A/HRC/31/57/Add.4 I. Introduction 1. The present report is submitted by Special Rapporteur on torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment, Juan E. Méndez, who conducted a visit to Brazil from 3 to 14 August 2015, at the invitation of the Government. The purpose of his visit was to assist the Government in its efforts to eradicate torture and improve conditions for persons deprived of their liberty, by assessing the legal and factual situation of torture and ill-treatment in the country, and identifying needs for reform to prevent torture and ill-treatment in the future. II. Activities of the Special Rapporteur 2. In the capital, Brasilia, and the Federal District, the Special Rapporteur met with senior officials of the ministries of external relations, justice and health; the secretariats on policies for women, human rights and youth; the Superior Court of Justice and the Supreme Federal Court; the Offices of the Federal General Public Defender, and the Prosecutor General of the Republic; the national councils on justice, on the public ministry, criminal and prison policy, and the rights of children and adolescents; the National Human Rights Council; the National Committee to Prevent and Combat Torture; the Commission of Human Rights and Participatory Legislation of the Senate; the Commission on Human Rights and Minorities of the Chamber of Deputies; and the national mechanism to prevent and combat torture. 3. In the states visited by the Special Rapporteur — Sao Paulo, Sergipe, Alagoas and Maranhao – he met with representatives of the respective courts of justice; offices of the general prosecutor; secretariats of public security, justice and penitentiary administration; unions of prison guards; secretariats of human rights, popular participation and youth; offices of the public defender; civil society organizations; victims and their family members; and international organizations. 4. The Special Rapporteur visited a representative sample of places where people are deprived of their liberty, including psychiatric institutions, police stations, socioeducational centres for children, pretrial facilities and penitentiaries. 5. He expresses his appreciation to the Government for the cooperation extended to him during his visit, in particular with regard to unfettered access to all places where people are deprived of their liberty, in keeping with the terms of reference for fact-finding missions by special rapporteurs,1 and to interviewing detainees in private. 6. The Special Rapporteur expresses his gratitude to the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, the United Nations Development Programme staff presence in Brasilia, and others involved in the visit, for their excellent assistance throughout the mission. He thanks Brazilian civil society and the international community based in Brazil for their availability and invaluable insights. He is grateful to all his interlocutors, including senior State officials, representatives of civil society, lawyers and detainees, including victims of torture and ill-treatment, with whom he met. The Special Rapporteur expresses solidarity with the victims and survivors of torture, their relatives and Brazilian human rights defenders, as well as his support for their important efforts. 1 4 See E/CN.4/1998/45, appendix V.