Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 2022, published 111st ILC session (2023)

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

The Committee notes the information provided by the Government on the operation of the “More Doctors for Brazil” programme.

Articles 1(1), 2(1) and 25 of the Convention. Trafficking in persons. Legislative framework. The Committee notes that the Government reports the adoption of Act No. 13.344 of 6 October 2016 concerning trafficking in persons perpetrated on the national territory involving Brazilian or foreign national victims and trafficking perpetrated abroad involving Brazilian victims. The Committee notes that the Act introduces a new section 149A into the Penal Code, repealing sections 231 and 231-A under which only trafficking in persons for purposes of sexual exploitation is criminalized. The Committee notes with interest that the Act defines the elements of trafficking in persons for the purpose of subjecting them to labour under conditions similar to those of slavery, to any type of servitude or for the purpose of sexual exploitation and provides for the applicable penalties. The Act also contains a series of provisions concerning preventing and combating trafficking and the protections that must be provided to victims. In particular, the Committee notes that victims of trafficking and their relatives can receive a permit for permanent residence in the country, regardless of whether they collaborate in the police or judicial proceedings.

Action plan. The Committee previously requested the Government to supply information on the activities undertaken in the context of the five strategic pillars of the National Plan to Combat Trafficking in Persons (PNETP II). The Committee notes the information provided by the Government on the information and awareness-raising campaigns launched on the issue of trafficking in persons in general and the various channels made available to victims to report their situation. The Committee also notes the information available on the website of the Ministry of Justice indicating: (i) the establishment in 2019 of a National Committee to Combat Trafficking in Persons (CONATRAP), which is the body responsible for proposing strategies for the management and implementation of the actions provided for in the National Policy against Trafficking in Persons, adopted in 2006; (ii) the preparation, through a collective process, and adoption in 2018 of a new National Plan to Combat Trafficking in Persons (PNETP III), based on six strategic pillars; (iii) the establishment in 2019 of an inter-ministerial group responsible for overseeing and assessing the implementation of PNETP III; and (iv) the publication of a national report on trafficking in persons (2017–20). The Committee notes that, according to this report, the Ministry of Citizenship calculated the possible number of victims of trafficking between 2017 and 2020 to be 1,811, of whom were 623 women and 1,188 men. During the same period, 456 women and 159 men received assistance from the Ministry of Health. Lastly, 59 persons were convicted for internal trafficking and 87 for international trafficking. The report also shows that the socioeconomic vulnerability of victims is one of the main risk factors, which even greater for migrant workers.

While welcoming the measures taken, the Committee requests the Government to continue its efforts to combat trafficking in persons for purposes of both labour and sexual exploitation. The Committee requests the Government to provide detailed information on:

• -The measures taken to implement Act No. 13.344 and the National Plan to Combat Trafficking in Persons (PNETP III);
• -The assessments of PNETP III undertaken by the inter-ministerial group, with an indication of the results achieved, the difficulties encountered and the measures envisaged to overcome them;
• -The protection and immediate and medium-term assistance provided to victims to enable their rehabilitation and reintegration; and
• -The investigations conducted, the judicial procedures initiated, the sentences handed down and the penalties imposed under section 149A of the Criminal Code.