This record is a partial extract of the original cable. The full text of the original cable is not available.

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 BRASILIA 000229 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: ELAB KDEM KSEP PGOV PHUM PREL BA TIP
SUBJECT: BRAZIL: SUPPORTING HUMAN RIGHTS AND DEMOCRACY 
REPORT 
 
REF: STATE 267453 
 
1) In October 2002, Brazil's constitutional Government held 
its fourth general election since the end of military rule in 
1985, electing President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva ("Lula") 
and members of the legislature in accordance with the 1988 
Constitution.  In October of this year, nationwide municipal 
elections elected mayors and city council members in each of 
the country's 5,563 municipalities.  Both elections were held 
without serious incidents and met international standards. 
 
2) The federal government generally respected human rights, 
but the human rights record of some states remained poor. 
Although there were improvements in a few areas, serious 
problems remained.  Police continued to commit numerous 
abuses including unlawful killings, torture, and excessive 
use of force.  Prison conditions remained harsh and life 
threatening.  The judiciary was inefficient, lacked 
resources, and was often subject to political and economic 
influences -- especially at the state level.  Judicial 
officials were often poorly trained and the judicial process 
remained slow.  In many instances, poorer and less educated 
citizens made limited use of an appeals process that could 
ensure their right to a fair trial.  Violence and 
discrimination against women, indigenous people, and 
Afro-Brazilians remained a problem.  Child abuse and 
prostitution, human trafficking, and internal slave labor 
continued. 
 
3) The human rights and democracy strategy for Brazil focused 
primarily on improving access to education and employment for 
Brazil's poor youth, strengthening the judiciary, increasing 
political participation of unrepresented persons (mainly 
women and Afro-Brazilians), and combating human trafficking 
and internal slave labor. 
 
4) In compliance with the Leahy amendment, the Embassy worked 
closely with the Ministry of Defense and NGOs to thoroughly 
vet all military units proposed for U.S. training. 
 
5) USAID/Brazil's Disadvantaged Youth Program actively worked 
to ensure that children and adolescents received access to 
basic rights.  USAID/Brazil also provided at-risk youth with 
increased access to viable training and employment 
opportunities.  Activities during the year included technical 
training and life-skill building, corporate mentoring, paid 
internships, and on-site formal sector training. 
 
6) In addition, USAID provided information and communication 
technology training to 1,000 youth and educators.  Trainees 
conducted market surveys to identify key factors and barriers 
considered during the hiring process and launched a campaign 
to decrease prejudice against young workers from poor 
communities. 
 
7) During 2004, Ambassador Danilovich welcomed Ambassador 
Sichan Siv, the U.S. Representative to the United Nations 
Economic and Social Council.  During the visit, Ambassadors 
Siv and Danilovich met with several high-level Brazilian 
officials involved in promoting human rights and democracy, 
including President Lula's Foreign Policy Advisor. 
 
8) In celebration of Brazil's Black Awareness month, former 
Congresswoman Cardiss Collins (D-IL) spoke at the Federal 
Senate in Brasilia and addressed groups of students and 
academics in Brasilia and Salvador, Bahia.  Congresswoman 
Collins spoke about the role of African-Americans in the 
passage of civil rights legislation during a series of 
professional training programs on race and gender equality. 
The Public Affairs section in Brasilia sponsored both events. 
 
9) High profile cases charging judges with corruption and 
influence peddling were common, and impunity seemed 
widespread.  At the end of 2004, approximately 115 senior 
judges throughout the country were under investigation.  At 
the end of 2003, approximately six million cases covering a 
range of crimes and infractions were in the federal courts; 
the volume in state courts was five times greater. 
Approximately 16 out of 100 cases reached resolution in 2003. 
 To address these and other judiciary problems, the U.S. 
government sponsored a number of guest lectures and 
professors from Harvard University Law School, the University 
of Texas Law School, and Columbia University, to promote 
civil and political rights and judicial reform. 
 
10) The Public Affairs Office at the U.S. Embassy in Brasilia 
and the Lawyers for a Green Planet Institute held the first 
ever U.S.-Brazil Constitutional Dialogue on The Contemporary 
Meaning of the Constitution.  Professors from the University 
of Texas Law School and Brazilian Supreme Court Justices 
discussed the importance of freedom of speech, human rights, 
and individual and social rights before an audience of 
judges, prosecutors, lawyers, and law students. 
11) Brazil has a significant internal and external human 
trafficking problem.  It is a major source country for women 
trafficked into prostitution in Europe and bordering 
countries.  Men and children are forced into agricultural 
labor schemes on farms in the country's interior.  The U.S. 
government considered fighting trafficking in persons a 
priority and made substantial efforts to do so.  To further 
reduce child labor and associated human rights abuses, the 
Mission teamed with Partners for the Americas and the 
Ministries of Labor, Education and Social Assistance, and the 
Government of Brazil's National Human Rights Secretariat to 
implement a $5 million U.S. Labor Department grant to target 
child labor in Northeast Brazil.  More than $10 million in 
additional U.S. funding supported the International Labor 
Organization programs working to combat child and forced 
labor.  In addition, Catholic Relief Services began a program 
funded by the U.S. Department of Labor to combat forced labor 
by working with cities that traditionally provided victims 
for slave labor.  The Embassy reinforced the Brazilian 
Ministry of Justice's efforts at increasing awareness of the 
human trafficking problem by educating both Brazilian 
officials and target groups.  The Departments of Homeland 
Security and Justice will receive significant grants for 
projects to help Brazilian authorities combat trafficking 
under the President's Initiative Program. 
 
12) During the year, Brazil was selected by the U.S. 
Government as one of eight countries to receive aid under 
President Bush's Anti-Trafficking in Persons Initiative. 
Under this program, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) 
in Brasilia will work with the Brazilian Federal Police and 
the Public Ministry to establish vetted units.  DHS will 
provide the Brazilian government with training and equipment 
to identify and dismantle international trafficking 
organizations. Police and prosecutors will be trained to 
gather evidence and provide intelligence concerning foreign 
perpetrators and share intelligence with originating 
countries for the purpose of coordinating investigations and 
dismantling the criminal organizations. 
 
13) Proposed DHS training includes the identification of TIP 
violations, modus operandi, trafficking routes, interview 
techniques, and additional law enforcement training to be 
used at known trafficking sites, such as international 
airports, bus stations, and hotels.  These vetted units will 
also function as Airport Response Teams and will assist other 
Brazilian Law Enforcement Agencies that conduct human 
trafficking investigations at the Sao Paulo international 
airport. 
 
14) In May, the U.S. Consulate General in Sao Paulo and the 
Sao Paulo State Secretary of Justice inaugurated the Sao 
Paulo Office for the Prevention of Trafficking in Persons. 
This office conducts public education campaigns, assists 
victims of human trafficking and sexual exploitation, and 
refers individual trafficking cases to the Brazilian federal 
police and state attorneys.  The office will also have a 
center at the Sao Paulo international airport to assist 
victims that return to Brazil after being trafficked abroad. 
The office is the first of its kind in Brazil, and because of 
involvement by Brazil's Ministry of Justice, serves as a 
model for similar offices that will be opened nationwide.  A 
$20,000 U.S. government grant to the Sao Paulo Secretary of 
Justice allowed the office to purchase essential equipment. 
 
15) USAID/Brazil promoted several human rights and democracy 
programs throughout the year and actively worked to combat 
human trafficking and sexual exploitation.  USAID/Brazil 
activities included direct service assistance to human 
trafficking and sexual exploitation victims; shelter 
strengthening in target areas; referrals to appropriate legal 
and law enforcement services to facilitate prosecution of 
perpetrators and dismantle human trafficking networks; 
promotion of increased coordination between stakeholders and 
service providers at the local level; and technical 
assistance to improve the Brazilian human trafficking and 
sexual exploitation notification system. 
 
16) USAID-funded anti-trafficking activities led to a number 
of significant achievements during the year.  Under the 
umbrella of a Memorandum of Understanding signed with the 
Brazilian Secretariat for Human Rights and the Ministry of 
Social Development, USAID worked to strengthen the nationwide 
network of government centers that provided emergency health, 
legal, and psychosocial services to TIP victims.  Over 1,300 
public agents, including social workers, psychologists, 
physicians and teachers received USAID-sponsored training 
during the year, which allowed for the design of local 
operational plans and strategies for 2005.  During the year, 
USAID partners identified over 700 cases of commercial sexual 
exploitation, of which 108 involved illegal trafficking. 
17) The Government of Brazil regarded the USAID-supported 
anti-trafficking program as a model for the country.  A 
report issued during the year by the Brazilian General 
Accounting Office stated that the USAID-funded program is the 
most successful and effective initiative that combats human 
trafficking and sexual exploitation of minors in the country. 
 
 
18) Upon invitation by the GOB, USAID held a seat, for the 
second year, on the Inter-Sectoral Commission on Trafficking 
in Persons and Sexual Exploitation of Children and 
Adolescents.  This Commission is responsible for coordinating 
anti-trafficking activities. 
 
19) In November, the U.S. Embassy in Brasilia took part in an 
anti-trafficking Seminar sponsored by the Embassy of Sweden 
with participation from the Brazilian National Secretary of 
Justice Claudia Chagas, the U.S. Departments of Homeland 
Security, Labor and State, NGOs, and the diplomatic 
community.  U.S. Departments of Labor and Homeland Security 
presentations outlined the U.S. Government's commitment to 
the fight against human trafficking through the prosecution 
of offenders, protection of victims, and the creation of 
programs to prevent future trafficking to an audience 
composed of the Brazilian federal government officials, NGO 
representatives, human rights activists, diplomats, and law 
enforcement officials. 
 
20) Special Ambassador John Miller, head of the State 
Department's Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in 
Persons, toured Brazil to survey Brazilian efforts at 
combating human trafficking.  Ambassador Miller met with 
several high-level Brazilian officials, NGO representatives, 
public prosecutors, and consular representatives. 
 
21) List of USG-funded human rights and democracy programs of 
$100,000 or more: 
 
A) Integrated Actions to Combat Trafficking and Sexual 
Violence against Children and Youth (PAIR) 
Implementing agency: Partners of the Americas 
Partners: The Brazilian Secretariat of Human Rights and the 
Ministries of Justice, Social Development, Tourism, 
Education, and Labor 
Funding: USD 300,000 
Description: USAID provides training to multi-disciplinary 
teams in seven municipalities with the GOB's Sentinela 
programs and in locations with significant reports of sexual 
exploitation and trafficking. 
 
B) Integrated Action Program to Combat Trafficking and 
Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Boys and Girls in Brazil 
Implementing Agency:  International Labor Organization 
Partners: the GOB, NGOs, and local universities 
Funding: USD 353,000 
Description:  This USAID-funded program is designed to assist 
local anti-trafficking programs in identifying, 
rehabilitating, and reintegrating TIP and sexual exploitation 
victims into the labor market. 
 
C) Enter Jovem 
Implementing Agency: the American Institute for Research 
Partners: Local NGOs 
Funding: USD 3,200,000 (2003-2006) 
Description: Through this program, USAID provides 
disadvantaged youth between the ages of 16-21 with technical 
training, life skills building, and access to paid 
employment. 
 
D) Tourism and Social Responsibility Program 
Implementing Agency: Counterpart International 
Partners: The Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), the 
International Youth Foundation, local NGOs and business 
associations 
Funding: USD 638,000 (2003-2005) 
Description: This USAID-sponsored program provides 
disadvantaged youth between the ages of 18-24 with access to 
training and employment opportunities in the tourism industry 
through technical training, mentoring, and access to paid 
employment. 
 
DANILOVICH