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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DETENTION CAPACITY
ALTERNATIVES TO DETENTION
ADDITIONAL ENFORCEMENT DATA
PRISON DATA
POPULATION DATA
LEGAL & REGULATORY FRAMEWORK
Does the Country Have Specific Laws that Provide for Migration-Related Detention?
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
ICPED, International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance
2010
2010
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
CAT, Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment
1989
1989
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, 19662009
2009
CEDAW, Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women, 19992002
2002
Relevant Recommendations or Observations Issued by Treaty Bodies
Treaty Body
Human Rights Committee
Recommendation Year
2023
Recommendation Excerpt
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
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
Sources
Human Rights Committee, "Concluding observations on the third periodic report of Brazil*", 6 September 2023, United Nations General Assembly (paragraph), https://uhri.ohchr.org/en/document/87de23ef-505c-4a72-8f8c-32d33ce0a60e
Treaty Body
Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination
Recommendation Year
2022
Recommendation Excerpt
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.
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.
Sources
Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination, "Concluding observations on the combined eighteenth to twentieth periodic reports of Brazil," December 2022, United Nations General Assembly, (paragraphs 54 and 55), https://uhri.ohchr.org/en/document/9955cd8a-1e66-4dd6-a2b6-7aac5a0d1d93
Treaty Body
Committee on the Rights of the Child
Recommendation Year
2015
Recommendation Excerpt
§ 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."
Sources
Committee on the Rights of the Child, "Concluding Observations on the Combined Second to Fourth Periodic Reports of Brazil," CRC/C/BRA/CO/2-4, 30 October 2015, https://tbinternet.ohchr.org/_layouts/15/treatybodyexternal/Download.aspx?symbolno=CRC%2fC%2fBRA%2fCO%2f2-4&Lang=en
> 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 intolerance1995
1995
2015
Special Rapporteur on torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment2000
2000
2015
Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance2005
2005
2015
> UN Universal Periodic Review
Relevant Recommendations or Observations from the UN Universal Periodic Review
Recommendation Issued
No
Year Issued
2022
UPR Cycle
4th
Sources
Human Rights Council, "Report of the Working Group on the Universal Periodic Review Brazil", 11 November 2022, United Nations General Assembly, https://documents.un.org/doc/undoc/gen/g22/611/60/pdf/g2261160.pdf
Recommendation Issued
No
Year Issued
2008
Sources
Report of the Working Group on the Universal Periodic Review Brazil, A/HRC/8/27, 22 May 2008, https://www.upr-info.org/sites/default/files/document/brazil/session_1_-_april_2008/ahrc827brazile.pdf
Recommendation Issued
No
Year Issued
2017
Sources
Report of the Working Group on the Universal Periodic Review Brazil, A/HRC/36/11, 18 July 2017, https://www.upr-info.org/sites/default/files/document/brazil/session_27_-_may_2017/a_hrc_36_11_e.pdf
Recommendation Issued
No
Year Issued
2012
Sources
Report of the Working Group on the Universal Periodic Review: Brazil. 9 July 2012. A/HRC/21/11.
REGIONAL HUMAN RIGHTS MECHANISMS
Regional Legal Instruments
Year of Ratification (Treaty) / Transposed (Directive) / Adoption (Regulation)
Observation Date
APACHR, Additional Protocol to the American Convention on Human Rights in the Area of Economic, Social and Cultural Rights1996
1996
CBDP, Inter-American Convention on the Prevention, Punishment and Eradication of Violence against Women (Convention of Belem do Para)1995
1995
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.
Government Agencies
Immigration Public Service - https://www.gov.br/pt-br/temas/immigration-public-services
Ministry of Justice and Public Security - https://www.gov.br/mj/pt-br
International Organisations
UNHCR - https://www.unhcr.org/where-we-work/countries/brazil
IOM - https://brazil.iom.int/en
OHCHR - https://www.ohchr.org/en/countries/brazil
NGO & Research Institutions
Ombudsman - https://www.gov.br/mre/pt-br/consulado-londres/ombudsman-office
Amnesty International - https://www.amnesty.org/en/location/americas/south-america/brazil/
Human Rights Watch - https://www.hrw.org/world-report/2025/country-chapters/brazil
