BRAZIL: SUPPORTING HUMAN RIGHTS AND DEMOCRACY

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 BRASILIA 000229

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: ELAB KDEM KSEP PGOV PHUM PREL BA TIP
SUBJECT: BRAZIL: SUPPORTING HUMAN RIGHTS AND DEMOCRACY
REPORT

REF: STATE 267453

1) In October 2002, Brazil's constitutional Government held
its fourth general election since the end of military rule in
1985, electing President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva ("Lula")
and members of the legislature in accordance with the 1988
Constitution. In October of this year, nationwide municipal
elections elected mayors and city council members in each of
the country's 5,563 municipalities. Both elections were held
without serious incidents and met international standards.

2) The federal government generally respected human rights,
but the human rights record of some states remained poor.
Although there were improvements in a few areas, serious
problems remained. Police continued to commit numerous
abuses including unlawful killings, torture, and excessive
use of force. Prison conditions remained harsh and life
threatening. The judiciary was inefficient, lacked
resources, and was often subject to political and economic
influences -- especially at the state level. Judicial
officials were often poorly trained and the judicial process
remained slow. In many instances, poorer and less educated
citizens made limited use of an appeals process that could
ensure their right to a fair trial. Violence and
discrimination against women, indigenous people, and
Afro-Brazilians remained a problem. Child abuse and
prostitution, human trafficking, and internal slave labor
continued.

3) The human rights and democracy strategy for Brazil focused
primarily on improving access to education and employment for
Brazil's poor youth, strengthening the judiciary, increasing
political participation of unrepresented persons (mainly
women and Afro-Brazilians),and combating human trafficking
and internal slave labor.

4) In compliance with the Leahy amendment, the Embassy worked
closely with the Ministry of Defense and NGOs to thoroughly
vet all military units proposed for U.S. training.

5) USAID/Brazil's Disadvantaged Youth Program actively worked
to ensure that children and adolescents received access to
basic rights. USAID/Brazil also provided at-risk youth with
increased access to viable training and employment
opportunities. Activities during the year included technical
training and life-skill building, corporate mentoring, paid
internships, and on-site formal sector training.

6) In addition, USAID provided information and communication
technology training to 1,000 youth and educators. Trainees
conducted market surveys to identify key factors and barriers
considered during the hiring process and launched a campaign
to decrease prejudice against young workers from poor
communities.

7) During 2004, Ambassador Danilovich welcomed Ambassador
Sichan Siv, the U.S. Representative to the United Nations
Economic and Social Council. During the visit, Ambassadors
Siv and Danilovich met with several high-level Brazilian
officials involved in promoting human rights and democracy,
including President Lula's Foreign Policy Advisor.

8) In celebration of Brazil's Black Awareness month, former
Congresswoman Cardiss Collins (D-IL) spoke at the Federal
Senate in Brasilia and addressed groups of students and
academics in Brasilia and Salvador, Bahia. Congresswoman
Collins spoke about the role of African-Americans in the
passage of civil rights legislation during a series of
professional training programs on race and gender equality.
The Public Affairs section in Brasilia sponsored both events.

9) High profile cases charging judges with corruption and
influence peddling were common, and impunity seemed
widespread. At the end of 2004, approximately 115 senior
judges throughout the country were under investigation. At
the end of 2003, approximately six million cases covering a
range of crimes and infractions were in the federal courts;
the volume in state courts was five times greater.
Approximately 16 out of 100 cases reached resolution in 2003.
To address these and other judiciary problems, the U.S.
government sponsored a number of guest lectures and
professors from Harvard University Law School, the University
of Texas Law School, and Columbia University, to promote
civil and political rights and judicial reform.

10) The Public Affairs Office at the U.S. Embassy in Brasilia
and the Lawyers for a Green Planet Institute held the first
ever U.S.-Brazil Constitutional Dialogue on The Contemporary
Meaning of the Constitution. Professors from the University
of Texas Law School and Brazilian Supreme Court Justices
discussed the importance of freedom of speech, human rights,
and individual and social rights before an audience of
judges, prosecutors, lawyers, and law students.
11) Brazil has a significant internal and external human
trafficking problem. It is a major source country for women
trafficked into prostitution in Europe and bordering
countries. Men and children are forced into agricultural
labor schemes on farms in the country's interior. The U.S.
government considered fighting trafficking in persons a
priority and made substantial efforts to do so. To further
reduce child labor and associated human rights abuses, the
Mission teamed with Partners for the Americas and the
Ministries of Labor, Education and Social Assistance, and the
Government of Brazil's National Human Rights Secretariat to
implement a $5 million U.S. Labor Department grant to target
child labor in Northeast Brazil. More than $10 million in
additional U.S. funding supported the International Labor
Organization programs working to combat child and forced
labor. In addition, Catholic Relief Services began a program
funded by the U.S. Department of Labor to combat forced labor
by working with cities that traditionally provided victims
for slave labor. The Embassy reinforced the Brazilian
Ministry of Justice's efforts at increasing awareness of the
human trafficking problem by educating both Brazilian
officials and target groups. The Departments of Homeland
Security and Justice will receive significant grants for
projects to help Brazilian authorities combat trafficking
under the President's Initiative Program.

12) During the year, Brazil was selected by the U.S.
Government as one of eight countries to receive aid under
President Bush's Anti-Trafficking in Persons Initiative.
Under this program, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS)
in Brasilia will work with the Brazilian Federal Police and
the Public Ministry to establish vetted units. DHS will
provide the Brazilian government with training and equipment
to identify and dismantle international trafficking
organizations. Police and prosecutors will be trained to
gather evidence and provide intelligence concerning foreign
perpetrators and share intelligence with originating
countries for the purpose of coordinating investigations and
dismantling the criminal organizations.

13) Proposed DHS training includes the identification of TIP
violations, modus operandi, trafficking routes, interview
techniques, and additional law enforcement training to be
used at known trafficking sites, such as international
airports, bus stations, and hotels. These vetted units will
also function as Airport Response Teams and will assist other
Brazilian Law Enforcement Agencies that conduct human
trafficking investigations at the Sao Paulo international
airport.

14) In May, the U.S. Consulate General in Sao Paulo and the
Sao Paulo State Secretary of Justice inaugurated the Sao
Paulo Office for the Prevention of Trafficking in Persons.
This office conducts public education campaigns, assists
victims of human trafficking and sexual exploitation, and
refers individual trafficking cases to the Brazilian federal
police and state attorneys. The office will also have a
center at the Sao Paulo international airport to assist
victims that return to Brazil after being trafficked abroad.
The office is the first of its kind in Brazil, and because of
involvement by Brazil's Ministry of Justice, serves as a
model for similar offices that will be opened nationwide. A
$20,000 U.S. government grant to the Sao Paulo Secretary of
Justice allowed the office to purchase essential equipment.

15) USAID/Brazil promoted several human rights and democracy
programs throughout the year and actively worked to combat
human trafficking and sexual exploitation. USAID/Brazil
activities included direct service assistance to human
trafficking and sexual exploitation victims; shelter
strengthening in target areas; referrals to appropriate legal
and law enforcement services to facilitate prosecution of
perpetrators and dismantle human trafficking networks;
promotion of increased coordination between stakeholders and
service providers at the local level; and technical
assistance to improve the Brazilian human trafficking and
sexual exploitation notification system.

16) USAID-funded anti-trafficking activities led to a number
of significant achievements during the year. Under the
umbrella of a Memorandum of Understanding signed with the
Brazilian Secretariat for Human Rights and the Ministry of
Social Development, USAID worked to strengthen the nationwide
network of government centers that provided emergency health,
legal, and psychosocial services to TIP victims. Over 1,300
public agents, including social workers, psychologists,
physicians and teachers received USAID-sponsored training
during the year, which allowed for the design of local
operational plans and strategies for 2005. During the year,
USAID partners identified over 700 cases of commercial sexual
exploitation, of which 108 involved illegal trafficking.
17) The Government of Brazil regarded the USAID-supported
anti-trafficking program as a model for the country. A
report issued during the year by the Brazilian General
Accounting Office stated that the USAID-funded program is the
most successful and effective initiative that combats human
trafficking and sexual exploitation of minors in the country.


18) Upon invitation by the GOB, USAID held a seat, for the
second year, on the Inter-Sectoral Commission on Trafficking
in Persons and Sexual Exploitation of Children and
Adolescents. This Commission is responsible for coordinating
anti-trafficking activities.

19) In November, the U.S. Embassy in Brasilia took part in an
anti-trafficking Seminar sponsored by the Embassy of Sweden
with participation from the Brazilian National Secretary of
Justice Claudia Chagas, the U.S. Departments of Homeland
Security, Labor and State, NGOs, and the diplomatic
community. U.S. Departments of Labor and Homeland Security
presentations outlined the U.S. Government's commitment to
the fight against human trafficking through the prosecution
of offenders, protection of victims, and the creation of
programs to prevent future trafficking to an audience
composed of the Brazilian federal government officials, NGO
representatives, human rights activists, diplomats, and law
enforcement officials.

20) Special Ambassador John Miller, head of the State
Department's Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in
Persons, toured Brazil to survey Brazilian efforts at
combating human trafficking. Ambassador Miller met with
several high-level Brazilian officials, NGO representatives,
public prosecutors, and consular representatives.

21) List of USG-funded human rights and democracy programs of
$100,000 or more:

A) Integrated Actions to Combat Trafficking and Sexual
Violence against Children and Youth (PAIR)
Implementing agency: Partners of the Americas
Partners: The Brazilian Secretariat of Human Rights and the
Ministries of Justice, Social Development, Tourism,
Education, and Labor
Funding: USD 300,000
Description: USAID provides training to multi-disciplinary
teams in seven municipalities with the GOB's Sentinela
programs and in locations with significant reports of sexual
exploitation and trafficking.

B) Integrated Action Program to Combat Trafficking and
Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Boys and Girls in Brazil
Implementing Agency: International Labor Organization
Partners: the GOB, NGOs, and local universities
Funding: USD 353,000
Description: This USAID-funded program is designed to assist
local anti-trafficking programs in identifying,
rehabilitating, and reintegrating TIP and sexual exploitation
victims into the labor market.

C) Enter Jovem
Implementing Agency: the American Institute for Research
Partners: Local NGOs
Funding: USD 3,200,000 (2003-2006)
Description: Through this program, USAID provides
disadvantaged youth between the ages of 16-21 with technical
training, life skills building, and access to paid
employment.

D) Tourism and Social Responsibility Program
Implementing Agency: Counterpart International
Partners: The Inter-American Development Bank (IDB),the
International Youth Foundation, local NGOs and business
associations
Funding: USD 638,000 (2003-2005)
Description: This USAID-sponsored program provides
disadvantaged youth between the ages of 18-24 with access to
training and employment opportunities in the tourism industry
through technical training, mentoring, and access to paid
employment.

DANILOVICH