Brazil

Detains migrants or asylum seekers?

Rarely

Has laws regulating migration-related detention?

No

Refugees

193,976

2023

Asylum Applications

89,519

2023

International Migrants

1,079,708

2020

Population

216,400,000

2023

Overview

Brazil does not detain migrant children and is publicly opposed to the practice of child immigration detention, positioning itself as a world leader on this issue. The country's new Migration Law, enacted in 2017, introduced “alternatives to detention” and emphasized safe, orderly and dignified migration pathways while regulating access to rights like health, education and legal assistance regardless of migratory status.

Types of facilities used for migration-related detention
Administrative Ad Hoc Criminal Unknown

Brazil:Covid-19 and Detention

Brazil has the most Covid-19 cases and deaths in South America, (241,080 cases and 16,122 deaths as of 18 May). However, the Bolsonaro government has been notoriously dismissive of the pandemic, with the president saying that “unemployment, hunger and misery will be the future of those who support the tyranny of total isolation.” On 23 […]

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A Queue of People Forms at an MSF Clinic Where Staff Evaluate and Screen Homeless People for Covid-19 in Sao Paulo, (Médecins Sans Frontières,
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DETENTION STATISTICS

Migration Detainee Entries
Not Available
2019

DETAINEE DATA

Total Number of Children Placed in Immigration Detention (Year)
0
2017

DETENTION CAPACITY

ALTERNATIVES TO DETENTION

ADDITIONAL ENFORCEMENT DATA

PRISON DATA

Criminal Prison Population (Year)
659,020
2017
548,003
2012
496,251
2010
422,590
2007
336,358
2004
233,859
2001
170,602
1997
148,760
1995
114,377
1992
Percentage of Foreign Prisoners (Year)
0.4
2014
0.7
2012
Prison Population Rate (per 100,000 of National Population)
319
2017
274
2012
253
2010
220
2007
183
2005
133
2001
102
1997
92
1995
74
1992

POPULATION DATA

Population (Year)
216,400,000
2023
212,600,000
2020
207,848,000
2015
International Migrants (Year)
1,079,708
2020
807,006
2019
713,600
2015
International Migrants as Percentage of Population (Year)
0.51
2020
0.3
2015
Refugees (Year)
193,976
2023
67,522
2022
61,956
2021
59,092
2020
32,844
2019
11,327
2018
10,264
2017
9,634
2016
8,707
2015
7,490
2014
Ratio of Refugees Per 1000 Inhabitants (Year)
0.05
2016
0.04
2014
Asylum Applications (Year)
89,519
2023
206,764
2022
82,467
2019
10,220
2016
8,950
2014
Stateless Persons (Year)
5
2023
5
2022
0
2016
2
2015

SOCIO-ECONOMIC DATA & POLLS

Gross Domestic Product per Capita (in USD)
11,384
2014
Remittances to the Country (in USD)
2,427,000
2015
Unemployment Rate
2014
Human Development Index Ranking (UNDP)
75 (High)
2015
Pew Global Attitudes Poll on Immigration
72
2007

LEGAL & REGULATORY FRAMEWORK

Does the Country Detain People for Migration, Asylum, or Citizenship Reasons?
Rarely
2023
Does the Country Have Specific Laws that Provide for Migration-Related Detention?
No
2023
Legal Tradition(s)
Civil law
2017

GROUNDS FOR DETENTION

LENGTH OF DETENTION

DETENTION INSTITUTIONS

PROCEDURAL STANDARDS & SAFEGUARDS

COSTS & OUTSOURCING

COVID-19 DATA

TRANSPARENCY

MONITORING

NATIONAL HUMAN RIGHTS MONITORING BODIES

NATIONAL PREVENTIVE MECHANISMS (OPTIONAL PROTOCOL TO UN CONVENTION AGAINST TORTURE)

NON-GOVERNMENTAL ORGANISATIONS (NGOs)

GOVERNMENTAL MONITORING BODIES

INTERNATIONAL DETENTION MONITORING

INTERNATIONAL TREATIES & TREATY BODIES

International Treaties Ratified
Ratification Year
Observation Date
OP CRC Communications Procedure
2017
2018
ICPED, International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance
2010
2010
CRPD, Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities
2008
2008
OPCAT, Optional Protocol to the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment
2007
2007
CTOCSP, Protocol against the Smuggling of Migrants by Land, Sea and Air, supplementing the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime
2004
2004
CTOCTP, Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, Especially Women and Children
2004
2004
CRSSP, Convention Relating to the Status of Stateless Persons
1996
1996
ICCPR, International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights
1992
1992
ICESCR, International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights
1992
1992
CRC, Convention on the Rights of the Child
1990
1990
CAT, Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment
1989
1989
CEDAW, Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women
1984
1984
PCRSR, Protocol to the Geneva Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees
1972
1972
ICERD, International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination
1968
1968
VCCR, Vienna Convention on Consular Relations
1967
1967
CRSR, Geneva Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees
1960
1960
Ratio of relevant international treaties ratified
Ratio: 16/19
Individual Complaints Procedures
Acceptance Year
ICCPR, First Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, 1966 2009
2009
CRPD, Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities 2008
2008
CAT, declaration under article 22 of the Convention 2006
2006
CEDAW, Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women, 1999 2002
2002
ICERD, declaration under article 14 of the Convention 2002
2002
Ratio of Complaints Procedures Accepted
Observation Date
5/8
5/8
Relevant Recommendations or Observations Issued by Treaty Bodies
Recommendation Year
Observation Date
Human Rights Committee Treatment of aliens, including migrants, refugees and asylum-seekers 45...While the Committee welcomes adoption of Law No. 13,445/2017 on migration and the efforts to support refugees and migrants from the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, it regrets that at least 39 administrative decrees have introduced entry restrictions related to the pandemic, leading to summary deportations, pushbacks, the suspension of asylum procedures and violations of due process, and that ordinance No. 678/2022 still hinders access to asylum procedures... 46. The State party should: (a) Ensure asylum-seekers the right to lodge asylum applications through asylum procedures that are in conformity with international standards, such as the Convention relating to the Status of Refugees and the Protocol thereto, respect the principle of non-refoulement and consider reviewing ordinance No. 678/2022 2023
2023
2023
Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination Migrants, refugees and asylum-seekers 54...The Committee is concerned by the issuance, in 2020, of a wide range of administrative rules to impose restrictions on entry to the country with no exceptions for those seeking international protection... 55. The Committee recommends that the State party ensure that all administrative instructions introduced in 2020 to restrict access to Brazil are terminated and that measures are taken to guarantee the rights of those who may have entered the State party’s territory during that period, in accordance with the provisions of the Migration Law of 2017. 2022
2022
2022
Committee on the Rights of the Child § 78. "The Committee recommends that the State party adopt special procedures to register unaccompanied children and ensure that the refugee status determination procedures comply with international protection standards for unaccompanied children. In this regard, the Committee recommends that the State party provide unaccompanied children with legal representation and assistance through all stages of this process. The Committee also recommends that the State party expeditiously adopt the Statelessness Bill that it has pending at its legislature and establish a human rights–compliant overall framework for ensuring the rights of migrants, including irregular migrants." 2015
2015
2015

> UN Special Procedures

Visits by Special Procedures of the UN Human Rights Council
Year of Visit
Observation Date
Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance 1995
1995
2015
Special Rapporteur on torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment 2000
2000
2015
Special Rapporteur on the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography 2003
2003
2015
Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions 2003
2003
2015
Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance 2005
2005
2015
Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions 2007
2007
2015
Working Group on arbitrary detention 2013
2013
2015
Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of slavery 2010
2010
2015

> UN Universal Periodic Review

Relevant Recommendations or Observations from the UN Universal Periodic Review
Observation Date
No 2008
2017
No 2017
2017
No 2012

> Global Compact for Migration (GCM)

GCM Resolution Endorsement
Observation Date
2018

> Global Compact on Refugees (GCR)

GCR Resolution Endorsement
Observation Date
2018

REGIONAL HUMAN RIGHTS MECHANISMS

Regional Legal Instruments
Year of Ratification (Treaty) / Transposed (Directive) / Adoption (Regulation)
Observation Date
ACHR, American Convention on Human Rights 1992
1992
IACPPT, Inter-American Convention to Prevent and Punish Torture 1989
1989
APACHR, Additional Protocol to the American Convention on Human Rights in the Area of Economic, Social and Cultural Rights 1996
1996
CBDP, Inter-American Convention on the Prevention, Punishment and Eradication of Violence against Women (Convention of Belem do Para) 1995
1995
IACFDP, Inter-American convention on Forced Disappearance of Persons 2013
2013

HEALTH CARE PROVISION

HEALTH IMPACTS

COVID-19

Country Updates
Brazil has the most Covid-19 cases and deaths in South America, (241,080 cases and 16,122 deaths as of 18 May). However, the Bolsonaro government has been notoriously dismissive of the pandemic, with the president saying that “unemployment, hunger and misery will be the future of those who support the tyranny of total isolation.” On 23 April, when asked about the rapidly increasing numbers of Covid-19 cases by journalists, the President shrugged off the news by responding: “So what”? On 31 March, Brazil suspended the entry of foreign nationals by air for 30 days in order to slow the spread of Covid-19. The ban does not apply to Brazilian nationals. Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) reports that it is working to assist migrants and asylum seekers in the country to respond to Covid-19 with teams working in São Paulo, Boa Vista and Rio de Janeiro. In Boa Vista, MSF is working with Venezuelan migrants and asylum seekers who live in precarious conditions, with little space and often without regular access to water. Ana de Lemos, executive director of MSF-Brazil said, “At times like this, it is crucial to have a clear orientation, but unfortunately we have witnessed the dissemination of contradictory guidelines that hinder compliance with the necessary measures.” In São Paulo, MSF began working with homeless people, migrants and refugees, drug users and the elderly given that these groups were already particularly vulnerable. MSF teams have been providing medical consultations for screening and detention of people with suspected cases of Covid-19 and referring patients in more serious conditions to hospitals. UNHCR is also assisting Venezuelan refugees and migrants living in shelters in Manaus by distributing kits including thermometers, gloves and alcohol gel hand sanitiser. UNFPA also distributed 1,000 kits for migrant and refugee people in Roraima to help combat the spread of Covid-19. With these kits, UNFPA seeks to guarantee access to items such as soap, deodorant, toothbrushes, intimate pads and alcohol gel to vulnerable people. On 11 May, it was reported that 35 percent of prisons in the state of Sao Paulo (62 out of 176 facilities) had confirmed or suspected Covid-19 cases. 79 detainees were placed in quarantine and 232 staff members were told to stay at home. There have been 13 confirmed deaths due to the virus (7 prisoners and 6 staff members). According to Prison Insider, no coordinated measures between the Ministry of Justice and prison authorities have been put in place to deal with the health crisis. Measures taken vary between facilities, especially depending on whether they are federal or local prisons. In federal prisons, the Ministry of Justice announced on 16 March, the suspension of visits for 15 days, while in state prisons, measures vary including the partial or total suspension of visits and informing prisoners of preventive measures to be adopted. The GDP has nonetheless been unable to find reports indicating that authorities have adopted measures to assist any migrants in detention.
Did the country release immigration detainees as a result of the pandemic?
Unknown
2021
Did the country use legal "alternatives to detention" as part of pandemic detention releases?
Unknown
2021
Did the country Temporarily Cease or Restrict Issuing Detention Orders?
Unknown
2021
Did the Country Adopt These Pandemic-Related Measures for People in Immigration Detention?
Unknown (Unknown) Unknown Unknown Unknown
2021
Did the Country Lock-Down Previously "Open" Reception Facilities, Shelters, Refugee Camps, or Other Forms of Accommodation for Migrant Workers or Other Non-Citizens?
Yes
2021
Were cases of COVID-19 reported in immigration detention facilities or any other places used for immigration detention purposes?
Unknown
2021
Did the Country Cease or Restrict Deportations/Removals During any Period After the Onset of the Pandemic?
Yes
2021
Did the Country Release People from Criminal Prisons During the Pandemic?
Yes
2021
Did Officials Blame Migrants, Asylum Seekers, or Refugees for the Spread of COVID-19?
Unknown
2021
Did the Country Restrict Access to Asylum Procedures?
Yes
2020
Did the Country Commence a National Vaccination Campaign?
Yes
2020
Were Populations of Concern Included/Excluded From the National Vaccination Campaign?
Unknown (Included) Unknown Unknown Unknown
2021