An update regarding Marcelo Freixo, chairman of the Human Rights Commission of the Rio de Janeiro State Assembly, who has been at the forefront of investigations into the activities of militias in the state. Read more

The National Foundation for the Indian (FUNAI) is committed to finding a fair and definitive solution to the land dispute involving the Guarani-Kaiowá indigenous people in Mato Grosso do Sul. Read more

President Lula has launched an initiative entitled Social Agenda for Indigenous Peoples, comprising three programmes: Protection of Indigenous Lands, Promoting Indigenous Peoples, and Quality of Life for Indigenous Peoples. Read more

Brazil is to have an independent body responsible for preventing torture in the judicial and public security system, especially in prisons. Read more

Brazil supports all impartial multilateral mechanisms for the monitoring of human rights, but does not recognise the legitimacy of unilateral reports such as the one produced by the State Department. Read more

The Brazilian National Congress has approved the text of the Optional Protocol to the UN Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (OPCAT), adopted in New York on 18 December 2002. Read more

An International Labour Organization report has noted the progress made since the launching of the National Plan for the Eradication of Bonded Labour in Brazil in 2003. Read more

On 11 August the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) sent a message of congratulations to the Brazilian government following the country's adoption of the Domestic and Family Violence Law. Read more