With the support of the International Organization for Migration (IOM), the Brazilian Federal Government has just launched the " This is Brazil " programme, a nationwide initiative to strengthen the reception, protection, and reintegration of nationals returning in vulnerable situations. This programme coordinates services from arrival through to reintegration, ensuring that returnees have access to the support they need to rebuild their lives in safety and dignity.
"When different actors work together with a shared purpose, the impact on people's lives can be immediate and lasting," said Paolo Caputo, IOM Chief of Mission in Brazil. "This initiative reflects our commitment to upholding dignity, safeguarding human rights, and ensuring that returnees in vulnerable situations receive the comprehensive support they need. Through this programme, we are addressing urgent needs upon arrival while also creating pathways for long-term reintegration and inclusion."
Running for an initial 12 months, the programme will offer mental health and psychosocial support, healthcare, shelter, food, transportation, family reunification, and assistance with civil documentation. These services will be available from the moment of arrival and continue through to longer-term social and economic reintegration, addressing both urgent and ongoing needs.
Alongside direct assistance, the "This is Brazil" programme aims to strengthen migration governance, generate strategic data on the profiles and needs of returnees, and support the development of evidence-based public policies.
Since February, more than 1,200 returnees have arrived in Brazil through operations coordinated by the Federal Government, with services focused on humanitarian reception and protection for nationals returning from abroad in vulnerable situations.
IOM has been working with the Government to provide technical and logistical support, including information management, registration and analysis of returnees' needs, provision of temporary shelter, and transportation to final destinations in cases involving vulnerability and protection concerns. These contributions will continue under the framework of the "This is Brazil" programme.
The initiative reflects Brazil's commitment to protecting human rights and promoting the socioeconomic inclusion of returnees. It aligns with international frameworks such as the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration, as well as IOM's Policy on the Full Spectrum of Return, Readmission and Reintegration.
In addition to the Federal Government - represented by the Ministry of Human Rights and Citizenship, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Social Development and Assistance, Family and the Fight Against Hunger, the Ministry of Health, the Ministry of Justice and Public Security, and the Federal Police - and IOM, the initiative brings together the Federal Public Defender's Office, the National Land Transport Agency (ANTT), state and municipal governments, the private sector, civil society, and other international organizations.
