VZCZCXRO8185
PP RUEHRG
DE RUEHSO #0946/01 3321811
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 281811Z NOV 07
FM AMCONSUL SAO PAULO
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 7710
INFO RUEHBR/AMEMBASSY BRASILIA 8843
RUEHAC/AMEMBASSY ASUNCION 3203
RUEHBU/AMEMBASSY BUENOS AIRES 2963
RUEHMN/AMEMBASSY MONTEVIDEO 2519
RUEHLP/AMEMBASSY LA PAZ 3598
RUEHCV/AMEMBASSY CARACAS 0613
RUEHSG/AMEMBASSY SANTIAGO 2222
RUEHRG/AMCONSUL RECIFE 3899
RUEHRI/AMCONSUL RIO DE JANEIRO 8463
RUEHBS/AMEMBASSY BRUSSELS 0658
RUCNDT/USMISSION USUN NEW YORK 0001
RHEHNSC/NSC WASHDC
RUEATRS/DEPT OF TREASURY WASHDC
RHMFISS/CDR USSOUTHCOM MIAMI FL
RUEHC/DEPT OF LABOR WASHDC

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 SAO PAULO 000946 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR WHA/BSC, WHA/PDA AND DRL 
NSC FOR TOMASULO 
SOUTHCOM ALSO FOR POLAD 
USAID FOR LAC/AA 
DOL FOR ILAB 
 
TAGS: PHUM PHUM SOCI BR
SUBJECT: UN REPORT ACCUSES BRAZIL OF SUPPORTING PRISON TORTURE 
 
REF: (A) 06 SAO PAULO 988; (B) 06 BRASILIA 496; 
     (C) 06 SAO PAULO 215 
 
SENSITIVE BUT UNCLASSIFIED - PLEASE PROTECT ACCORDINGLY 
 
Summary 
------- 
 
¶1.  (SBU) Consistent with Brazil's Annual Human Rights Report, a UN 
report released on November 23 points out that torture is systemic 
in Brazilian prisons.  The report also blames the GoB for not taking 
steps to prevent prison abuses and calls for compensation for prison 
torture victims.  The GoB's Special Secretariat on Human Rights 
disagrees with its content emphasizing that while torture does occur 
in some prisons, it is not "systematic" in practice.  Human rights 
contacts agree that the UN report is accurate in general terms but 
stress that the document is outdated on information regarding Sao 
Paulo State, where, according to some of these experts, prison 
conditions have improved when compared to 2006 during which prison 
riots created chaos throughout the state.  End Summary. 
 
UN Report 
--------- 
 
¶2.  (U) A team of UN representatives visited several prisons in Sao 
Paulo, Brasilia, Rio de Janeiro and the states of Bahia and Para in 
2005 to investigate prison conditions in Brazil.  Their report 
concluded that prisoners live in dehumanized conditions in 
overcrowded cells lacking in basic infrastructure such as beds. 
According to the report, prison authorities regularly deny inmates 
access to health care or legal representation.  The UN team 
highlighted that although prison administrators, as well as federal 
government authorities, are aware of the problem, they have taken 
little action to improve the situation.  (Note: The UN report 
further implies that the government supports the torture and 
mistreatment of prisoners in spite of legislation and international 
norms against such human rights violations.  End Note.)  The 
report's list of 16 recommendations for Brazil includes payment of 
compensation to victims of prison torture, quick investigation of 
cases of human rights violations, and punishment of police officers 
who commit violent acts against prisoners.  The document further 
calls for increased funding on the prison system nationwide because 
present sub-human conditions in prisons facilitate and stimulate 
violence and torture. 
 
Government Response 
------------------- 
 
¶3.  (U) The GoB denies it supports prison torture and that it is 
"systematic," stressing that abuses were government policy only 
during Brazil's military dictatorship.  As regards prison 
conditions, the GoB's Special Secretariat on Human Rights 
acknowledges that living conditions in most Brazilian prisons are 
unbearable even though federal legislation prohibits deplorable 
prison environments and mandates penalties for abusive police 
officers.  The Secretariat claims that the responsibility lies with 
the states as each state is responsible for its own prison system 
and should be held accountable for conditions at its prisons.  The 
GoB claims it has taken tough measures to eliminate human rights 
violations in the prisons but that legislation alone cannot 
eliminate prison abuse. 
 
Sao Paulo Prisons 
----------------- 
 
¶4.  (SBU) Human rights NGO contacts told us that the UN report is 
accurate in general terms and that in some parts of Brazil, torture 
remains local policy.  Father Gunter Zgubic, coordinator of the 
Pastoral "Carcerari" (inmates) organization, one of the most 
important groups working on prison conditions, noted that the Sao 
Paulo State Government has made a concerted effort to improve prison 
 
SAO PAULO 00000946  002 OF 002 
 
 
conditions.  If true, improvements in Sao Paulo jails would improve 
the overall prison system in Brazil as almost half of all Brazilian 
inmates are held in Sao Paulo penitentiaries.  As evidence of the 
improvement of the Sao Paulo prison system, Father Zgubic pointed to 
the 2005 demolition of the Carandiru penitentiary in the northern 
part of the city of Sao Paulo - site of Brazil's most notorious 
post-dictatorship human rights incident in 1992, when military 
police invaded to break up a prisoners' riot and gunned down 111 
inmates (see reftels).  According to Father Zgubic, the demolition 
of this infamous prison illustrates that the Sao Paulo State 
Government is cognizant of prison conditions and is working to 
ameliorate them.  He added that according to his information, 
physical torture is rare and that when it does occur, state 
authorities investigate the allegation and punish perpetrators. 
However, Father Zgubic ended his discussion by stating that while 
improvements have been made, there are still areas of concern such 
as health care and legal assistance for prisoners. 
 
Comment 
------- 
 
¶5.  (SBU) The UN report is an important document shedding light on a 
serious human rights issue in Brazil.  Just last week, local and 
international media focused on a story in the small northern town of 
Abaetetuba in which police allegedly confined a fifteen year old 
girl to a cell with 20 adult men where she was tortured and raped 
(septel).  The report notes that regardless of the GoB's position on 
prison torture, there is evidence that it is continuing and 
increased efforts are needed to eradicate it from the prison system. 
 USG efforts to improve the prison situation are already in place as 
part of our broader bilateral relationship.  In Sao Paulo, the Sao 
Paulo State youth corrections system, FEBEM/CASA, recently began an 
intensive INL-sponsored training program to improve interaction 
between inmates and corrections officers and upgrade the status of 
its facilities.  Such initiatives can go a long way in taking action 
on some of the recommendations laid out in the UN's report.  End 
Comment. 
 
¶6.  (U) This cable was cleared by Embassy Brasilia. 
 
WHITE