A/HRC/13/39/Add.6 Brazil Follow-up to the recommendations made by the Special Rapporteur (Nigel Rodley) in the report of his visit to Brazil from 20 August to 12 September 2000 (E/CN.4/2001/66/Add.2, para. 169) 9. On 23 October 2009, the Special Rapporteur sent the table below to the Government of Brazil requesting information and comments on the follow-up measures taken with regard to the implementation of the recommendations of his predecessor’s visit in 2000. The Special Rapporteur regrets that the Government has not provided any input. He looks forward to receiving information on Brazil’s efforts to follow-up to his recommendations and he reaffirms that he stands ready to assist in efforts to prevent and combat torture and ill-treatment. 10. The Special Rapporteur echoes the observations of the Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions following his mission to Brazil in 2007 (A/HRC/11/2/Add.2), particularly with regard to: problems of physical abuse and corruption by prison guards, including the threat of reprisals for presenting complaints; the sharp rise in prison population over the past decade; and the inadequate external oversight of prison conditions, leading to poor prison conditions and abuses of power. 11. The Special Rapporteur commends the efforts by the Government in some states to reduce the number of pre-trial detainees being held in police stations for longer than 24 hours, and encourages the Government to further these efforts, as thousands remain in detention for long periods of time, in many cases in deplorable conditions. 12. The Special Rapporteur welcomes the reports of a small number of prosecutions of suspected perpetrators of torture. However, he regrets that the mechanisms for presenting complaints and carrying out investigations are still weak. He encourages the Government to provide him with statistics of the number of prosecutions. 13. The Special Rapporteur welcomes the ratification of the Optional Protocol to the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (OPCAT) and encourages the Government to ensure that the NPM becomes functional as soon as possible and that civil society is fully included in the process of its creation and in its work. 13