HRC57: Urgent call for racial justice within the prison system in Brazil

On 3 and 4 October 2024, the Human Rights Council held its General Debate on Item 9, focusing on issues of racism, xenophobia, and the intolerance that accompanies these social challenges. The discussions emphasised the urgent need for a global commitment to implementing the Durban Declaration and Programme of Action (DDPA) and recognising the importance of a Second International Decade for People of African Descent.

These frameworks serve as essential instruments for enhancing the protection of fundamental rights for individuals of African descent, while also acknowledging their significant contributions to society.

During the debate, Cristiano Silva made an impactful statement on behalf of Eu sou Eu: a ferrugem, the UN Antiracism Coalition (UNARC) and ISHR, highlighting the ongoing violations faced by the Black population in Brazil, especially those incarcerated. He pointed out the need for solidarity among social movements and institutions that combat structural and systemic racism. 

Cristiano noted that the Brazilian State has failed to acknowledge the violence inflicted upon marginalised communities, asserting that ‘our bodies have borne unhealable wounds’ due to centuries of oppression and discrimination.

He also outlined the urgent need to address the human rights violations prevalent in Brazil’s prison system, which has become a focal point of systemic racism. Moreover, he called to end the criminalisation of poverty as an instrument of incarceration in the war on drugs and highlighted how this systemic approach disproportionately targets marginalised communities. 

Watch his statement here: 

Read the full joint statement below: 

Thank you Mr. President, my name is Cristiano Silva, I am a survivor of the Brazilian penitentiary system. This is a joint statement. Together with various social movements and institutions that confront structural, and systemic racism, faced with the countless violations suffered daily, we denounce racism in its many forms. 

Statistics show that violence in peripheral and favela territories, homicides, forced disappearances and imprisonment are high.  We call on the Human Rights Council and the Brazilian State to urgently respond to the ongoing human rights violations in the Brazilian prison system and implement anti-racist actions so that the Carandirú massacre in São Paulo and the Pedrinhas massacre in São Luís do Maranhão are not repeated.

We urge the Brazilian State to:

• Ensure non-discrimination in use of digital facial recognition
• End the criminalisation of poverty
• Ensure that the prison administrations take responsibility for their actions
• Guarantee rights to health and education within the prison system
• Ensure  social inclusion policies for people leaving the prison system
• Ensure humane detention conditions including addressing overcrowding and considering decarceration policies
• Ensure an enabling environment for human rights defenders working on racial justice to safely conduct their work.  

Thank you.