Brazil: International organisations against torture contribute to the EU-Brazil HRs Dialogue

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We deeply value the opportunity to contribute to this meaningful process and are fully committed to addressing the human rights landscape in Brazil and the EU.

Throughout our participation, we have contributed to the discussions and made specific contributions based on our work and that of our partner organisations in Brazil. In particular, we have pointed out the urgency of issues regarding the restriction of civic space, the situation of specific populations and the priorities of the anti-torture agenda.

In this context, we welcome the dialogue addressing critical issues on Brazil's and the EU's human rights agendas. These include:

• Policing of protest: We are concerned about divergences in the policing models used to facilitate and manage protests and the resulting human rights impacts in both the EU and Brazil. In some EU member states, law enforcement authorities prioritise the use of violent means over dialogue and negotiation. In the case of Brazil, the recurrent and indiscriminate use of rubber bullets, pepper spray and tear gas by police against protesters, journalists, and passers-by remains a concern. The Model Protocol for Law Enforcement Officials to Promote and Protect Human Rights in the Context of Peaceful Protests and the UN Guidance on Less-Lethal Weapons in Law Enforcement should be used to ensure the facilitation of peaceful assemblies and the prioritisation of dialogue and negotiation over the use of force.

• Trade in goods used to repress dissent: Companies based in the EU and in Brazil manufacture and export a wide range of less lethal weapons and munitions, including some which are inherently abusive and whose use and trade should be prohibited. Regional and national trade controls should be strengthened and updated.

• National System to Prevent Torture: In Brazil, the establishment of the National Preventive Mechanism (NPM) marks a significant advance in preventing and documenting torture and ill-treatment. However, insufficient human resources and the failure to establish local preventive mechanisms nationwide, as required by law, pose major challenges. Strengthening this system requires the adoption of an effective public program.

• Conditions of detention: Overcrowding and degrading and inhumane material conditions of detention continue to prevail in the Brazilian penitentiary system. The high rate of incarceration rate disproportionately affects young Afro-Brazilian men and women, including in pre-trial detention, for drug-related offences. Brazil must quickly address this issue, including measures to significantly reduce the prison population. The recent Supreme Court decision decriminalising the possession of up to 40 grams of cannabis has the potential to reduce the prison population and combat racial profiling while paving the way for establishing more objective standards to define the possession of illegal substances.

• Police conduct during investigations: International bodies have recommended that Brazil establish guidelines and protocols for law enforcement officials to prevent coercion or the use of force during searches or investigations. The Principles on Effective Interviewing for Investigation and Information Gathering (the Méndez Principles) are a key tool that could guide the adoption of procedural rules and training for law enforcement agents, fostering a criminal justice system that complies with human rights standards.

• Military jurisdiction over human rights offences: In Brazil, military police have a significant presence on the streets throughout the country, conduct most arrests, and are frequently involved in misconduct and human rights abuses. Congress should repeal Law 13.491/17 to ensure that human rights violations or offences committed against civilians by military members of security forces are subjected to civil courts.

• Child torture in detention and lethal violence against children outside detention: In Brazil, practices in detention amounting to torture and other ill-treatment inflicted on children, and inhumane conditions of detention are alarming. The juvenile justice system should be brought into full compliance with the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment and other relevant international standards; promote alternatives to detention; and address conditions of detention, guarantee the physical and psychological integrity of children.

We would also like to emphasise the importance of following up on the agreements resulting from this dialogue. The commitments made must be translated into concrete actions. We look forward to this dialogue's results and actions that strengthen human rights in Brazil and the EU.

Signatories:

1. Association for the Prevention of Torture (APT)

2. Omega Research Foundation

3. World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT)

The United Against Torture Consortium (UATC), funded by the European Union, brings together the global memberships of the World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT), the International Rehabilitation Council for Torture Victims (IRCT) and the International Federation of Action by Christians for the Abolition of Torture (FIACAT) with the Association for the Prevention of Torture (APT),Omega Research Foundation and REDRESS. Together, we implement a collective programme to strengthen and expand the global anti-torture movement through survivor engagement, mobilisation of local civil society organisations, development of normative standards, justice-seeking, awareness and narrative building, crisis intervention, and addressing policing in the context of dissent.