BRAZIL: Children's Rights References in the Universal Periodic Review (Second Cycle)

Summary: A compilation of extracts featuring child-rights issues from the reports submitted to the second Universal Periodic Review. There are extracts from the 'National Report', the 'Compilation of UN Information' and the 'Summary of Stakeholders' Information'. Also included is the list of accepted and rejected recommendations.

Brazil - 2nd Session – 2012
Friday 25 May 2012 - 9.00 a.m. - 12.30 p.m

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National Report

Compilation of UN Information

Summary of Stakeholders' Information

Accepted and Rejected Recommendations

(Read about the first cycle review)

 

National Report

20. Also, the following Plans were launched: the Brazil without Poverty Plan; the National Food and Nutritional Security Plan; and the Plan on Confronting the Use of Crack Cocaine and Other Drugs. Finally, the National Plan on Children and Adolescents is currently under development.

25. However, 8.5% of the Brazilian population is still living in extreme poverty. Of these, 59% are located in the Northeast Region, 51% are under the age of 19, and 71% are Afro-descendants (black and mulatto). Considering that to live in extreme poverty means to be subject to the deprivation of rights and freedoms, in June 2011 the Government launched the Brazil without Poverty Plan (BSM). The Plan consists of a series of integrated trans-sector measures to overcome poverty and promote social inclusion. Its main objective is to remove that part of the population from extreme poverty by 2014, including measures executed through three axes: income safeguard; access to public services; and productive inclusion, with a view to increasing production and generating jobs and income in urban and rural areas. The Plan fosters substantive interaction with states, municipalities, and civil society in the implementation of a variety of programmes to realize the required social changes in Brazil.

27. In caring for extremely poor children and adolescents, the Family Grant Programme underwent a series of modifications in 2011, among which the 19.4% average readjustment on the value of the benefit; the extension of the variable benefits limitation per family from 3 to 5;39 and the inclusion of pregnant women and nursing mothers among the beneficiaries. Due to the modifications, the average benefit climbed from R$ 96.00 to R$ 119.83 per family; 1.3 million children and adolescents were included in the Programme; and the benefit for pregnant women and nursing mothers, announced in September 2011, was directly paid to over 240,000 women.

29. Brazil seeks to promote human rights within a context marked by historical and structural inequalities.43 Instruments have been developed to confront a reality in which differences based on gender, race, age, religion, sexual orientation, and others, affect one’s access to the public policies which are crucial for securing realization of rights. In response, actions to reduce vulnerability have been incorporated to State initiatives in a number of areas provided for under the PNDH-3, including: poverty reduction, promoting adequate food, health, education, agrarian reform, combating violence in the countryside, eradicating child and slave labour, promoting rights of indigenous and quilombo communities, and promoting women’s rights.

30. Brazil has pursued a comprehensive and multidisciplinary health assistance model through the Family Health Strategy, among others. Present in 5,290 municipalities encompassing 52.6% of the Brazilian population, the Strategy played a critical role in reducing infant mortality and malnutrition, teenage pregnancy, and expanding vaccine coverage. It is estimated that in the past three years the Strategy prevented more than 126,000 hospitalizations.

31. Further, in 2011 the Stork Network was launched to strengthen newborns’ and infants’ health assistance and promote women’s sexual and reproductive rights. With a budget of R$ 9.4 billion, the Network establishes measures to ensure that 61 million women of reproductive age receive appropriate, safe, and humanized care through the SUS.

34. With a focus on the most vulnerable people, the Government has identified early childhood as a priority. In December 2010, the National Early Childhood Plan was approved. Additionally, the Pro-Childhood Programme was included in the Growth Acceleration Programme (PAC 2) with the objective of building 6,000 preschools and day care centres through a total investment of R$ 7.6 billions by 2014, of which 1,507 units have already been approved. From its launch to its inclusion in PAC 2, the Pro-Childhood Programme had signed agreements with 2,317 municipalities for the construction of 2,528 day care centres and preschools. The day care centres provide children with essential education and cognitive development skills, while enhancing families’ productive inclusion, particularly women.

38. Brazil has made significant efforts to ensure all Brazilians effectively exercise the right to a civil birth certificate. Consequently, from 2003 to 2009 the national average of children without birth certificates fell more than 50%. In 2009–2010, 2,895 collective mobilizations were launched to provide basic civil documents, resulting in the issuance of more than 85,000 birth certificates. Some collective mobilizations were aimed specifically at traditional, nomadic, semi-nomadic, gypsies, and homeless communities, of which 2,200 were sponsored in rural areas, resulting in the issuance of more than 1.3 million documents. Thus, today only 6% of children between 1 and 2 years of age lack a birth certificate.

46. A major legal advance regarding the HRAF was its inclusion as a social right under the Federal Constitution in 2010. In the same year, the regulation of the National Food and Nutritional Security System and implementation of the National Food Security Policy have strengthened integration and coordination among the federal, state, and municipal governments and civil society in implementing, monitoring, and evaluating the realization of this right. As a result, Brazil is among the countries which have achieved the most notable progress in reducing infant mortality and malnutrition. The former fell 59.7% between 1990 and 2008, and the latter dropped 90% from 1979 to 2009.

48. Additionally, the National School Food Programme (PNAE) guarantees meals for students in public primary and secondary schools. In 2011, it assisted 48.1 million students. In 2012, it is expected to benefit 49.9 million students.

55. Brazil has put in place efforts to combat child labour, resulting in a decline of the Child Labour Rate66 from 7.80% (2005) to 5.63% (2009).67 This decline was greater in the Northeast Region (from 11.88% to 7.85%), where child labour rates are the highest. It is estimated that child labour cases have been reduced by 874,000, with the Northeast accounting for 470,000 of those cases.68

56. From 2007 to 2011, 6,603 inspection operations were conducted in work establishments in urban and rural areas to prevent child labour. These measures served to rescue 22,505 children and adolescents, who were referred to the social protection network. Brazil has also emphasized prevention policies, including: income transfers to families with children subjected to child labour; access and permanence in school, by implementing full school days in public schools; services aimed at strengthening family and community ties and parental oversight through the SUAS and awareness-raising campaigns.

57. In 2010, the Programme to Eradicate Child Labour (PETI) benefited approximately 824,000 children in more than 3,500 municipalities, and 66.5% of Brazilian municipalities reported having implemented child labour eradication measures.70 In 2011, the PETI benefited 817,000 children, with an investment of R$ 258 million, and it will be strengthened in 2012, with an expected 27.1% raise in the resources provided. The BSM Plan aims, through the Active Search, to increase the number of PETI beneficiaries and to address high vulnerability situations, such as children working in dumpsters, drug trafficking, sexual exploitation, among others.

67. Between 2008 and 2011, the State achieved significant progress in promoting the rights of indigenous peoples. State measures to reinforce the rights of indigenous peoples have resulted in a rise of their self-identification in the Demographic Census. Additionally, as part of the Campaign to Eliminate Unregistered Births, more than 8,000 birth certificates of indigenous persons were issued.81 With respect to health, the incidence of tuberculosis (- 14.13%), malaria (-59.1%), and infant mortality among children under the age of 1 year (- 18.75%) fell82 in relation to 2007. In 2010, a Special Secretariat for Indigenous Health was established. By December 2011, the indigenous health network included 4,132 indigenous health agents and 1,387 indigenous sanitation agents, besides doctors, nurses, and other health care professionals.

96. Brazil has monitoring instruments of the penitentiary system, according to which the Brazilian prison population has a profile of predominantly young male Afro-descendants with little schooling. In 2011, 53.6% of prison inmates were between the ages of 18 and 29 years, 93.6% were men, 57.6% were Afro-descendants, and 34.8% were white. In addition, 45.7% of prison inmates had not completed their primary education, while 0.4% had concluded higher education. The statistics orient the multi-sector initiatives to combat institutionalized racism, reduce poverty, and stimulate schooling and productive inclusion for young people.

100. With a view to providing more effective assistance to adolescents in conflict with the law, the National Council on the Rights of the Child and the Adolescent (CONANDA) approved, in 2006, the National System for Social-Educational Assistance (SINASE), which establishes essential standards and guidelines for implementation of the Statute on Children and Adolescents (ECA) and for enhancing juvenile justice in Brazil. Its development involved the participation of representatives of the government, civil society organizations, and experts and centred on individualized assistance plans that take into account young people’s potentialities, capacities and limitations while valuing tolerance and promoting individual’s inclusion.

101. Accordingly, the Federal Government has sought to reform and build new detention units and to improve the quality and individualization of assistance, while emphasizing the educational aspect of detention over the punitive one. Between 2003 and 2010, the Government invested R$ 296 million in the juvenile justice system, and is currently funding 39 additional units in 21 states.

102. In January 2012, SINASE was legally instituted,120 establishing the minimum standards that each detention unit should meet, both in terms of architecture and assistance, aiming at the adolescent’s effective re-socialization.

120. To ensure attention for the most vulnerable people, in 2003 the Programme to Protect Children and Adolescents Threatened with Death (PPCAAM) was established to guarantee the right to life and the physical integrity of these groups, with particular emphasis on delivering comprehensive protection and family interaction. Until September 2011, a total of 3,731 people, specifically 1,501 children and adolescents and 2,230 family members, had received protection. In 2009, the Programme to Reduce Deadly Violence against Adolescents and Youth was implemented to promote strategies to protect the lives of this population, in particular through violence prevention measures. Further, in 2011 the Adolescent Homicide Index was established. The Index revealed that in 2009 homicides represented 46% of the cause of death of individuals aged 12-18 years; and that male teenagers are 12 times more likely than female teenagers of being murdered, while Afro- descendant teenagers are three times more likely than white teenagers.


Compilation of UN Information

21. CESCR was concerned at the prevalence of sexual abuse of and violence against children, particularly girls, and recommended that instances of abuse and neglect of children be properly investigated.

24. CEDAW regretted that Brazil had not yet adopted a comprehensive anti-trafficking legislation. It was concerned at information that women and girls were exploited for the purposes of prostitution or employment in some regions where development projects were being implemented and in touristic zones in the northeast. It recommended that Brazil consider adopting a comprehensive law against trafficking in persons, in line with the Palermo Protocol.

26. CESCR was concerned that child labour continued to be widespread, despite measures taken and the reduction in the cases of child labour for the 5-9 years age group.

27. The ILO Committee of Experts welcomed the measures taken by the Government to abolish child labour, which it considered to be an affirmation of its political will to combat this problem. Nevertheless, it observed with concern the situation of children who were forced to work out of necessity, and strongly encouraged the Government to redouble its efforts to improve the situation.

28. CESCR was concerned that many children continued to live on the streets where they remained vulnerable to abuse, including sexual abuse and other forms of exploitation, despite efforts in this regard.

29. UNICEF noted that complementary analyses based on risk indicators associated with age group, sex, race, and environment showed that lethal violence against adolescents was a phenomenon that marked life in large cities.

51. CESCR welcomed the National School Food Programme established to provide meals free of charge for 37 million children in public schools.84 UNICEF noted that the rates of stunting and underweight had fallen dramatically since 1990, partly thanks to the Fome Zero (zero hunger) programme.

52. While commending Brazil for its remarkable progress in reducing malnutrition and poverty by creating and scaling up “Zero Hunger” programmes, the Special Rapporteur on the right to food noted that major challenges remained.

56. A 2011 United Nations Statistics Division source indicated that the children under-five mortality rate per 1,000 live births decreased from 21 in 2009 to 19 in 2010, while the infant mortality rate (0-1 year) per 1,000 live births decreased from 18 in 2009 to 17 in 2010.

57. UNICEF noted that a National Health and Nutrition Survey 2008/2009 showed that one in five indigenous children under 5 had lower height than expected for their age. More than half suffered from anaemia. In the Northern region, the situation was even worse: 41.1 per cent were below the expected height and 66 per cent had anaemia. Almost 38 per cent of indigenous children had diarrhoea in the week preceding the survey. Among indigenous women, health problems were identified that were not detected in the non-indigenous urban population: overweight (30.2 per cent), obesity (15.7 per cent) and blood pressure (8.9 per cent), as well as nutrition issues such as anaemia (32.7 per cent women and 35.2 per cent for pregnant women).

61. The Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights and fundamental freedoms of indigenous people recommended that the Ministry of Health, in consultation with the National Indian Foundation FUNAI and indigenous peoples, continue efforts to improve the delivery of health services to indigenous peoples, especially in remote areas, with attention to the special needs of indigenous women and children.

62. CESCR was concerned that 43 per cent of children between 7 and 14 did not complete the eighth grade of basic education at the proper age. It recommended that Brazil conduct a study to establish the factors which contributed to children failing to complete primary school and implement strategies to address the problem.

64. UNICEF referred to a study conducted in 2009 on the situation of Brazilian children and adolescents that showed that, despite major progress, inequalities still prevailed in the country's development model. In the educational field, these inequalities were largely determined upon where the children and adolescents lived: regional and urban-rural inequalities; colour-related inequalities: black and indigenous children were more affected by educational inequalities; disability-related inequalities: it was more difficult for disabled children and adolescents to have access to school and to stay in it. The most revealing indicators were those measuring access to early childhood education and secondary education.

 

Summary of Stakeholders' Information

10. Several organizations have discussed the impact of development projects (Growth Acceleration Programme – PAC-1-2) on public policy and the human rights situation. Joint Submission 17 (JS17) points out that the budget for human rights has been reduced by 30 per cent compared with 2010, undermining the Programme to Combat Sexual Violence, and recommends that the public resources made available to fund projects benefiting children and young persons should be proportionate to the country’s economic growth. The National Association of Centres for the Defence of Children’s Rights (ANCED) expresses similar concerns and adds that the north of the country (Rondônia, Tocantins and Pará) has suffered the most from violence against children. JS5 asserts that the Growth Acceleration Programme needs a proper yardstick for assessment and should be subject to social oversight.

16. Joint Submission 1 (JS1) reported the persistence of large disparities in schooling attainment between urban and rural children as well as discrimination between black and white students. It added that the average of years of study for black students belonging to the 7-14 year-old group was 3.78 years versus 4.43 for white students.

23. Regarding the female inmate population, FI noticed sex/gender-specific violations that included the placement of females in cells with male prisoners; sexual abuse of female inmates by prison staff; deficient health services; failure to address questions related to maternity and childcare. AI stated that across the country, cases had been reported of women and juveniles detained with adult males and suffering violence and sexual abuse. JS3 and PDB also expressed concerns about the inadequacy of the female prisons facilities.

24. JS3 stated that torture and ill-treatment in prisons had been routinely used. It noted that ACAT-Brazil had continued receiving allegations of torture committed by police and prison officers. It had also identified several cases of torture, abuse, and subjection to inhumane treatment of adolescents in units for young offenders.

26. Joint Submission 22 (JS22) expresses concerns about psychiatric confinement, particularly of street children, in Rio de Janeiro, São Paulo and elsewhere. It recommends the closure of the Experimental Health Unit (Unidade Experimental de Saúde) in São Paulo.

27. COLCGS stated that sexual exploitation in its various forms including pornography, prostitution, sex-tourism and trafficking for the purpose of sexual exploitation remained a problem. It added that poorer, less educated, and marginalised young women were more likely to become victims of traffickers.

28. JS1 expressed concern about the high number of children living in the street situation where they remained vulnerable to abuse, including sexual abuse, and other forms of exploitation.

30. While acknowledging a bill submitted to Congress in 2010, prohibiting corporal punishment, Global Initiative to End All Corporal Punishment of Children (GIEACPC), noted that it remained legal in the home, schools, penal institutions and alternative care settings.

31. The Company of the Daughters of Charity of St. Vincent de Paul (CDC) recommends that in the lead-up to the Olympic Games (2012) and the Football World Cup (2014) the State should increase its budget for the elimination of child labour.

39. Marist International Solidarity Foundation (FMSI) stated that not enough had been done in the area of juvenile justice and recommended greater public investment in preventive actions and proper judicial proceedings for adolescents. FMSI further recommended taking steps to reduce delays in processing children in protected households to improve the resolution of adoption cases or the withdrawal of parental custody.In 2009, IACHR granted precautionary measures for adolescents deprived of liberty in the Socio-Educational Internment Facility-UNIS, and asked the Government to adopt measures to prevent deaths and acts of torture in the facility.

40. JS1 noted the persistence of high levels of unregistered children in the north and northeast of the country.

56. World Vision (WV) stated that although Brazil was likely to achieve the Millennium Development Goal 4 (reduction of child mortality by two thirds), health inequities were still a major problem and child mortality was still affecting the most marginalized groups.

59. JS4 highlights: the adoption in 2008 of an act regulating teachers’ salaries in public basic education schools; the extension in 2009 of the age range during which education is compulsory; and the adoption in 2010 of a resolution on education for young persons and adults deprived of their liberty. It indicates, however, that these advances have not been sufficient to eliminate inequality, discrimination and racism.

60. JS1 welcomed improvements in the area of access to education, in particular regarding attendance rates in primary and secondary education thanks to the increased public spending on education (5.2% of GDP). JS1 added that while access to education had become more equitable over the past 15 years, there had been a persistent gap in learning levels and graduation rates between rich and poor, and blacks and whites.

66. JS1 indicated that public schools were not equipped for children with disabilities. It added that children with disabilities belonging to poor families had no access to private schools and faced financial barriers to exercise their right to education. These children had not been adequately assisted by the State and had suffered a lack of medication and support to travel to health care facilities.

75. JS15 highlights the policy adopted by the National Development Bank (BNDES) in 2009 of holding the supply chain for the livestock sector accountable by, for example, verifying that the suppliers used by refrigeration companies have not been convicted of invading indigenous lands, discrimination or child labour. It recommends extending this policy to other production sectors. It also recommends dialogue with civil society, including the establishment of mechanisms for consulting local communities affected by projects considered for funding.


Accepted and Rejected Recommendations

The following recommendations were accepted by Brazil:

 

A - 119.33. Continue advancing in the creation of the National Plan for Infancy and Adolescence (Colombia);

 

A - 119.38. Ensure that people with disabilities in situations of abandonment or without family support are able to live in the community in a non-segregated way, providing for their access to services such as health, education or social security (Slovakia);

 

A - 119.98. Strengthen domestic cooperation between relevant actors, as well as international cooperation, in order to combat both internal and international trafficking and sexual exploitation of women and children (Sweden);

 

A - 119.99. Adopt and implement, in accordance with relevant international law, national legislation to combat trafficking in women and children which will prosecute and convict traffickers, and take effective measures to prevent sexual tourism (Switzerland);

 

A - 119.104. Continue with its efforts to eradicate child labour with a particular focus on children in highly vulnerable situations (Singapore);

 

A - 119.105. Intensify the programmes to combat child labour (Algeria);

 

A - 119.108. Strengthen measures concerning the many children who continue to live on the street where they remain vulnerable to abuse (Turkey);

 

A - 119.109. Improve the protection of children by fighting against child labour, providing for children living in the streets and ensuring education for them (Holy See);

 

A - 119.127. Protect the natural family and marriage, formed by a husband and a wife, as a basic cell of society as it provides the best conditions for raising children (Holy See);

 

A - 119.128. Study the possibility of having campaigns for registering girls, boys and adolescents in the North and North-east of Brazil, with the cooperation of the universal system of human rights (Uruguay);

 

A - 119.129. Regularly foster awareness on birth registration at national and local levels, particularly through the organization of public campaigns to highlight the importance of birth-registration (Uruguay);

 

A - 119.147. Reduce infant mortality rates and malnutrition in children (Chile);

 

A - 119.151. Reduce maternal, child and infant morbidity and mortality by promoting effective assistance measures during pregnancy and at the moment of birth (Holy See);

 

A - 119.152. Improve health-care efforts, especially to reduce child mortality and the prevalence rate of HIV and AIDS (Iran);

 

A - 119.156. Continue with its religious education programmes in public schools (Namibia);

 

A - 119.157. Implement strategies to solve problems facing education, particularly at the elementary level (Palestine);

 

A - 119.158. Take adequate measures to combat illiteracy and guarantee to all citizens the enjoyment of the right to education, especially for poor people, those living in rural areas or indigenous minorities (Holy See);

 

A - 119.159. Adopt additional measures for access to education, in order to contribute to overcoming the educational gap between the black and white populations (Honduras);

 

A - 119.160. Continue its educational strategies to ensure that all children enrol in school and receive a quality basic education (Iran);

 

A - 119.161. Complete the national guidelines for education in the field of human rights and pursue a participatory approach in cooperation with civil society (Iraq);


No recommendations were left pending.

No recommendations were rejected.


Countries

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