The UN Special Rapporteur on modern slavery released a statement on Friday protesting that forms of modern slavery continue to exist in Brazil, including the exploitation of children and domestic workers, Indigenous, African, and Quilombola peoples, sex workers, migrants, refugees, and asylum seekers.

Expert Tomoya Obokata made the announcement to conclude his visit to Brazil. The special rapporteur met with various governmental and non-governmental stakeholders concerned with modern slavery in Brazil, as well as victims and survivors of modern sexual, labor, and criminal slavery.

Obokata noted that the rate of contemporary slavery in Brazil is still high, with the labor market prioritizing profits over the rights of workers. Practices of pejotização—whereby a worker is hired as a legal entity instead of a formal employee in order to avoid the application of labor rights and payment of labor costs—are reportedly on the rise.

Such alleged labor practices go against international laws like Articles 4 and 23 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which guarantee each person the right to freedom against all forms of servitude and slavery and the right to fair labor practices, respectively.

The expert simultaneously noted the presence of robust legislative and institutional frameworks meant to address such forms of contemporary slavery in Brazil. These include Article 149 of Brazil’s Penal Code, which criminalizes subjecting people to slavery-like conditions, including forced labor, exhausting workdays, degrading working conditions, and restrictions on freedom of movement. Article 149A of the code also proscribes human trafficking.

Further, Article 5 and Chapter V of the Statute of Child and Adolescent of Brazil prohibit any form of exploitation of children as well as any form of work that violates the fundamental rights of a child. The constitution also provides for the seizure of properties acquired by illegal trafficking. Moreover, there are a number of policies in place to address specific forms of slavery, such as the 2005 National Pact to Eradicate Slave Labor.

Pursuant to these findings, Obokata encouraged Brazil to ratify the necessary International Labor Organization Conventions to ensure protection of workers, including Convention No.190, which seeks to eliminate violence and harassment in the workplace. He urged holding perpetrators of modern slavery accountable, called for adequate support for rescued victims, and proposed creating education and poverty reduction mechanisms to curb child labor and exploitation. Further, the special rapporteur pressed the government to protect the rights of indigenous people, migrants, refugees, and asylum seekers and to enable their access to equal work opportunities and fair pay.