BRASÍLIA - Brazil's legal framework offers safe, orderly and regular pathways for migrants, refugees and asylum seekers, but more action is needed to ensure that policies and practices are sustainable and fully aligned with international human rights standards, a UN expert said today.
In a statement at the end of an official visit to the country, Gehad Madi, Special Rapporteur on the human rights of migrants, commended Brazil's comprehensive legal framework which provides strong protections for migrants, refugees, asylum-seekers and stateless persons and guarantees equal access to health care, education, labour protections and social security for all.
"Brazil's rights based, non criminalising and open approach to human mobility stands out as a leading example in Latin America, particularly amid a regional trend toward more restrictive migration measures," Madi said.
The Special Rapporteur highlighted his visit to Operation Welcome, a large scale, multi stakeholder humanitarian initiative launched in 2018 in response to the significant influx of Venezuelans and involving the federal government, the military, UN agencies and civil society organisations. In the visit, he followed the step-by-step process from reception and emergency assistance, documentation and regularisation, and interiorisation (voluntary relocation) to other regions of the country.
"Operation Welcome demonstrates that safe, regular and well managed migration is achievable in the region and beyond, and has become a well-recognised promising practice and a compelling example of effective collaboration between multiple stakeholders," the expert said.
However, eight years after its launch, Operation Welcome remains an emergency driven humanitarian initiative focusing primarily on Venezuelan migrants.
"To ensure sustainability, a transition toward a more stable model of assistance and rights protection, embedded in the long-term national policies and open to other nationalities, is essential," Madi said.
The Special Rapporteur travelled to Brasilia, Boa Vista, Pacaraima, São Paulo and Curitiba and met with representatives from federal, state and municipal government, the military, UN agencies, CSOs, private sector, as well as migrants themselves, including women, children, Indigenous Peoples, older persons and survivors of trafficking, from different nationalities.
Despite legal guarantees on rights and public services on an equal basis with nationals, Madi observed persistent barriers that migrants and refugees face in practice, largely due to language, bureaucratic obstacles and structural racism.
He expressed serious concern on the prohibition on asylum applications from migrants arriving at Guarulhos International Airport in São Paulo without Brazilian visa on connecting flights to other countries, which undermines the right to seek asylum.
"This prohibition is incompatible with Brazil's international obligations, as individuals, regardless of the circumstances of their arrival, may have legitimate protection needs requiring individualised assessment," he said.
"Brazil has the potential to become a global model for human rights based migration governance. Achieving this requires continued political will, sustained resources, consistent and rights-based implementation on the ground, and the meaningful participation of migrants and refugees in shaping the policies that affect their lives," Madi said.
The Special Rapporteur will present a full report on his visit to the UN Human Rights Council in June 2027.
