IN AUGUST 2013, six years after Brazil ratified the Optional Protocol to the UN Convention against Torture to create a torture prevention mechanism, the Presidency of the Republic finally signed the law that creates the National System to Combat and Prevent Torture. Ever since Brazil made this commitment in the UN to create a national mechanism to combat and prevent torture, Conectas has monitored and engaged in advocacy – both individually and with partners – and filed complaints in the UN to defend the approval of a federal law to establish the mechanism. In August 2013, the federal law was finally approved. Read more here.
The mechanism will serve to curb the practice of torture and mistreatment in the Brazilian prison system. The number of people behind bars has soared 380% over the past 20 years. Today, Brazil has the world’s fourth largest prison population, behind only the United States, China and Russia. Nearly 43% of the country’s 550,000 prisoners are pre-trial detainees and there is a shortfall of 207,000 prison places.
In July 2014, the National Committee to Combat and Prevent Torture, in which civil society participates, was finally set up by President Dilma Rousseff. The Committee, which has unrestricted access to all Brazil’s detention facilities, will be responsible for the creation of the national mechanism and may propose measures to prevent and combat torture, make recommendations on how to improve the facilities and monitor the implementation of these recommendations. Conectas will continue to monitor the case closely and engage in advocacy to ensure that the national mechanism is created.
