A/HRC/31/57/Add.4
last resort, and detention conditions often do not correspond to the specific needs of this
group, as described below. Currently, more than 20,000 children are serving sentences.
Afro-Brazilian community
27.
Numbering 50.7 per cent of the total population, Afro-Brazilians account for merely
20 per cent of gross domestic product; 78 per cent live below the poverty line, while 40 per
cent have completed less than seven years of schooling, and are affected significantly more
than the overall population by nearly every possible negative indicator.
28.
According to Infopen, in 2014 about 67 per cent of Brazil’s total prison population
was classified as “black” or “mulatto”.
29.
Afro-Brazilians are at a significantly higher risk of mass incarceration, police abuse,
torture and ill-treatment, medical neglect, being killed by the police, receiving higher
sentences than their white counterparts for the same crime and suffering discrimination in
prison — suggesting a high degree of institutional racism.
30.
In addition, Afro-Brazilians are gravely impacted by serious crime: death by
homicide is 87 per cent higher among Afro-descendants than in the population as a whole;
in some regions, the number of homicides among Afro-Brazilians is more than 400 per cent
higher than among other groups. The Special Rapporteur heard worrying reports of police
involvement with death squads that are terrorizing black communities.
31.
He notes that on 4 March 2015 the Chamber of Deputies of the federal Congress
created a commission for investigating the violence perpetrated against Afro-Brazilian
youth.
Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex persons
32.
The Special Rapporteur notes with concern that little data exist on lesbian, bisexual,
transgender and intersex people in conflict with the law in Brazil. Few people declare
themselves as such in prison, the great majority of incidents are not reported due to fear of
retaliation from the perpetrator(s), and there is little interest in mapping such incidents.
33.
From the information available, the Special Rapporteur understands that they are the
target of systematic threats and serious harm to their physical and psychological integrity,
including sexual violence and killings during arrests and detention, by police and
penitentiary agents, as well as by fellow inmates.
34.
Joint resolution 1/2014 of the National Council on Criminal and Penitentiary
Policies and the National Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Council provides that
lesbian, bisexual, transgender and intersex persons are entitled to specific wings and cells.
Compulsory transfers are, in principle, considered a violation, but the resolution foresees no
sanctions in the event of breaches. In terms of access, according to Infopen, in 2014 only
about 5 per cent of establishments had special cells for this group. The resolution is unclear
about how and by whom searches of lesbian, bisexual, transgender and intersex people
must be conducted. Implementation is left up to each institution, and there are no sanctions
for non-compliance.
35.
The joint resolution is undoubtedly a positive step; however, the Special Rapporteur
is concerned that it could contribute to the further exclusion and isolation of such persons,
depending on how it is implemented.
36.
In terms of access to health services, lesbian, bisexual, transgender and intersex
persons are, relative to the rest of the prison population, likely to be additionally affected by
inadequacies stemming from overcrowding. In that regard, the joint resolution establishes
8