Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 2011, published 101st ILC session (2012)

Forced Labour Convention, 1930 (No. 29) - Brazil (Ratification: 1957)

Articles 1(1), 2(1) and 25 of the Convention. Trafficking in persons. In its previous comments the Committee noted with regret the absence of information from the Government on measures taken to combat trafficking in persons. It referred to the observations presented by the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) and the Single Confederation of Workers (CUT) concerning cases of trafficking in persons, particularly women, for purposes of prostitution, sex tourism and pornography, primarily to Europe. The ITUC also referred to the situation of undocumented Bolivian workers who were victims of forced labour in São Paulo. Recruited in Bolivia by intermediaries, these migrant workers arrive in Brazil already in a debt situation and have their identity documents confiscated by traffickers, who constantly threaten to report them to the police. The CUT has also underlined the urgent need to elaborate and implement public policies to combat trafficking in persons and forced labour in urban areas.

The Committee notes that, in its last report, the Government indicates that the issue of trafficking in persons lies within the competence of the Ministry of Justice, limiting itself to refer to the pilot project for the promotion of employment in rural areas, developed within the context of the national employment system. This project is intended to eliminate the role of the middlemen (gatos), who are the first link in the slave labour chain. In the first place, workers are informed of their rights and conditions of work and are offered training. Secondly, employers are put into contact with workers with various profiles. The Committee further notes that, in the report elaborated after her visit to the country, the United Nations Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of slavery, including its causes and consequences, analysed the phenomenon of trafficking of Bolivian workers to Brazil, in particular to the region of São Paulo, for the purpose of exploitation in the garment and textile industry, and recommended the Government to take measures in this regard (A/HRC/15/20/Add.4).

While acknowledging the complexity of the phenomenon of trafficking in persons, which requires inputs from different governmental bodies, the Committee recalls that its comments are addressed to the Government as a whole, which is expected to provide information on the comprehensive measures taken in this respect, regardless of any internal distribution of responsibility. The Committee therefore hopes that the Government will not fail to provide, in its next report, detailed information on activities undertaken in the framework of the national policy on combating trafficking in persons and the national plan to combat trafficking in persons (PNETP). Recalling that sections 231 and 231-A of the Penal Code only criminalize trafficking in persons for purposes of sexual exploitation, the Committee asks the Government to indicate the provisions used to punish trafficking in persons for purposes of exploitation of their labour and to clarify whether there are any plans to amend the legislation in this regard. Please also provide information on the judicial procedures filed against persons who engage in trafficking in persons, as well as on measures taken to encourage victims to report to the relevant authorities and to ensure the protection of the latter. Finally, the Committee hopes that the Government will indicate the measures taken or envisaged to sensitize the population about trafficking in persons, particularly those persons most vulnerable to this type of exploitation.