CAT/OP/BRA/2/Add.1
I. Introduction
1.
The Brazilian State is firmly committed to combating torture and other cruel or
inhuman treatment or punishment, and to achieve this aim it implements specific and
effective solutions to improve the situation of persons deprived of liberty throughout the
national territory.
2.
In this context, Brazil welcomes the dialogue with the Subcommittee on Prevention
of Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, in follow-up
to the visit that the Subcommittee paid to the country in September 2011, and values the
recommendations received, which complement and strengthen the role of reports from
national supervisory bodies, such as the National Council of Justice, the National Council
of the Department of Prosecution, the Office of the National Prison Ombudsman and the
Human Rights Secretariat of the Office of the President, in addition to the newly created
National Mechanism to Prevent and Combat Torture.
3.
At the highest levels of the State, Brazil is acting with the intention of sending a
clear message against torture, be it through declarations, the adoption of new legal
instruments to prevent this kind of violation, or the development of public policies on the
matter. It is worth highlighting, in this regard, the adoption of Act No. 12847 of 2 August
2013, creating the National Mechanism to Prevent and Combat Torture and the National
System for the Prevention of Torture, in accordance with the provisions of the Optional
Protocol to the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading
Treatment or Punishment. Details of the Mechanism are provided in the next section.
Attention should also be drawn to the recent speech by the President of the Republic, Dilma
Rousseff, at the nineteenth Human Rights Prize award ceremony on 12 December 2013, in
which she stated:
“We are, ladies and gentlemen, concerned with the need to create all the
conditions to ensure respect for our Constitution, which prohibits the subjection of
any citizen to torture or other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment. … Having
undergone torture, I know that it entails utter disrespect for the basic fact that a
person is a human being. We are determined to change that situation. So we
welcome the issuance of implementing regulations for the Act establishing the
National System to Prevent and Combat Torture. The Brazilian State does not
accept, nor will it ever accept, the use of torture on any citizen.” [Emphasis
added]
4.
Owing to the strength of this commitment, it should be made clear from the outset,
regarding the Subcommittee’s comments about the federal structure of the country, that the
Brazilian State does not use federalism as an excuse to justify the occurrence of human
rights violations in the prison system. On the contrary, the idea behind a constitutional
division of competences between federal entities is to create joint lines of action to fulfil the
commitment shared by the entire Brazilian State to prevent and combat torture. The federal
structure of Brazil certainly poses challenges in terms of the effectiveness of policies, but it
in no way weakens the nature of the country’s commitment.
5.
Cooperation with federal entities and local movements are of great importance in the
implementation of effective measures to combat torture and inhuman or degrading
treatment. The role of the Federal Government is to introduce improvements to the prison
system of states through the use of resources and training. Moreover, the National Council
of Justice and the National Council of the Department of Prosecution work directly to
handle complaints, reduce incarceration rates and ensure that sentences are served
appropriately in the federal entities.
GE.14-42059
3