In accordance with the Optional Protocol to the UN Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (OPCAT), ratified in January, Brazil is to have an independent body responsible for preventing torture in the judicial and public security system, especially in prisons.

The new entity, which will be established within the framework of the Special Secretariat for Human Rights in the Office of the President, with institutional and financial autonomy, will be made up of independent specialists. One of its most important functions will be that of making frequent unannounced visits to prisons and police stations.

Announcing the creation of the mechanism, Minister Paulo Vannuchi (SEDH/PR) declared that ‘torture is intolerable and needs to be eliminated’. Among the strategic initiatives aimed at preventing torture, he also emphasised the importance of providing training in human rights issues for professionals employed in the area of security and in the judicial system.

Source: Special Secretariat for Human Rights – Office of the President