopting or proposing measures to ensure elections are carried out ina timely fashion and as prescribed by law; establishing the dates for elections (when not sodetermined by the Constitution); deciding on challenges to findings of ineligibility or incompatibility;granting habeas corpus and issuing injunctions in pertinent cases involving electoral matters; votecounts and official results; prosecuting and judging cases of electoral and common criminaloffenses related to the electoral process; and decreeing the loss of a legislative office inconstitutionally established cases.

Article 118 of the Federal Constitution sets out the structure of the electoral court system,composed, specifically, of the Superior Electoral Tribunal, the Regional Electoral Tribunals, theelectoral Courts, and the Electoral Councils. A Complementary Law prescribes the organization andcompetence of the tribunals, the state courts, and the electoral councils.

The government is guided by the principles of legality, impersonality, morality, and publicity (article 37, heading). All Brazilians may, under equal conditions, hold public posts, whether civilianor military, with admission to public service governed by a public exam and the presentation ofprofessional and academic credentials, except in the case of commissioned offices, appointments,and waivers.

Public-sector employees have the right to free union association. They enjoy a distinct legalregime under which they are subject to a mandatory retirement age of 70 and are assured incomeproportional to their time of service.

322.The right to participate in public affairs is not restricted to the right to vote, win electedoffice, or gain access to public positions. As mentioned, the constitutional system enshrines directdemocratic mechanisms such as referendums, plebiscites, and public consultations. Otherinitiatives have been consolidated at the federal, state, and municipal levels. Some municipalities,beginning with Porto Alegre, have promoted popular participation through internationally recognizedmechanisms of direct democracy such as the "participative budget", which enables citizens torequest the establishment of specific priorities in the light of scarce resources. The executivebranch's initiative with regard to budgetary legislation submitted to the legislative branch is subjectto public consultations held at the various geographic levels of the municipality. Another importantstep was taken in 2003 with the development of the Multi-Annual Plan {Piano Plurianual - PPA) ofjoint goals, challenges, and actions considered of priority to the federal government in the executionof its four-year development models. In spite of the difficulties in guaranteeing direct democraticmechanisms at the national level, the government, in cooperation with UNESCO and the CaixaEconômica Federal, has held public hearings in the 26 states and the Federal District to promotesociety's participation in the public administration's efforts during the 2004-2007 period.

Factors and Difficulties

The promulgation of the 1988 Federal Constitution triggered fundamental changes in Brazilby providing the basic conditions for the development of a democratic regime.

In the field of political rights, the changes eliminated the inequalities previously present inthe rules governing the right to vote. The National Congress is today considering adoption of apolitical reform initiative, in what marks a controversial debate involving issues such as "partyloyalty," "public financing for electoral campaigns," and the "adoption of closed lists of politicalcandidates."

Article 26 - Equality of Rights before the Law and the right to protection from the law without discrimination

325.The Brazilian Federal Constitution establishes that all persons are equal before the law,without distinction of any kind (art. 5, heading). To this formal equality, the Constitution adds aseries of provisions to protect material equality, such as article 5, subsection I, which prescribes thatmen and women have the same rights and obligations.

A fundamental objective of the Federative Republic of Brazil is the eradication of povertyand social exclusion and the reduction of social and regional inequalities, as well as the promotionof the general well-being, without prejudice based on race, sex, color, age or any other form ofdiscrimination. Racism constitutes a criminal act, without statutory limitations and subject toconfinement (art. 5, subsection XLII). The principle of legality also represents an underlyingstructural element of the Brazilian Constitution, insofar as it ensures that no individual may beforced to act or not to act other than as prescribed by law. The principle of strict legality applies tothe State, meaning that it may only carry out those acts expressly authorized by law. In addition, theBrazilian State's conduct of international relations is guided, among other things, by the principle ofthe repudiation of terrorism and racism (article 4, subsection VIII).

The constitutional provisions on employment relations include clauses consistent with theadherence to equality between urban and rural workers, as well as a prohibition on differences insalary scales, the exercise of functions, and hiring criteria based on sex, age, color, or civil status.The prohibition on any form of discrimination with regard to salaries and hiring criteria for disabledworkers is expressly set forth.

In light of prevailing social realities, legislators concerned themselves with protecting theemployment market for women by determining a series of special incentives to this end.

The infra-constitutional legislation prescribes adequate penalties for discriminatorypractices. Law no. 7716, of 5 January 1989, specifies the crimes resulting from prejudice based onrace and color and establishes the corresponding penalties. Law no. 9459/97 improves upon thelegislation by also prohibiting acts stemming from discrimination based on ethnicity, religion, ornational origin. The law has also strengthened the Brazilian Penal Code by adding a provision toarticle 140 (libel) mandating substantially more sever penalties for the crime of libel consisting ofreferences to color, race, ethnicity, religion, or origin (item 27 of UN document CCPR/C/79/Add.66,of 24 July 1996).

In the effort to ensure full protections to citizens, Law 8081/90 establishes the applicablecrimes and penalties in cases of discriminatory acts or prejudice based on race, color, religion, ethnicity, or national origin in cases involving the country's communication mediums or publications of any type.

331.Brazil ratified the International Convention on the Elimination of all forms of RacialDiscrimination on March 27, 1968. The Convention entered into force within the territorialboundaries of Brazil on January 4, 1969. More recently, Brazil ratified article 14 of the sameConvention.

332.It is also worth mentioning Law no. 8842, of 4 January 1994, which enhanced the Braziliannormative system by providing for a National Policy on the Elderly ( Política Nacional do Idoso ) andthe creation of a National Council on the Elderly ( Conselho Nacional do Idoso ). This effort peakedwith the approval of the Elderly Statute, in 2003, Law no. 10741, establishing the conditions topromote the independence of the elderly aimed at ensuring their effective integration andparticipation in society.

Factors and Difficulties

Note that in spite of the vast body of legislation in Brazil ensuring respect for the principlesof equality and legality, discriminatory and prejudiced practices targeting primarily the blackcommunity are still prevalent. Black individuals in Brazil (classified on the basis of those whodeclare themselves to be black) constitute the second largest black nation in the world, second onlyto Nigeria, with a total population of 76.4 million persons, or 45% of the country's inhabitants,according to data from the 2000 Census. The black population is spread throughout the federation,although its highest concentrations, proportionally, are found in specific states: in 18 of the 27states in Brazil, the black population constitutes a majority of the total population.

In comparing average income levels between blacks and whites, we find that, according toestimates from the PNAD of 2001, an ordinary white individual in Brazil comes from a householdwith an average monthly per capita income of R$482, which, although low, is more than double theaverage for a black individual, whose monthly per capita income reaches only R$205. Thisdifference, moreover, remained stable throughout the 1995-2001 period. The result is that, asarticulated by the Institute for Economic and Social Research ( Instituto de Pesquisas Econômicas e Sociais - IPEA), skin color constitutes an effective predictor of the probability that an individual livesin poverty. Indeed, of every ten people living in poverty, nearly seven are black. Considered fromanother standpoint, the data reveals that the proportion of people living in poverty remained stablein the 19S5-2001 period. However, an analysis of the racial distribution of poverty indicates thatpoverty is much higher among the black population. The probability that a white person lives in poverty is on the order of 22%, while for a black person the probability is more than double that figure, 48%.

The rate of participation in the employment market by whites and black is similar. However,the rate of unemployment points to sharp variations when examined through the prism of skin color:in 2001, there was a 6% probability that an economically active white individual was, at a giventime, searching for employment without success, while for a black individual the probability was 7%.On the other hand, while 41% of whites hold jobs in the formal sector (that is, they were dulycontracted with employment documents or hold positions in the public sector), only 33% of blacksenjoyed this same status. A total of 12% of whites are employed in jobs without employmentdocuments at the same time that 17% of blacks work without the benefit of employment documents.

With regard to education, the black population is at a disadvantage in relation to the whitepopulation. For example, the difference in the number of years of education has remained more orless stable, on the order of two years over time. In other words, in the 1990s blacks were unable tocomplete 70% of the average years of schooling completed by whites in the decade. Similarly,despite the reduction in illiteracy rates among blacks and whites, a constant percentage differenceof almost 10% persists through time.

An analysis of net schooling, defined as the ratio of school-aged children enrolled in theappropriate educational level corresponding to their age reveals that an absolute majority ofBrazilian children are today in school. On the basis of this finding, we can conclude that universalaccess to primary education has had a positive impact in securing greater racial equality: there hasbeen a clear reduction in the gap in this area between blacks and whites, from 12 to 3 percentagepoints (see table 5). However, this progress is not evident at the secondary educational level: thedivide has actually increased from 18 to 26 percentage points, even though the secondary schoolenrollment rate of the black population between the ages of 15 and 17 has almost tripled.

One could conclude that these racial differences arise from past discrimination: blackstudents come from families in which the parents have lower educational levels than their whitecounterparts, a fact that influences performance in school. Thus, the continuing gap would be theproduct of differences rooted in historical circumstance. To test this hypothesis, Soares, et al.(2002), developed a model, based on tracking those born in the 1900 to 1965 period, that simulatedthe educational levels blacks would reach assuming their parents had comparable educationallevels to whites. The results showed that a major part of the race-based differences could be tracedto educational discrimination, in fact, according to the model, historic inequalities within theeducational sphere represent only 37% of the educational gap between blacks and whites.

339.With regard to discriminatory acts and despite the legislation in force, it is important tomention that cases of libel based on race are common in the Brazilian legal system. Because thereis a certain resistance in Brazil to the application of Law no. 7716/89, which outlaws raciallydiscriminatory conduct in consumer, labor, and neighborhood relations, cases of racial libel todaymake up the majority of the cases of racism in the nation's justice system. This reduced resistanceto the crime of libel based on racism is due, in all probability, to two factors. First, the sentencesprescribed for this crime are more lenient than those contained in Law no. 7716/89 and are,moreover, subject to bail and appeal. Second, while libel is a classic element of penal law withwhich legal officials are accustomed, the crimes of racism constitute a relatively recent creation ofBrazilian law.

Government Actions

340.First, mention should be made to Decrees no. 4885 and 4886, of 20 November 2003. Thefirst established the National Council on the Promotion of Racial Equality ( Conselho Nacional de Promoção da Igualdade Racial - CNPIR), a consultative body within the Special Secretariat forPolicies aimed at Promoting Racial Equality ( Secretaria Especial de Políticas de Promoção da Igualdade Racial). The Council aims at proposing national policies to promote racial equality with anemphasis on the black population and other ethnic groups of the Brazilian population in an effort tocombat racism, prejudice, and racial discrimination and reduce racially-based disparities in theeconomic and financial, social, political, and cultural spheres, while extending society's control oversuch policies. Decree no. 4886/2003 instituted the National Policy for the Promotion of RacialEquality ( Política Nacional de Promoção da Igualdade Racial - PNPIR) with the purpose ofreducing racially-based inequalities in Brazil, with particular attention to the black population.

In August 2003, the Special Secretariats of the Council on Economic and SocialDevelopment, Women's Policies, the Promotion of Racial Equality, and Human Rights, the Ministryof Labor and Employment, the Ministry of Social Assistance, the Ministry of Culture, the Bahia stategovernment, the municipality of Salvador, the Women's Movement, the Black Movement, the Publiclabor Ministry, and the State University of Bahia signed a Protocol of Intent to develop an ActionPlan aimed at addressing gender and race questions and confronting discrimination, particularly inthe workplace and the cultural sphere.

The Ministry of Labor created the National Coordinating Body for the Promotion of EqualOpportunity and the Elimination of Discrimination in the Workplace ( Coordenadoria Nacional de Promoção da Igualdade de Oportunidades e Elminação da Discriminação no Trabalho - CORDIGUALDADE) on October 28, 2002, to supervise and coordinate the actions intended to end the various forms of discrimination practiced in the workplace.

343.The government also published Law no. 10639, of 9 January 2003, which establishes theguidelines and bases for the nation's educational system and requires inclusion of "Afro-BrazilianHistory and Culture" as an official subject in the school system's curriculum.

Among the many proposals offered by the government, mention should be made to theaffirmative action measures in both the public and private spheres, including the correspondingbase studies, incentives, and public awareness efforts. As an example of this, we should highlightthe affirmative action programs adopted in the following state and federal universities, respectively:MatoGrosso do Sul, Rio de Janeiro, Bahia, Brasilia and Alagoas.

Another important measure adopted by the PNDH consists in promoting diverse ethnicrepresentation in institutional publicity campaigns contracted by State agencies and enterprises.The current government is preparing an initiative in the area of affirmative actions to offercomparative advantages to the black, indigenous, and poor populations particularly with regard totheir admission to institutions of higher education. The recently launched "University for AH"Program ( Programa " Universidade para Todos ") of the Ministry of Education initiated a sweepinguniversity reform in Brazil guided by a commitment to social inclusion.

At the same time, the government has developed specific policies to recognize the rights ofthe descendants of the founding members of communities of former runaway slaves ( quilombolas ).To this end, Decree no. 4887, of 20 November 2003, regulates the procedures for identifying,surveying, delimiting, demarcating, and titling the land occupied by the remaining communities, asprovided for in article 68 of the Transitional Constitutional Provisions.

In 1995, the Brazilian State took an important step through the establishment of an Inter-Ministerial Working Group to promote the black population through the creation of a nationalprogram to combat sickle cell anemia, a genetic illness that predominantly affect members of theblack race; the incorporation of color as a standard item in certificates of death and live births; theinclusion of race/color as a standard item in school censuses and ail statistical studies oneducation; proposed programming for the educational TV service (TV- Escola ) aimed at offering analternative view of Brazilian history based on an examination of the contribution of Afro-Brazilians tothe country's social formation; a nationwide review of textbooks distributed to primary educationstudents, resulting in the exclusion of those textbooks expounding prejudice or containing forma! errors, as well as discriminatory or stereotypical references based on race, color, or sex; monitoring with the Ministry of Education of the development of "National Curricuiar Parameters" (" Parâmetros Curriculares Nationals'), among others.

Additionally, the federal government has undertaken efforts to combat all forms ofdiscrimination against persons with disabilities. It has improved the existing legislation, verified andreferred complaints to the competent bodies, conducted actions to protect and promote the rights ofthis segment of society, estimated to represent 14.5% of the nation's population, as well asendeavored to develop policies that facilitate their insertion in the country's development process.

In this regard, we can point to the effective fulfillment of laws that assure places for personswith disabilities in public exams as well as the enforcement of the quotas established for theemployment of the members of this population in the private sector; the development of the "SchoolInclusion" ( Inclusão Escolar ") program, which has trained teachers in the regular school system onthe best methods for integrating persons with disabilities into the classroom; the implementation ofthe National Disabled Information System ( Sistema National de Informaçãoes sobre Deficiência - SICORDE), which is currently striving to build a National Cooperation Network (RedeNational de Cooperação ) and has been decentralized in 18 states of the Union through partnerships with publicinstitutions and non-governmental organizations. The objective of the System is to democratize theaccess to information on existing legislation, technological advances, available services, as well asto encourage the exchange of experiences regarding the realities of individuals with disabilities;incentives to create and strengthen councils on the rights of individuals with disabilities in the statesand municipalities through an effort to secure the effective participation of organized society and thepublic agencies in the defense and promotion of the rights of these individuals.

350.The federal government has also endeavored to implement the National Accessibility Program (Programs National de Acessibilidade ) by regulating the existing legislation; formingpartnerships with the municipalities with the purpose of training local administrators to fulfill theprovisions established in law intended to assure, among other things, the suppression of all types ofbarriers (architectural, environmental, transportation, and communication and information) thatprevent the full exercise of citizenship by individuals with disabilities or impaired mobility; formalizethe various cooperation agreements with public and private entities aimed at intensifying theimplementation of actions designed to guarantee unrestricted movement to all citizens.

Article 27 - The rights of ethnic, religious, or linguistic minorities

351.The 1988 Federal Constitution enshrines provisions aimed at protecting the rights of indigenous peoples. The social organization, customs, languages, beliefs, and traditions of indigenous communities are recognized, as well as their original rights over the lands they have traditionally occupied (article 231). The lands occupied by indigenous communities are intended for permanent possession of such communities, which shall also enjoy exclusive use of the riches of the soil and lakes located therein. The lands are inalienable and unavailable and the rights thereto imprescriptible. The removal of Indians from their lands may only be executed ad referendum by the National Congress in cases of catastrophe or epidemic that present an immediate threat to the affected population or in the interest of national sovereignty (article 231, paragraph 5). Upon termination of the risk, the affected indigenous peoples are assured immediate return to their lands.

Indigenous peoples and the organizations that represent them are entitled to file legalactions in defense of their rights (article 232). The Federal Constitution recognizes indigenouslanguages and assures to the indigenous communities the right to use their native languages andtheir own learning processes in primary education. (Articles 210, 215 e 231)

According to the Federation of Arab-Palestinian Entities (AMBR) Brazil's Arabic and Jewishcommunities are incorporated in the mainstream of society with full civic, economic and socialparticipation and without any systematic distinction based on ethnic, religious or racial factors thatcould be characterized as discrimination or racism, save for exceptional cases. Gypsies - estimatedin 600 to 800 thousand in the country - are organized in associations and have pronouncedthemselves in favor of defending their identity and their culture.

All racial and ethnic groups in Brazil are represented in the National Council for thePromotion of Racial Equality that has taken office in 2004 bringing new references for racial equalitypromotion policies.

Factors and Difficulties

The indigenous community in Brazil is made up of approximately 410,000 Indiansdistributed among 220 different indigenous groups with ancestral links to the national territory.Some of these communities preserve a self-sufficient culture and have minimal contact with theoutside world. Others, however, have established intense relations with the non-indigenous worldthrough agricultural activities and other forms of production.

The current Administration established as its main goal to conclude the demarcation of allindigenous lands in Brazil by the year 2006. There are around 600 indigenous lands of which 450have been demarcated and fully guaranteed to indigenous peoples. The Brazilian governmentestimates that about 1,1 million square kilometers or 12% of the Brazilian territory will be formed ofindigenous lands at the conclusion of this process. The largest portions of indigenous lands are located in the Brazilian Amazon but indigenous peoples live in all regions of Brazil.

357.In recent years, indigenous peoples have expanded their participation in Brazil's political lifeby securing broader recognition of their rights. President LuizInácio Lula da Silva has recentlypromulgated the 169 1LO Convention on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, an important steptowards a broader recognition of the human rights of indigenous peoples and the formulation ofpublic policies. The Brazilian government also intends to elaborate a new Indigenous National Law("Estatuto do Índio") to replace the present one that was created more than 30 years ago.

Government Actions

358.Following implementation of the PNDH, a number of measures have been taken at thefederal level resulting in significant advances for the indigenous population, such as: the integrationof the actions adopted by FUNAI and the Department of Transmittable Infectious Diseases of theMinistry of Health aimed at developing joint programs to prevent these diseases within indigenouspopulations

Articles 78 and 79 of the Law of National Educational Directives and Guidelines, of 1996,mandate "(...) integrated learning and research programs to offer bilingual and interculturaleducation (...)" with the consent of indigenous communities, educational materials, and specificprograms aimed at providing assistance to the respective communities. On November 10, 1999,CNE/CEB Resolution 003 establishing the National directives on the operation of indigenousschools and other measures was approved. Included among the advances in the legislation aimedat meeting the specific needs of indigenous communities is the objective of training and qualifyingindigenous teachers to enable them to perform a vital role in their communities. This policyrecognizes differences as a value and serves to oppose past homogenizing efforts. There are over220 indigenous communities in Brazil that speak 170 distinct languages. Currently, 16 secondary education and one specific higher education indigenous teacher training courses are in place in thecountry. These will prepare 200 indigenous teachers trained in four areas of knowledge nationwide.

The rate of population growth among the indigenous population is on the order of 2.8% peryear, a direct result of the advances made in securing territorial gains for these communities effortsaimed at environmental recovery and the preservation of indigenous cultures.