UN Expert Urges Brazil to Intensify Efforts Against Modern Slavery

📍 Brasília, Brazil — The United Nations Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of slavery, Tomoya Obokata, has called on Brazil to take urgent action to combat persistent forms of modern slavery across the country. Concluding a two-week official visit, Obokata highlighted ongoing exploitation affecting children, domestic workers, Indigenous and Quilombola communities, sex workers, migrants, refugees, and asylum seekers.

Obokata expressed concern over rising labor practices such as pejotização, where workers are hired as legal entities to circumvent labor protections. He noted that such practices undermine international standards, including Articles 4 and 23 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which guarantee freedom from servitude and the right to fair working conditions.

Despite Brazil’s strong legal framework—including Articles 149 and 149A of the Penal Code criminalizing forced labor and human trafficking—implementation gaps remain. The country also enforces child protection laws under the Statute of the Child and Adolescent and has adopted national policies such as the 2005 National Pact to Eradicate Slave Labor.

Obokata urged Brazil to ratify key International Labour Organization conventions, including Convention No.190 on workplace violence and harassment. He also recommended strengthening victim support systems, enforcing accountability for perpetrators, and investing in education and poverty reduction to address root causes of exploitation.

The Special Rapporteur’s findings will be formally presented to the UN Human Rights Council in 2026.

UN-Hq-NY-Picture-by-United-Nations-Visitors-Centre

Excerpts from Jurist.com article by Valerie Manyega | U. Nairobi School of Law, KE