RIO DE JANEIRO - High levels of labour, sexual and criminal exploitation, domestic servitude, child labour and child marriage persist in Brazil, despite the country's strong legislative, policy and institutional frameworks to address contemporary forms of slavery, a UN expert said today.
"I am profoundly concerned about accounts of contemporary forms of slavery shared with me, particularly by Indigenous Peoples, people of African descent including members of the Quilombola community, women working in the domestic sector as well as migrants and refugees", said Tomoya Obokata, UN Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of slavery, in a statement at the end of an official visit to the country.
Obokata found that today's manifestations of slavery in the country are a consequence of the legacies of the transatlantic trade in enslaved Africans and colonialism, as the exploitation of historically marginalised populations has been normalised in society.
"Due to a lack of other options, many workers, including children, are subjected to a vicious cycle of intergenerational poverty. If they report human rights abuses, workers and human rights defenders are threatened by employers and other actors which silences them, reinforces impunity and makes access to justice and a remedy nearly impossible," the Special Rapporteur said.
Obokata found that contemporary forms of slavery are deeply intertwined with environmental destruction in the Amazon and elsewhere, caused by land grabbing, logging, mining, charcoal production, cattle breeding, the expansion of agribusiness and drug trafficking. All these factors lead to severe violations of the rights of Indigenous and Quilombola peoples and other rural and traditional communities to their land, threatening their livelihoods and leaving them no choice but to work in exploitative industries, often by migrating internally.
"I was alarmed to learn that businesses and many governmental authorities prioritise profit over human rights, causing irreparable harm to workers and the environment," the expert said.
The Special Rapporteur commended Brazil for adopting several robust laws and policies to address contemporary forms of slavery, namely the "dirty list" for businesses which have been found to subject workers to "conditions analogous to slavery."
However, he pointed to significant gaps in the implementation of the existing framework, particularly at State and municipal levels. Corruption was also allowing businesses to bypass existing laws, the expert said.
Obokata urged the Government of Brazil to strengthen the prevention of contemporary forms of slavery by investing in education, sustainable development and income-generating activities and social assistance at the local level, and speeding up the demarcation of land traditionally occupied by Indigenous and Quilombola communities. Brazil must also hold businesses accountable by mandating human rights and environmental due diligence and increasing the number and the capacity of labour inspectors.
"Brazil needs to address its legacy of enslavement and colonialism by closing its deep racial, socio-economic and geographic divides, re-distributing resources equitably and protecting the human rights of those who have traditionally suffered the most," the expert said.
The Special Rapporteur will present a report on his visit to the UN Human Rights Council in September 2026.
