• Date:  11/29/2010    Paragraphs: 23

Fighting Hunger and Poverty:
With respect to Brazilian government efforts to eradicate hunger, the most significant is its “Fome Zero [Zero Hunger]” program, owing to its strategy of guaranteeing the human right of access to adequate food for those who lack it. The program is based on four key components: food access; strengthening family farm agriculture; income generation and articulation, and mobilization and social control.
One of the primary initiatives of Fome Zero is a family-centered social welfare program known as Bolsa Família, which provides financial assistance to 12.5 million families in all municipalities of the country. The Bolsa Família program provides food security to families in need, and contributes significantly to reducing extreme poverty and social inequality.
Established in October 2003, the Bolsa Família program provides assistance to Brazilian families earning less than R$140 (approx. US$80) per month,1 with benefits ranging from R$22 (approx. US$12.50) to R$200 (approx. US$114), based on a family’s monthly income, the number of children and adolescents through age 15 (up to three per family), and young people between the ages of 16 and 17 (up to two per family). The program’s benefits are provided directly to mothers by means of an electronic benefit card. The disbursement of Bolsa Família benefits is contingent on children attending school and family health care needs.
More than half of the 50,000 Bolsa Família beneficiaries enrolled in the “Next Step” (Próximo Passo) program go on to complete professional and vocational training courses. In this way, the Próximo Passo program prepares some 332,000 workers for jobs in the civil engineering and tourism sectors. More women enroll in the program’s course offerings than do men, and account for 78.7% of graduates. Representing an investment of R$20 million (US$11.42 million), the goal of the Próximo Passo program is to prepare 145,000 workers for civil engineering jobs in 16 states and the Federal District, and another 25,000 for careers in tourism throughout the country. These programs are the result of a partnership between the federal, state, and municipal governments.
It is the position of the Brazilian government that the convergence of strategies on policies of food and nutritional security and rural development, at the level of the Americas region, should preferably take place within the relevant multilateral forums.
Worthy of note in this regard are Brazilian government cooperation activities with Central America and the Caribbean, which provide training to technical personnel from these countries, through the transfer of social technologies. One specific example of such cooperation with Central America and the Caribbean has been a training program to share information on organic seed production and food crops, administered by BIONATUR (a family farm cooperative based in the state of Rio Grande do Sul). Between October 2008 and April 2009, BIONATUR provided its expertise in these areas to farmers from Ecuador, Venezuela, Haiti, and Nicaragua, whose travel and per diem expenses were covered by the Brazilian Cooperation Agency (ABC). In another cooperation project carried out in Nicaragua between 2008 and 2009, the Brazilian government sponsored a series of workshops on biogestors, animal feeds, and combined rice/fish cultivation, in partnership with Nicaragua’s Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry (MAGFOR) and the Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA).
Another important international cooperation activity involves the experience of Brazil’s National School Lunch Program (PNAE), coordinated by the Ministry of Education. The program’s success in Brazil caught the attention of the international community and became a model of technical cooperation for numerous school lunch programs elsewhere. With the support of the World Food Program, the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), and the Brazilian Development Agency (ABC), the PNAE has since been refined and expanded to countries such as Bolivia, Colombia, El Salvador, Guatemala, Haiti, Nicaragua, Panama, and Suriname, as well as to partner countries in Africa.

• Date:  11/29/2010    Paragraphs: 25

Millennium Development Goals (MDGs):
The "social protection floor" concept is consistent with the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), especially those associated with combating poverty and improving childhood social indicators. The direct correlation between Brazil’s social protection programs and achievement of the various MDGs has been widely documented. The Bolsa Família program has been largely credited with improving Brazil’s MDG indicators. The Bolsa Família currently provides monthly assistance of up to R$140 (US$80) to 12.4 million families. In this way, the Bolsa Família program has contributed to attaining the targets associated with eradicating extreme hunger and poverty (MDG 1), increasing the number of children enrolled in primary education (MDG 2), reducing child mortality (MDG 4), and improving maternal health (MDG 5), by delivering millions from poverty through social assistance payments which promote school attendance and health care for children, nursing mothers, and pregnant women. Program social assistance provided to families residing in low-income communities has helped to buoy local economies and to create consumer markets where none previously existed.

• REPORT OF THE FEDERATIVE REPUBLIC OF BRAZIL ON IMPLEMENTATION OF THE MANDATES ARISING FROM THE FIFTH SUMMIT OF THE AMERICAS (Brazil 2010)

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• Date:  11/30/2010    Paragraphs: 80

Fighting Corruption:
Significant federal government initiatives to fight corruption include efforts to streamline Brazil’s anticorruption “transparency website” [Portal da Transparência] and the referral of two draft laws to the Brazilian Congress: Draft Law No. 6616/2009, imposing stiffer penalties for corruption-related crimes committed by high-level government authorities; and Draft Law No. 6826/2010, holding legal persons and entities liable for acts of corruption committed against Brazil as well as foreign governments.

Brazil currently chairs the Committee of Experts of the Inter-American Convention against Corruption and the Follow-Up Mechanism for its Implementation (MESICIC), as well as the Conference of the State Parties to the MESICIC, which underscores Brazil’s commitment to fighting corruption. Evaluation of MESICIC implementation is currently in the Third Round of Review.

In 1997, Brazil adopted the Convention of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) on Combating Bribery of Foreign Public Officials in International Business Transactions, and enacted it into law in 2000. The Convention stipulates the obligation of its signatories to “take such measures as may be necessary to establish that it is a criminal offence under its law for any person intentionally tooffer, promise or give any undue pecuniary or other advantage, whether directly or through intermediaries, to a foreign public official, for that official or for a third party, in order that the official act or refrain from acting in relation to the performance of official duties, in order to obtain or retain business or other improper advantage in the conduct of international business.”

• Date:  11/29/2010    Paragraphs: 81

Fighting Corruption:
Significant federal government initiatives to fight corruption include efforts to streamline Brazil’s anticorruption “transparency website” [Portal da Transparência] and the referral of two draft laws to the Brazilian Congress: Draft Law No. 6616/2009, imposing stiffer penalties for corruption-related crimes committed by high-level government authorities; and Draft Law No. 6826/2010, holding legal persons and entities liable for acts of corruption committed against Brazil as well as foreign governments.

Brazil currently chairs the Committee of Experts of the Inter-American Convention against Corruption and the Follow-Up Mechanism for its Implementation (MESICIC), as well as the Conference of the State Parties to the MESICIC, which underscores Brazil’s commitment to fighting corruption. Evaluation of MESICIC implementation is currently in the Third Round of Review.

In 1997, Brazil adopted the Convention of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) on Combating Bribery of Foreign Public Officials in International Business Transactions, and enacted it into law in 2000. The Convention stipulates the obligation of its signatories to “take such measures as may be necessary to establish that it is a criminal offence under its law for any person intentionally tooffer, promise or give any undue pecuniary or other advantage, whether directly or through intermediaries, to a foreign public official, for that official or for a third party, in order that the official act or refrain from acting in relation to the performance of official duties, in order to obtain or retain business or other improper advantage in the conduct of international business.”

• Date:  11/29/2010    Paragraphs: 60

International Humanitarian Assistance:
The Brazilian government has been working to streamline a process of multidisciplinary and participatory coordination between government agencies and civil society groups. An Executive Decree issued on June 21, 2006, established the Inter-ministerial Working Group on International Humanitarian Assistance (GTI-AHI), comprising 15 government ministries under the coordination of the Brazilian Ministry of Foreign Relations. The purpose of the Working Group is to coordinate Brazilian humanitarian assistance efforts as well as formulate draft laws to establish the legal foundations for Brazil’s international humanitarian assistance activities. For the most part, the international humanitarian assistance resources authorized by Brazil’s Annual Budget Law (LOA) are used for donations of food, medicines, shelter kits, and other items necessary for basic survival. Such items may be distributed through Brazilian embassies and consulates in countries suffering the consequences of natural disasters, armed conflict, or social upheaval. Brazil’s humanitarian aid donations are ordinarily conducted through bilateral channels, and always at the request of the affected foreign government...continue

• REPORT OF THE FEDERATIVE REPUBLIC OF BRAZIL ON IMPLEMENTATION OF THE MANDATES ARISING FROM THE FIFTH SUMMIT OF THE AMERICAS (Brazil 2010)

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Information available in Portuguese

• Date:  6/7/2016    Paragraphs: -

Information available in Portuguese

• Date:  11/29/2010    Paragraphs: 36

Millennium Development Goals (MDGs):
The "social protection floor" concept is consistent with the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), especially those associated with combating poverty and improving childhood social indicators. The direct correlation between Brazil’s social protection programs and achievement of the various MDGs has been widely documented. The Bolsa Família program has been largely credited with improving Brazil’s MDG indicators. The Bolsa Família currently provides monthly assistance of up to R$140 (US$80) to 12.4 million families. In this way, the Bolsa Família program has contributed to attaining the targets associated with eradicating extreme hunger and poverty (MDG 1), increasing the number of children enrolled in primary education (MDG 2), reducing child mortality (MDG 4), and improving maternal health (MDG 5), by delivering millions from poverty through social assistance payments which promote school attendance and health care for children, nursing mothers, and pregnant women. Program social assistance provided to families residing in low-income communities has helped to buoy local economies and to create consumer markets where none previously existed.

• Date:  11/29/2010    Paragraphs: 38

Fighting Hunger and Poverty:
With respect to Brazilian government efforts to eradicate hunger, the most significant is its “Fome Zero [Zero Hunger]” program, owing to its strategy of guaranteeing the human right of access to adequate food for those who lack it. The program is based on four key components: food access; strengthening family farm agriculture; income generation and articulation, and mobilization and social control.
One of the primary initiatives of Fome Zero is a family-centered social welfare program known as Bolsa Família, which provides financial assistance to 12.5 million families in all municipalities of the country. The Bolsa Família program provides food security to families in need, and contributes significantly to reducing extreme poverty and social inequality.
Established in October 2003, the Bolsa Família program provides assistance to Brazilian families earning less than R$140 (approx. US$80) per month,1 with benefits ranging from R$22 (approx. US$12.50) to R$200 (approx. US$114), based on a family’s monthly income, the number of children and adolescents through age 15 (up to three per family), and young people between the ages of 16 and 17 (up to two per family). The program’s benefits are provided directly to mothers by means of an electronic benefit card. The disbursement of Bolsa Família benefits is contingent on children attending school and family health care needs.
More than half of the 50,000 Bolsa Família beneficiaries enrolled in the “Next Step” (Próximo Passo) program...continue

• REPORT OF THE FEDERATIVE REPUBLIC OF BRAZIL ON IMPLEMENTATION OF THE MANDATES ARISING FROM THE FIFTH SUMMIT OF THE AMERICAS (Brazil 2010)

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Information available in Portuguese

• Date:  11/30/2010    Paragraphs: 46

Energy Efficiency:
Brazil has taken steps to strengthen a number of its energy programs. The Brazilian Labeling Program (PBE) was introduced in 1984, with a view to ensuring the rational use of different types of energy. PBE labels, which are now required on all household electrical appliances, include energy efficiency information to help consumers make informed choices. Initially, the program’s focus was on the motor vehicle industry. Over time, the focus of the PBE shifted to household electrical appliances. The PBE has always worked with product manufacturers on a voluntary basis, and was joined in its efforts by two important partners: Brazil’s national electricity company, ELECTROBRAS, which became affiliated through the National Program of Electric Energy Conservation (PROCEL); and the Brazilian petroleum company, PETROBRAS, through the National Program for the...continue

• Date:  11/30/2010    Paragraphs: 47

Energy Efficiency:
Brazil has taken steps to strengthen a number of its energy programs. The Brazilian Labeling Program (PBE) was introduced in 1984, with a view to ensuring the rational use of different types of energy. PBE labels, which are now required on all household electrical appliances, include energy efficiency information to help consumers make informed choices. Initially, the program’s focus was on the motor vehicle industry. Over time, the focus of the PBE shifted to household electrical appliances. The PBE has always worked with product manufacturers on a voluntary basis, and was joined in its efforts by two important partners: Brazil’s national electricity company, ELECTROBRAS, which became affiliated through the National Program of Electric Energy Conservation (PROCEL); and the Brazilian petroleum company, PETROBRAS, through the National Program for the...continue

• Date:  11/30/2010    Paragraphs: 48

Developing Sustainable Energy Systems:
In 2009, Brazil achieved two important milestones. According to reports published by the Energy Research Corporation of Brazil’s Ministry of Mines and Energy (MME) in April 2010, renewable electric sources within the country’s energy matrix grew by 47.3 percent in 2009, accounting for the largest percentage increase recorded since 1992, and much higher than the global average. Similarly, CO2 emissions per unit of energy produced fell in 2009, to a level of 1.43 tons of CO2 per ton of equivalent petroleum (TEP) of energy produced, whereas the global and OECD-country averages are 2.39 tons of CO2 per TEP and 2.37 tons of CO2/TEP, respectively. It is important to underscore that the ratio of energy produced to CO2 emissions has fallen steadily in Brazil since 2001.

• Date:  11/30/2010    Paragraphs: 54

Transparency of Information on the Energy Sector:
The website of the Energy Research Corporation (www.epe.gov.br), an agency of the Ministry of Mines and Energy, provides a wealth of information on Brazil’s energy sector. Among the information included on the ERC’s website is the national energy balance, which is published on an annual basis and contains data and studies regarding the status of Brazil’s energy matrix during the previous year (the 2010 national energy balance is now available). Other Web resources featuring important information on the Brazilian energy sector include the websites of the National Electric Energy Regulatory Agency (ANEEL) and the National Petroleum Agency, both government entities whose directors have autonomy in carrying out their mandates. Brazil is a member of the International Energy Forum (IEF), which is responsible for launching the Joint Oil Data Initiative (JODI), mentioned in the Declaration of Port-of-Spain. Accordingly, the mission of the JODI is to provide reliable data on oil production and consumption in JODI participating countries, with a view to ensuring greater transparency and stability of the mechanisms responsible for determining the price of this commodity.

Source: REPORT OF THE FEDERATIVE REPUBLIC OF BRAZIL ON IMPLEMENTATION OF THE MANDATES ARISING FROM THE FIFTH SUMMIT OF THE AMERICAS (Brazil 2010)

• Date:  11/30/2010    Paragraphs: 55

Transparency of Information on the Energy Sector:
The website of the Energy Research Corporation (www.epe.gov.br), an agency of the Ministry of Mines and Energy, provides a wealth of information on Brazil’s energy sector. Among the information included on the ERC’s website is the national energy balance, which is published on an annual basis and contains data and studies regarding the status of Brazil’s energy matrix during the previous year (the 2010 national energy balance is now available). Other Web resources featuring important information on the Brazilian energy sector include the websites of the National Electric Energy Regulatory Agency (ANEEL) and the National Petroleum Agency, both government entities whose directors have autonomy in carrying out their mandates. Brazil is a member of the International Energy Forum (IEF), which is responsible for launching the Joint Oil Data Initiative (JODI), mentioned in the Declaration of Port-of-Spain. Accordingly, the mission of the JODI is to provide reliable data on oil production and consumption in JODI participating countries, with a view to ensuring greater transparency and stability of the mechanisms responsible for determining the price of this commodity.

Source: REPORT OF THE FEDERATIVE REPUBLIC OF BRAZIL ON IMPLEMENTATION OF THE MANDATES ARISING FROM THE FIFTH SUMMIT OF THE AMERICAS (Brazil 2010)

• Date:  11/30/2010    Paragraphs: 56

Access to Energy:
Launched in 2003, the objective of the “Electricity for All” program is to connect as many households as possible to the country’s electric power grid. By March 2010, the program had succeeded in connecting 11.5 million households, including 102,000 families in Quilombo communities, 103,000 indigenous households, more than one million households located in agrarian reform settlements, as well as 12,212 rural schools.
The program is credited with the creation of 346 direct and indirect new jobs. In terms of infrastructure, the program is responsible for setting 5.8 million utility poles, installing 852,000 transformers, and stringing 1.12 million km of power transmission lines.

Source: REPORT OF THE FEDERATIVE REPUBLIC OF BRAZIL ON IMPLEMENTATION OF THE MANDATES ARISING FROM THE FIFTH SUMMIT OF THE AMERICAS (Brazil 2010)

• Date:  11/30/2010    Paragraphs: 49

Developing Sustainable Energy Systems:
In 2009, Brazil achieved two important milestones. According to reports published by the Energy Research Corporation of Brazil’s Ministry of Mines and Energy (MME) in April 2010, renewable electric sources within the country’s energy matrix grew by 47.3 percent in 2009, accounting for the largest percentage increase recorded since 1992, and much higher than the global average. Similarly, CO2 emissions per unit of energy produced fell in 2009, to a level of 1.43 tons of CO2 per ton of equivalent petroleum (TEP) of energy produced, whereas the global and OECD-country averages are 2.39 tons of CO2 per TEP and 2.37 tons of CO2/TEP, respectively. It is important to underscore that the ratio of energy produced to CO2 emissions has fallen steadily in Brazil since 2001.

• Date:  11/29/2010    Paragraphs: 45

Access to Energy:
Launched in 2003, the objective of the “Electricity for All” program is to connect as many households as possible to the country’s electric power grid. By March 2010, the program had succeeded in connecting 11.5 million households, including 102,000 families in Quilombo communities, 103,000 indigenous households, more than one million households located in agrarian reform settlements, as well as 12,212 rural schools.
The program is credited with the creation of 346 direct and indirect new jobs. In terms of infrastructure, the program is responsible for setting 5.8 million utility poles, installing 852,000 transformers, and stringing 1.12 million km of power transmission lines.

Developing Sustainable Energy Systems:
In 2009, Brazil achieved two important milestones. According to reports published by the Energy Research Corporation of Brazil’s Ministry of Mines and Energy (MME) in April 2010, renewable electric sources within the country’s energy matrix grew by 47.3 percent in 2009, accounting for the largest percentage increase recorded since 1992, and much higher than the global average. Similarly, CO2 emissions per unit of energy produced fell in 2009, to a level of 1.43 tons of CO2 per ton of equivalent petroleum (TEP) of energy produced, whereas the global and OECD-country averages are 2.39 tons of CO2 per TEP and 2.37 tons of CO2/TEP, respectively. It is important to underscore that the ratio of energy produced to CO2 emissions has fallen steadily in Brazil since 2001.

Energy Efficiency:
Brazil has taken steps to strengthen a number of its energy programs. The Brazilian Labeling Program (PBE) was introduced in 1984, with a view to ensuring the rational use of different types of energy. PBE labels, which are now required on all household electrical appliances, include energy efficiency information to help consumers make informed choices. Initially, the program’s focus was on the motor vehicle industry...continue

• REPORT OF THE FEDERATIVE REPUBLIC OF BRAZIL ON IMPLEMENTATION OF THE MANDATES ARISING FROM THE FIFTH SUMMIT OF THE AMERICAS (Brazil 2010)
• REPORT OF THE FEDERATIVE REPUBLIC OF BRAZIL ON IMPLEMENTATION OF THE MANDATES ARISING FROM THE FIFTH SUMMIT OF THE AMERICAS (Brazil 2010)

• Date:  6/7/2016    Paragraphs: -

Information available in Portuguese

• Date:  6/7/2016    Paragraphs: -

Information available in Portuguese

• Date:  6/7/2016    Paragraphs: -

Information available in Portuguese

• Date:  6/7/2016    Paragraphs: -

Información disponible en portugués

• Date:  11/30/2010    Paragraphs: 57

Sustainable Development:
Pursuant to UN General Assembly resolution A/RES/64/236 of December 24, 2009, Brazil will host, in 2012, the next United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development (Rio + 20) in Rio de Janeiro. This event will provide Heads of State and Government with opportunities to take stock of progress toward the implementation f environmental commitments assumed since the 1992 Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro, as well as to discuss political resolve for new substantive advances.

The topics to be addressed include the “green economy” in relation to sustainable development and poverty reduction, as well as the institutional framework for sustainable development. The agenda of Rio + 20 will be developed within the UN Commission on Sustainable Development (CSD), which will also serve as the Preparatory Committee for the Conference, to take place in parallel to its multi-year Program of Work 2004-2017.

• Date:  11/30/2010    Paragraphs: 58

Addressing Climate Change:
Brazil has taken specific measures to address climate change by harnessing its national potential in this regard. Examples of Brazil’s willingness to step up voluntary efforts to mitigate the impacts of climate change include the National olicy on Climate Change, approved in December 2009, and the National Plan on Climate Change, launched in December 2008. The plan’s objectives include curbing illegal deforestation and encouraging alternative economic activities in the country’s orestlands. Between 2006 and 2009, the plan aims to reduce deforestation by 40 percent with respect to the average rate recorded between 1996 and 2005, and to further reduce deforestation by an additional 30 percent over the next two 4-year periods (2010-2013 and 2014-2017). Brazil’s National Policy on Climate Change was adopted on December 29, 2009, setting forth national objectives and guidelines for action to address climate change, and enacting into law Brazil’s voluntary commitment to reduce its carbon emissions by between 36.1 and 38.9 percent by 2020, with respect to its normal growth curve.

Developing Sustainable Energy Systems:
In 2009, Brazil achieved two important milestones. According to reports published by the Energy Research Corporation of Brazil’s Ministry of Mines and Energy (MME) in April 2010, renewable electric sources within the country’s energy matrix grew by 47.3 percent in 2009, accounting for the largest percentage increase recorded since 1992, and much higher than the global average. Similarly, CO2 emissions per unit of energy produced fell in 2009, to a level of 1.43 tons of CO2 per ton of equivalent petroleum (TEP) of energy produced, whereas the global and OECD-country averages are 2.39 tons of CO2 per TEP and 2.37 tons of CO2/TEP, respectively. It is important to underscore that the ratio of energy produced to CO2 produced to CO2 emissions has fallen steadily in Brazil since 2001.

• Date:  11/30/2010    Paragraphs: 59

Developing Sustainable Energy Systems:
In 2009, Brazil achieved two important milestones. According to reports published by the Energy Research Corporation of Brazil’s Ministry of Mines and Energy (MME) in April 2010, renewable electric sources within the country’s energy matrix grew by 47.3 percent in 2009, accounting for the largest percentage increase recorded since 1992, and much higher than the global average. Similarly, CO2 emissions per unit of energy produced fell in 2009, to a level of 1.43 tons of CO2 per ton of equivalent petroleum (TEP) of energy produced, whereas the global and OECD-country averages are 2.39 tons of CO2 per TEP and 2.37 tons of CO2/TEP, respectively. It is important to underscore that the ratio of energy produced to CO2 emissions has fallen steadily in Brazil since 2001.

• Date:  11/29/2010    Paragraphs: 64

Sustainable Management of Protected Areas:

Brazil understands that through its National System of Conservation Units (SNUC), it can efficiently pursue its strategic objective of using environmental resources to promote opportunities for sustainable buiness ventures, which are in turn capable of accommodating economic growth, creating jobs and income, while at the same time protecting Brazil’s natural resources. Between 2003 and 2009, the surface area of Brazil’s federal Conservation Units was increased by 54 percent with respect to its 2002 level—representing an additional 271,000 km2 of territory added to the total of existing protected areas. In all, Brazil has 768,000 km2 of federal protected areas. Moreover, the individual states have designated an additional 418,000 km2 as protected areas. According to the World Database on Protected Areas, a joint project of the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP) and the International Union for Conservation of Nature, between 2003 and 2009, Brazil was responsible for designating 73 percent of protected areas worldwide.

In the Amazon alone, some 53 million hectares of federal and state lands were designated as protected areas between 2004 and 2009, especially in zones where the forest was under threat by the encroaching economic frontier. In addition, another 10 million hectares of indigenous reserves were designated during this period. Today, 27.04 percent of the Amazon has been designated as protected areas, of which 9 percent are fully protected, and another 17 percent have been designated as areas of sustainable use. Worthy of note in this regard is the Amazon Region Protected Areas Program (ARPA), constituting the single largest cooperation initiative for the designation and management of conservation areas in the Amazon. ARPA is responsible for administering technical and financial cooperation resources, which have amounted to nearly US$400 million over 10 years.

• REPORT OF THE FEDERATIVE REPUBLIC OF BRAZIL ON IMPLEMENTATION OF THE MANDATES ARISING FROM THE FIFTH SUMMIT OF THE AMERICAS (Brazil 2010)
• REPORT OF THE FEDERATIVE REPUBLIC OF BRAZIL ON IMPLEMENTATION OF THE MANDATES ARISING FROM THE FIFTH SUMMIT OF THE AMERICAS (Brazil 2010)

• Date:  6/7/2016    Paragraphs: -

Information available in Portuguese

• Date:  11/29/2010    Paragraphs: 27

Health:
Between 1990 and 2007, the rate of maternal mortality in Brazil dropped by nearly 50 percent. Progress was also made with respect to Brazil’s maternal mortality ratio (MMR), which fell from 140 deaths per 100,000 live births in 1990 to 75 deaths in 2007. According to the Ministry of Health, rates for deliveries attended by qualified health professionals, prenatal checkups for pregnant women, and use of contraceptives have all increased since 2006. The prenatal care coverage of the Unified Health System (SUS) increased 1904 percent between 1994 and 2009. Despite the promising statistics concerning the reduction in maternal mortality, the pertinent MDG target of a 75% drop in MMR remains a significant challenge. Some problems continue to persist, such as disparities among regions, inasmuch as the North and Northeast have higher indices than the South, Southeast and Central-West regions. For example, in 2008 the Northeast Region reported 543 maternal deaths, while only 189 such deaths were reported in the South Region. In response to this disparity, the Brazilian government launched the “Pact for the Reduction of Infant Mortality.” The federal government is committed to accelerating its efforts to reduce disparities in the Brazilian Northeast and Legal Amazon. Accordingly, the Pact proposes a minimum 5 percent annual reduction in infant mortality (children under 1 year of age), especially newborns (from birth to 27 days), in both 2009 and 2010. The Pact’s activities will be concentrated in 250 cities, and cover 154 priority municipalities in eight states of the Northeast Region—Alagoas, Bahia, Ceará, Paraíba, Pernambuco, Piauí, Rio Grande do Norte, and Sergipe—and 96 priority municipalities in nine states of the Legal Amazon—Amapá, Acre, Amazonas, Maranhão, Mato Grosso, Pará, Roraima, Rondônia, and Tocantins. In 2009, the Pact provides investment of R$110 million for activities to reduce infant mortality in the Northeast Region and the Legal Amazon.

• Date:  11/29/2010    Paragraphs: 28

Health:
Between 1990 and 2007, the rate of maternal mortality in Brazil dropped by nearly 50 percent. Progress was also made with respect to Brazil’s maternal mortality ratio (MMR), which fell from 140 deaths per 100,000 live births in 1990 to 75 deaths in 2007. According to the Ministry of Health, rates for deliveries attended by qualified health professionals, prenatal checkups for pregnant women, and use of contraceptives have all increased since 2006. The prenatal care coverage of the Unified Health System (SUS) increased 1904 percent between 1994 and 2009. Despite the promising statistics concerning the reduction in maternal mortality, the pertinent MDG target of a 75% drop in MMR remains a significant challenge. Some problems continue to persist, such as disparities among regions, inasmuch as the North and Northeast have higher indices than the South, Southeast and Central-West regions. For example, in 2008 the Northeast Region reported 543 maternal deaths, while only 189 such deaths were reported in the South Region. In response to this disparity, the Brazilian government launched the “Pact for the Reduction of Infant Mortality.” The federal government is committed to accelerating its efforts to reduce disparities in the Brazilian Northeast and Legal Amazon. Accordingly, the Pact proposes a minimum 5 percent annual reduction in infant mortality (children under 1 year of age), especially newborns (from birth to 27 days), in both 2009 and 2010. The Pact’s activities will be concentrated in 250 cities, and cover 154 priority municipalities in eight states of the Northeast Region—Alagoas, Bahia, Ceará, Paraíba, Pernambuco, Piauí, Rio Grande do Norte, and Sergipe—and 96 priority municipalities in nine states of the Legal Amazon—Amapá, Acre, Amazonas, Maranhão, Mato Grosso, Pará, Roraima, Rondônia, and Tocantins. In 2009, the Pact provides investment of R$110 million for activities to reduce infant mortality in the Northeast Region and the Legal Amazon.

• Date:  11/29/2010    Paragraphs: 29

Health:
Between 1990 and 2007, the rate of maternal mortality in Brazil dropped by nearly 50 percent. Progress was also made with respect to Brazil’s maternal mortality ratio (MMR), which fell from 140 deaths per 100,000 live births in 1990 to 75 deaths in 2007. According to the Ministry of Health, rates for deliveries attended by qualified health professionals, prenatal checkups for pregnant women, and use of contraceptives have all increased since 2006. The prenatal care coverage of the Unified Health System (SUS) increased 1904 percent between 1994 and 2009. Despite the promising statistics concerning the reduction in maternal mortality, the pertinent MDG target of a 75% drop in MMR remains a significant challenge. Some problems continue to persist, such as disparities among regions, inasmuch as the North and Northeast have higher indices than the South, Southeast and Central-West regions. For example, in 2008 the Northeast Region reported 543 maternal deaths, while only 189 such deaths were reported in the South Region. In response to this disparity, the Brazilian government launched the “Pact for the Reduction of Infant Mortality.” The federal government is committed to accelerating its efforts to reduce disparities in the Brazilian Northeast and Legal Amazon. Accordingly, the Pact proposes a minimum 5 percent annual reduction in infant mortality (children under 1 year of age), especially newborns (from birth to 27 days), in both 2009 and 2010. The Pact’s activities will be concentrated in 250 cities, and cover 154 priority municipalities in eight states of the Northeast Region—Alagoas, Bahia, Ceará, Paraíba, Pernambuco, Piauí, Rio Grande do Norte, and Sergipe—and 96 priority municipalities in nine states of the Legal Amazon—Amapá, Acre, Amazonas, Maranhão, Mato Grosso, Pará, Roraima, Rondônia, and Tocantins. In 2009, the Pact provides investment of R$110 million for activities to reduce infant mortality in the Northeast Region and the Legal Amazon.

• REPORT OF THE FEDERATIVE REPUBLIC OF BRAZIL ON IMPLEMENTATION OF THE MANDATES ARISING FROM THE FIFTH SUMMIT OF THE AMERICAS (Brazil 2010)
• REPORT OF THE FEDERATIVE REPUBLIC OF BRAZIL ON IMPLEMENTATION OF THE MANDATES ARISING FROM THE FIFTH SUMMIT OF THE AMERICAS (Brazil 2010)
• REPORT OF THE FEDERATIVE REPUBLIC OF BRAZIL ON IMPLEMENTATION OF THE MANDATES ARISING FROM THE FIFTH SUMMIT OF THE AMERICAS (Brazil 2010)

• Date:  5/25/2010    Paragraphs: 86

Access to Energy:
Launched in 2003, the objective of the “Electricity for All” program is to connect as many households as possible to the country’s electric power grid. By March 2010, the program had succeeded in connecting 11.5 million households, including 102,000 families in Quilombo communities, 103,000 indigenous households, more than one million households located in agrarian reform settlements, as well as 12,212 rural schools.
The program is credited with the creation of 346 direct and indirect new jobs. In terms of infrastructure, the program is responsible for setting 5.8 million utility poles, installing 852,000 transformers, and stringing 1.12 million km of power transmission lines.

• Date:  5/24/2010    Paragraphs: 86

Sustainable Management of Protected Areas:
In the Amazon alone, some 53 million hectares of federal and state lands were designated as protected areas between 2004 and 2009, especially in zones where the forest was under threat by the encroaching economic frontier. In addition, another 10 million hectares of indigenous reserves were designated during this period. Today, 27.04 percent of the Amazon has been designated as protected areas, of which 9 percent are fully protected, and another 17 percent have been designated as areas of sustainable use. Worthy of note in this regard is the Amazon Region Protected Areas Program (ARPA), constituting the single largest cooperation initiative for the designation and management of conservation areas in the Amazon. ARPA is responsible for administering technical and financial cooperation resources, which have amounted to nearly US$400 million over 10 years.

• 2010 - RELATÓRIO NACIONAL DA REPÚBLICA FEDERATIVA DO BRASIL SOBRE A IMPLEMENTAÇÃO DOS COMPROMISSOS EMANADOS DA V CÚPULA DAS AMÉRICAS (en portugues)
• 2010 - RELATÓRIO NACIONAL DA REPÚBLICA FEDERATIVA DO BRASIL SOBRE A IMPLEMENTAÇÃO DOS COMPROMISSOS EMANADOS DA V CÚPULA DAS AMÉRICAS (en portugues)

• Date:  11/29/2010    Paragraphs: 15

Social Protection:
The “social protection floor” concept is considered a particularly appropriate tool for guiding policies of expanded social protection under conditions of an expansive informal labor market, and high rates of unemployment and poverty. In addition, the “decent work” concept addresses social protection for workers. Hemispheric and regional agendas on decent work include goals for expanding coverage in the various regions and countries, such as the goal of the “Decent Work in the Americas: An agenda for the Hemisphere, 2006-2015” of expanding such coverage by 20 percent, adopted in Brasília in 2006. Brazilian social programs, such as the 4 Bolsa Família, the Unified Health System (SUS), the Continuous Cash Benefit Program (social assistance for the elderly and extremely poor individuals living with disabilities – BPC), the rural welfare system (Previdência Rural), and unemployment insurance, play an important role in the expansion of Brazilian social protection for the most vulnerable segments of society. The degree of expanded coverage achieved in Brazil has been significant—not only in absolute numbers but also with respect to the percentage of the population
covered by such programs.

Employment and Income:
Brazil’s Minister of Labor and Employment, Mr. Carlos Lupi, took part in the Sixteenth Inter-American Conference of Ministers of Labor (IACML) of the OAS, organized around the theme “Facing the Crisis with Development, Decent Work, and Social Protection.” In most countries of the region, the response to the crisis points to consensus on matters such as appreciation of the role of the State, the implementation of monetary policies to ensure greater levels of liquidity in the economy, and the importance attributed to “anti-cyclical” policies—in most cases, investment policies designed to deter economic slowdowns and create jobs, policies targeting the labor market to promote new or maintain existing jobs, and social protection policies to increase coverage of or extend benefits and thereby ensure minimum levels for the most affected population.
With regard to strengthening the formal labor sector and the rights of migrants, it is essential to underscore the importance of protecting the most vulnerable groups, which should necessarily include migrant workers. Social protection programs for these groups should not be limited to creating jobs for those who are out of work, but also include non-contributory social security systems so as to cover workers in the informal economy and people who are unable to work.
Brazil’s results in the areas of labor and employment have outstripped expectations. Since 2003, a total of 24 million Brazilians were lifted from absolute poverty, while another 31 million joined the ranks of the middle class. From January 2003 to April 2010, a total of 12,715,090 jobs were created in the formal sector. Over the past 12 months, 1,278,277 new jobs were created, and this recovery has been witnessed in all sectors of the economy.
Moreover, in March 2009, unemployment in the country’s major metropolitan areas was 7.6 percent—the lowest March unemployment rate since such recordkeeping began back in 2002. It bears mentioning that since 2003, Brazil’s National Worker Training Policy (PNQ) has prepared nearly 800,000 workers for careers in civil engineering, tourism, the petroleum and natural gas industries, shipbuilding, textiles, agriculture and extractive activities, the “solidarity economy” (i.e., micro- and small-scale enterprises, etc.), as well as in the trade and services sectors. Another 700,000 young people were also prepared to enter the job market.
Also worthy of note is the National Agenda of Decent Work, comprising four priority areas of cooperation: (a) job creation, microfinance activities, and human resources training, with emphasis on the employment of young people; (b) viability and expansion of the social security system; (c) strengthening of “tripartism” and social dialogue; (d) combating child labor, child and adolescent sexual abuse, forced labor, as well as discrimination in the workplace and employment.

• Date:  11/29/2010    Paragraphs: 16

Employment and Income:
Brazil’s Minister of Labor and Employment, Mr. Carlos Lupi, took part in the Sixteenth Inter-American Conference of Ministers of Labor (IACML) of the OAS, organized around the theme “Facing the Crisis with Development, Decent Work, and Social Protection.” In most countries of the region, the response to the crisis points to consensus on matters such as appreciation of the role of the State, the implementation of monetary policies to ensure greater levels of liquidity in the economy, and the importance attributed to “anti-cyclical” policies—in most cases, investment policies designed to deter economic slowdowns and create jobs, policies targeting the labor market to promote new or maintain existing jobs, and social protection policies to increase coverage of or extend benefits and thereby ensure minimum levels for the most affected population.
With regard to strengthening the formal labor sector and the rights of migrants, it is essential to underscore the importance of protecting the most vulnerable groups, which should necessarily include migrant workers. Social protection programs for these groups should not be limited to creating jobs for those who are out of work, but also include non-contributory social security systems so as to cover workers in the informal economy and people who are unable to work. Brazil’s results in the areas of labor and employment have outstripped expectations. Since 2003, a total of 24 million Brazilians were lifted from absolute poverty, while another 31 million joined the ranks of the middle class. From January 2003 to April 2010, a total of 12,715,090 jobs were created in the formal sector...continue

• Date:  11/29/2010    Paragraphs: 18

Protection of Children:
The results achieved by Brazil in combating child labor are attributable to the policies instituted by the federal government beginning in 1994, such as the establishment of the National Forum for the Prevention and Eradication of Child Labor (FNPETI, 1994), and the Program for the Eradication of Child Labor (PETI, 1996). Other significant efforts in this regard include Brazil’s ratification (2001) of the ILO Convention Concerning the Prohibition and Immediate Action for the Elimination of the Worst Forms of Child Labor (Convention 182), formulation of the National Plan for the Eradication of Child Labor (2004), and publication of Decree No. 6481 of June 12, 2008, which defines and regulates child and adolescent labor conditions on the basis of ILO Convention 182. These actions, which have been comprehensively integrated into Brazilian social policies and programs including, inter alia, Bolsa Família, the pro-youth program of socio-educational services of basic protection "ProJovem Adolescente," and Fome Zero have met with extremely positive results, including a drop in the child labor rate among children ages 5 to 15 years, from 13.6 percent in 1992, to 5.8 percent in 2008. International initiatives in this regard, especially in the context of South-South cooperation, have proven effective at reducing poverty, hunger, and child labor. Moreover, Brazil will host the Third Global Conference on Child Labor in 2013.

Trafficking in Persons:
In October 2006, Brazil launched its National Policy for Combating Trafficking in Persons, in the wake of the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime and its Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, Especially Women and Children, ratified on March 12, 2004, and enacted into law by Decree No. 5017 that same year. A number of different federal government agencies and civil society organizations contributed to the development of this Policy, which establishes the principles, guidelines, and actions to prevent and suppress trafficking in persons, as well as to care for its victims.
In January 2008, Brazil launched its National Plan for Combating Trafficking in Persons (PNETP). The purpose of the PNETP is to guide implementation of the National Policy to Combat Trafficking in Persons, through the establishment of a series of goals to be accomplished over a 2-year period, to be carried out in a comprehensive manner by different agencies of the Brazilian State. The PNETP not only comprises activities related to criminal justice and citizen security, but also in the areas of foreign relations, education, health, social welfare, promotion of racial equality, labor and employment, agricultural development, human rights, protection and promotion of women’s rights, tourism, and culture.

• REPORT OF THE FEDERATIVE REPUBLIC OF BRAZIL ON IMPLEMENTATION OF THE MANDATES ARISING FROM THE FIFTH SUMMIT OF THE AMERICAS (Brazil 2010)
• REPORT OF THE FEDERATIVE REPUBLIC OF BRAZIL ON IMPLEMENTATION OF THE MANDATES ARISING FROM THE FIFTH SUMMIT OF THE AMERICAS (Brazil 2010)
• Source: REPORT OF THE FEDERATIVE REPUBLIC OF BRAZIL ON IMPLEMENTATION OF THE MANDATES ARISING FROM THE FIFTH SUMMIT OF THE AMERICAS (Brazil 2010)

• Date:  6/8/2016    Paragraphs: -

Entre os inúmeros foros migratórios de caráter regional ou sub-regional dos quais o País participa, caberia ressaltar, por sua relevância específica para o Brasil, o Foro Ibero-Americano sobre Migração e Desenvolvimento, criado em 2006 e instalado em 2008, em Cuenca (Equador); o Foro Especializado Migratório do MERCOSUL (FEM), no âmbito das Reuniões de Ministros do Interior e Justiça da agrupação; a Comissão Especial de Assuntos Migratórios da OEA (CEAM), órgão do Conselho Permanente da OEA; as Reuniões sobre Migrações da Comunidade dos Estados Latino-Americanos e Caribenhos (CELAC), ocorridas em agosto de 2012 em Comayagua (Honduras) e em setembro de 2013, em São José, Costa Rica; e a Conferência Sul-Americana sobre Migrações (CSM), criada em 1999, em Lima, com caráter consultivo, que pretende servir de embrião para a constituição de um foro migratório na UNASUL.

Tendo presente o impacto das migrações internacionais no Brasil, as causas estruturais do fenômeno migratório, a condição dual de país com contingentes expressivos de imigrantes e emigrantes e a crescente relevância do tema na agenda internacional, o Brasil tem consistentemente adotado um conjunto de posições nos foros migratórios regionais e globais.

O Brasil reconhece:

- a necessidade de adotar uma visão abrangente e integrada sobre as causas e benefícios do fenômeno migratório, que considere o princípio da responsabilidade compartilhada entre Estados de origem e de destino;

- o dever de divulgar e promover a defesa dos direitos humanos dos migrantes, a integridade do processo migratório, a prevenção e a repressão dos crimes de tráfico ilícito de migrantes e de contrabando de pessoas;

- a significativa contribuição dos migrantes para o desenvolvimento social, econômico, cultural e educacional nos países de acolhimento, bem como os efeitos positivos que a dinâmica migratória produz para o bem-estar e o desenvolvimento dos países de origem, sublinhando, em particular, que as remessas dos emigrantes são resultado de economias pessoais que não podem ser consideradas como ajuda ao desenvolvimento;

- que não são aceitáveis as políticas ou as iniciativas que criminalizem a imigração irregular;

- a necessidade de introduzir, na formulação e condução das políticas migratórias, dispositivos que facilitem a integração dos migrantes nas sociedades em que foram recebidos, por meio de facilidades de inserção legal, laboral, produtiva e cultural;

- a importância dos acordos e instrumentos de regularização migratória;

Ao mesmo tempo, o Brasil tem reiterado em foros multilaterais:

- prioridade à promoção dos direitos humanos dos migrantes e suas famílias, independentemente de sua condição migratória, nacionalidade, origem étnica, sexo, idade ou qualquer outra consideração;

- condenação às políticas migratórias que tornam vulneráveis os direitos fundamentais dos migrantes e limitam seu acesso à educação e à saúde, muitas vezes incentivando a adoção de atitudes racistas, xenófobas e discriminatórias;

- disposição de reforçar as políticas de prevenção e combate ao tráfico de pessoas e contrabando de migrantes, assim como de assistência às vítimas, garantindo seu acesso à justiça e estabelecendo programas de cooperação contra a atuação criminosa dos “coiotes”.

Internamente, o Governo brasileiro conduziu, em 2014 e 2015, amplo exercício de consultas, incluindo autoridades governamentais, centrais sindicais e patronais, a academia e a sociedade civil, com vistas a substituir a atual legislação migratória, concebida ainda nos anos 80, em pleno regime militar, por novo arcabouço regulatório, devidamente sintonizado com as aspirações da sociedade de que sejam devidamente respeitados os direitos fundamentais das populações migrantes e de que o país possa abrir-se mais e melhor à contribuição que os migrantes podem trazer à sua economia, cultura e sociedade. O objetivo é substituir o Estatuto do Estrangeiro (Lei 6815/80) por um novo marco institucional que atribua papel central à defesa dos direitos humanos dos migrantes e logre enfim superar a preocupação, notória na lei vigente, com questões de segurança nacional e com a defesa da mão-de-obra brasileira em face da potencial concorrência estrangeira. O atual Estatuto do Estrangeiro está claramente em descompasso com as diretrizes fundamentais da política externa no período pós-redemocratização e não se coaduna com o primado dos direitos humanos no tratamento do fenômeno migratório. O Conselho Nacional de Imigração (CNIg) tem cumprido a função de suprir de maneira ad hoc, por meio de resoluções normativas, as lacunas da lei e ajustar a política migratória nacional aos novos desafios na matéria.

Há diversos projetos de lei em tramitação no Congresso Nacional para reformar a legislação migratória. Em estágio avançado de análise encontra-se o PL 2.516/2015, já aprovada pelo Senado e em discussão na Câmara dos Deputados. Fruto de amplo esforço de concertação e consulta conduzido no âmbito Executivo, o documento estabelece uma Lei Nacional de Migração que, entre outros aspectos, confere papel-chave aos direitos das populações migrantes e facilita os mecanismos de absorção de mão-de-obra estrangeira qualificada nos setores em que haja reconhecida carência de trabalhadores brasileiros. Esse esforço de revisão e modernização do arcabouço institucional e legislativo interno na área migratória deverá reforçar ainda mais a ênfase no respeito aos direitos humanos dos migrantes, corrigir insuficiências do texto atual e contemplar necessidades novas de um país que passa por novo ciclo histórico de imigração em crescimento e que apresenta carências notórias de mão-de-obra qualificada em diversos setores, que poderiam ser preenchidas em boa medida mediante estímulos setoriais e incentivos localizados à imigração.

Enquanto se assiste em diversos países ao enrijecimento de controles contra a entrada de imigrantes, o Brasil e outros países sul-americanos têm acolhido número crescente de estrangeiros de todo o mundo e promovido sua regularização migratória mediante anistias periódicas, celebração de acordos bilaterais, favorecimento de decisões em foros multilaterais e outras medidas unilaterais de acolhimento. Exemplo complexo dessa atitude é o significativo afluxo de haitianos ao Brasil desde o princípio de 2011, o que ensejou, como resposta engajada do Governo brasileiro, a criação de um visto permanente de caráter humanitário especificamente para nacionais daquele país caribenho. O tratamento adotado tem sido pautado pelo equilíbrio, realismo e integral respeito à dignidade e aos direitos humanos dos migrantes. Estima-se que, em razão desse processo, vivam hoje no Brasil cerca de setenta mil haitianos de forma regular.

Tal postura afirmativa e construtiva em relação à migração decorre também da convicção de que a circulação de pessoas num mundo cada vez mais integrado deve ter caráter prioritário na agenda internacional e de que a regularização migratória constitui uma das condições mais importantes para assegurar que a migração seja um fator de enriquecimento tanto para os imigrantes como para as sociedades que os acolhem.

• Date:  6/7/2016    Paragraphs: -

Information available in Portuguese

• Date:  11/29/2010    Paragraphs: 17

Employment and Income:
Brazil’s Minister of Labor and Employment, Mr. Carlos Lupi, took part in the Sixteenth Inter-American Conference of Ministers of Labor (IACML) of the OAS, organized around the theme “Facing the Crisis with Development, Decent Work, and Social Protection.” In most countries of the region, the response to the crisis points to consensus on matters such as appreciation of the role of the State, the implementation of monetary policies to ensure greater levels of liquidity in the economy, and the importance attributed to “anti-cyclical” policies—in most cases, investment policies designed to deter economic slowdowns and create jobs, policies targeting the labor market to promote new or maintain existing jobs, and social protection policies to increase coverage of or extend benefits and thereby ensure minimum levels for the most affected population.
With regard to strengthening the formal labor sector and the rights of migrants, it is essential to underscore the importance of protecting the most vulnerable groups, which should necessarily include migrant workers. Social protection programs for these groups should not be limited to creating jobs for those who are out of work, but also include non-contributory social security systems so as to cover workers in the informal economy and people who are unable to work. Brazil’s results in the areas of labor and employment have outstripped expectations. Since 2003, a total of 24 million Brazilians were lifted from absolute poverty, while another 31 million joined the ranks of the middle class. From January 2003 to April 2010, a total of 12,715,090 jobs were created in the formal sector. Over the past 12 months, 1,278,277 new jobs were created, and this recovery has been witnessed in all sectors of the economy.
Moreover, in March 2009, unemployment in the country’s major metropolitan areas was 7.6 percent—the lowest March unemployment rate since such recordkeeping began back in 2002. It bears mentioning that since 2003, Brazil’s National Worker Training Policy (PNQ) has prepared nearly 800,000 workers for careers in civil engineering, tourism, the petroleum and natural gas industries, shipbuilding, textiles, agriculture and extractive activities, the “solidarity economy” (i.e., micro- and small-scale enterprises, etc.), as well as in the trade and services sectors. Another 700,000 young people were also prepared to enter the job market.
Also worthy of note is the National Agenda of Decent Work, comprising four priority areas of cooperation: (a) job creation, microfinance activities, and human resources training, with emphasis on the employment of young people; (b) viability and expansion of the social security system; (c) strengthening of “tripartism” and social dialogue; (d) combating child labor, child and adolescent sexual abuse, forced labor, as well as discrimination in the workplace and employment.

• Source: REPORT OF THE FEDERATIVE REPUBLIC OF BRAZIL ON IMPLEMENTATION OF THE MANDATES ARISING FROM THE FIFTH SUMMIT OF THE AMERICAS (Brazil 2010)

• Date:  6/7/2016    Paragraphs: -

Information available in Portuguese

• Date:  11/30/2010    Paragraphs: 69

Terrorism:
Brazil is a contracting party to all 13 counter-terrorism international conventions currently in force, as well as the Inter-American Convention against Terrorism. Brazil is also a member of the Financial Action Task Force on Money Laundering (FATF), which has issued 40 recommendations on money laundering and nine specific recommendations to prevent and punish terrorism finacing.

• Date:  11/30/2010    Paragraphs: 73

Security Forums:
Brazil has actively participated in the primary security forums at the international level. In February 2010, Brazil hosted the Eighth Meeting of Ministers of Justice or Attorneys General of the Americas (REMJA). Moreover, the Twelfth United Nations Congress on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice was held in Salvador (April 2010), and showcased Brazilian government crime prevention efforts. REMJA provided a forum for the participating countries to share experiences and best practices, and culminated in the approval of global policy guidelines in crime prevention to be implemented over the next five years throgh the Salvador Declaration on Comprehensive Strategies for Global Challenges: Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice System and Their Development in a Changing World.

• Date:  11/30/2010    Paragraphs: 74

Public Security and PRONASCI:
The guiding principle underlying the National Program for Public Security and Citizenship (PRONASCI) is articulation between public security and social policies, emphasizing crime prevention and respect for human rights, while targeting efforts to undermine the strategies of organized crime, such as corruption in the penitentiary system. The core components of the program are: (a) training and certification of public security professionals; (b) restructuring the penitentiary system; (c) combating police corruption; and (d) mobilizing the public in crime prevention efforts. The first component includes federally sponsored training courses for law enforcement personnel of the individual states, in efforts to promote the adoption of best practices.

Armed Violence:
Brazil has actively worked, through international as well as national forums, to prevent armed violence. An example of international action in this regard is the Geneva Declaration on
Armed Violence and Development, adopted at the Ministerial Summit on Armed Violence and Development (June 7, 2006), under the auspices of the Swiss government and the United Nations Development Program (UNDP). Initially signed by 42 countries, the Geneva Declaration now has a total of 105 signatory countries.

At the national level, Brazil’s response to the challenges set forth in the Geneva Declaration are addressed through PRONASCI, which combine public security initiatives with development programs, both for law enforcement and the most vulnerable segments of the population in the country’s 11 major metropolitan areas. PRONASCI has been singled out internationally as an example for implementing the Geneva Declaration commitments.

• Date:  11/30/2010    Paragraphs: 75

Trafficking in Small Arms and Light Weapons:
Brazil assigns high priority to the control of illegal arms trafficking, and in particular, to the implementation of the United Nations Program of Action on Small Arms and Light Weapons, whose Fourth Biennial Meeting of States will be held in June 2010. In addition, Brazil has ratified the Inter-American Convention against the Illicit Manufacturing of and Trafficking in Firearms, Ammunition, Explosives, and Other Related Materials, and has been actively involved in the formulation of model legislation to regulate the use of such weapons and ammunition.

Brazil has an ample body of legislation dealing with this subject, which is essential to counteract the illicit manufacturing of and trafficking in weapons. Examples include: Law No. 10826 of December 22, 2003, the “Disarmament Statue,” the country’s primary regulatory tool; Decree-Law No. 5123 of July 21, 2004, the implementing legislation of the Disarmament Statue; Decree-Law No. 3665 of November 20, 2000, known as “R-105,” regulating activities (manufacture, use, import/export, customs requirements, etc.) associated with weapons controlled by the Brazilian Armed Forces; Ministerial Decree No. 7-D LOG of the Logistics
Department of the Ministry of Defense, of April 28, 2006, regulating firearms identifying information in Brazil; and Ministerial Decree No. 16-D LOG, also issued by the Logistics Department of the Ministry of Defense, on ammunition identifying information.

In Brazil, the Controlled Products Inspection Office (DFPC) of the Brazilian Army exercises control over activities associated with light weapons, including: (a) control of manufacturing through factory inspections, which must provide real-time information to both the Army Command Center and the National Arms Control System (SINARM); (b) sporting use or gun collectors, monitored through inspections of gun owners; (c) import and export operations involving firearms, which are subject to inspections and the relevant licenses; (d) customs inspections; (e) permits for the transport of weapons; and (f) controlled sales.
Pursuant to Decree No. 3665, all exports and transit operations involving firearms for civilian use require the relevant permits and licenses issued by the Army. Beyond the necessary documentation, military inspections of such materials are required at the points of entry and exit, in addition to controls required for such purpose by the National Export Policy for Military-Use Materials (PNEMEM).
Brazilian firearms legislation provides for a number of different weapons violations, including: unlawful possession of legal firearms; negligence resulting in access to firearms by minors or the mentally incompetent; illicit discharge of firearms; unlawful possession or transport of illegal or restricted-use firearms; and international trafficking.
The Army alone is legally responsible for the destruction of small arms, light weapons, and ammunition, whether such destruction is necessary due to excessive inventories, confiscation operations, or the voluntary surrendering of weapons. Article 25 of Law No. 10826 stipulates that any discovery or confiscation of unlawfully obtained weapons shall be destroyed by the Army immediately following the conclusion of any necessary legal proceedings carried out for purposes of investigation. Current legislation expressly prohibits any other use for such weapons.
Moreover, national legislation requires that weapons include identifying information, pursuant to Ministerial Decree No. 7-D LOG of the Logistics Department of the Ministry of Defense. The Army’s technical specifications for firearms manufactured in Brazil require that all firearms must bear the manufacturer’s name or trademark, name of the country of manufacture, serial number, and year of manufacture, to ensure that such identifiers cannot be removed. Additionally, firearms used by the country’s public security forces are identified with the Brazilian coat of arms. Legislation governing firearms identifying information also applies to firearm imports and exports, as well as ammunition.
Worthy of note in this regard have been Brazil’s periodic campaigns to collect and re-register weapons, to involve civil society in such efforts, and to centralize the registration of information on civilian and military firearms through SINARM, pursuant to law.

• Date:  11/29/2010    Paragraphs: 70

Trafficking in Persons:
In October 2006, Brazil launched its National Policy for Combating Trafficking in Persons, in the wake of the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime and its Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, Especially Women and Children, ratified on March 12, 2004, and enacted into law by Decree No. 5017 that same year. A number of different federal government agencies and civil society organizations contributed to the development of this Policy, which establishes the principles, guidelines, and actions to prevent and suppress trafficking in persons, as well as to care for its victims.
In January 2008, Brazil launched its National Plan for Combating Trafficking in Persons (PNETP). The purpose of the PNETP is to guide implementation of the National Policy to Combat Trafficking in Persons, through the establishment of a series of goals to be accomplished over a 2-year period, to be carried out in a comprehensive manner by different agencies of the Brazilian State. The PNETP not only comprises activities related to criminal justice and citizen security, but also in the areas of foreign relations, education, health, social welfare, promotion of racial equality, labor and employment, agricultural development, human rights, protection and promotion of women’s rights, tourism, and culture.

Money Laundering:
The National Strategy to Combat Corruption and Money Laundering (ENCCLA) is an articulation initiative encompassing a number of different government agencies which together coordinate consistent and fficient public policies to address crime. The ENCCLA coordinates the development of annual as well as multi-year action plans. Moreover, the ENCCLA meets at the end of each year in order to evaluate the progress made over the previous year and to identify those aeas it will address in subsequent years. The model of coordinated work among government agencies, launched in 2004, has been successfully replicated in subsequent years.

• REPORT OF THE FEDERATIVE REPUBLIC OF BRAZIL ON IMPLEMENTATION OF THE MANDATES ARISING FROM THE FIFTH SUMMIT OF THE AMERICAS (Brazil 2010)
• REPORT OF THE FEDERATIVE REPUBLIC OF BRAZIL ON IMPLEMENTATION OF THE MANDATES ARISING FROM THE FIFTH SUMMIT OF THE AMERICAS (Brazil 2010)

• Date:  11/29/2010    Paragraphs: 8

Millennium Development Goals (MDGs):
The "social protection floor" concept is consistent with the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), especially those associated with combating poverty and improving childhood social indicators. The direct correlation between Brazil’s social protection programs and achievement of the various MDGs has been widely documented. The Bolsa Família program has been largely credited with improving Brazil’s MDG indicators. The Bolsa Família currently provides monthly assistance of up to R$140 (US$80) to 12.4 million families. In this way, the Bolsa Família program has contributed to attaining the targets associated with eradicating extreme hunger and poverty (MDG 1), increasing the number of children enrolled in primary education (MDG 2), reducing child mortality (MDG 4), and improving maternal health (MDG 5), by delivering millions from poverty through social assistance payments which promote school attendance and health care for children, nursing mothers, and pregnant women. Program social assistance provided to families residing in low-income communities has helped to buoy local economies and to create consumer markets where none previously existed.

Fighting Hunger and Poverty:
With respect to Brazilian government efforts to eradicate hunger, the most significant is its “Fome Zero [Zero Hunger]” program, owing to its strategy of guaranteeing the human right of access to adequate food for those who lack it. The program is based on four key components: food access; strengthening family farm agriculture; income generation and articulation, and mobilization and social control.
One of the primary initiatives of Fome Zero is a family-centered social welfare program known as Bolsa Família, which provides financial assistance to 12.5 million families in all municipalities of the country. The Bolsa Família program provides food security to families in need, and contributes significantly to reducing extreme poverty and social inequality.
Established in October 2003, the Bolsa Família program provides assistance to Brazilian families earning less than R$140 (approx. US$80) per month,1 with benefits ranging from R$22 (approx. US$12.50) to R$200 (approx. US$114), based on a family’s monthly income, the number of children and adolescents through age 15 (up to three per family), and young people between the ages of 16 and 17 (up to two per family). The program’s benefits are provided directly to mothers by means of an electronic benefit card. The disbursement of Bolsa Família benefits is contingent on children attending school and family health care needs.
More than half of the 50,000 Bolsa Família beneficiaries enrolled in the “Next Step” (Próximo Passo) program go on to complete professional and vocational training courses. In this way, the Próximo Passo program prepares some 332,000 workers for jobs in the civil engineering and tourism sectors. More women enroll in the program’s course offerings than do men, and account for 78.7% of graduates. Representing an investment of R$20 million (US$11.42 million), the goal of the Próximo Passo program is to prepare 145,000 workers for civil engineering jobs in 16 states and the Federal District, and another 25,000 for careers in tourism throughout the country. These programs are the result of a partnership between the federal, state, and municipal governments.
It is the position of the Brazilian government that the convergence of strategies on policies of food and nutritional security and rural development, at the level of the Americas region, should preferably take place within the relevant multilateral forums.
Worthy of note in this regard are Brazilian government cooperation activities with Central America and the Caribbean, which provide training to technical personnel from these countries, through the transfer of social technologies. One specific example of such cooperation with Central America and the Caribbean has been a training program to share information on organic seed production and food crops, administered by BIONATUR (a family farm cooperative based in the state of Rio Grande do Sul). Between October 2008 and April 2009, BIONATUR provided its expertise in these areas to farmers from Ecuador, Venezuela, Haiti, and Nicaragua, whose travel and per diem expenses were covered by the Brazilian Cooperation Agency (ABC). In another cooperation project carried out in Nicaragua between 2008 and 2009, the Brazilian government sponsored a series of workshops on biogestors, animal feeds, and combined rice/fish cultivation, in partnership with Nicaragua’s Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry (MAGFOR) and the Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA).
Another important international cooperation activity involves the experience of Brazil’s National School Lunch Program (PNAE), coordinated by the Ministry of Education. The program’s success in Brazil caught the attention of the international community and became a model of technical cooperation for numerous school lunch programs elsewhere. With the support of the World Food Program, the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), and the Brazilian Development Agency (ABC), the PNAE has since been refined and expanded to countries such as Bolivia, Colombia, El Salvador, Guatemala, Haiti, Nicaragua, Panama, and Suriname, as well as to partner countries in Africa.
1. Rate of exchange for calculations: US$1 = R$1.75.

• Date:  11/29/2010    Paragraphs: 9

Millennium Development Goals (MDGs):
The "social protection floor" concept is consistent with the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), especially those associated with combating poverty and improving childhood social indicators. The direct correlation between Brazil’s social protection programs and achievement of the various MDGs has been widely documented. The Bolsa Família program has been largely credited with improving Brazil’s MDG indicators. The Bolsa Família currently provides monthly assistance of up to R$140 (US$80) to 12.4 million families. In this way, the Bolsa Família program has contributed to attaining the targets associated with eradicating extreme hunger and poverty (MDG 1), increasing the number of children enrolled in primary education (MDG 2), reducing child mortality (MDG 4), and improving maternal health (MDG 5), by delivering millions from poverty through social assistance payments which promote school attendance and health care for children, nursing mothers, and pregnant women. Program social assistance provided to families residing in low-income communities has helped to buoy local economies and to create consumer markets where none previously existed.

• Date:  11/29/2010    Paragraphs: 10

Social Protection:
The “social protection floor” concept is considered a particularly appropriate tool for guiding policies of expanded social protection under conditions of an expansive informal labor market, and high rates of unemployment and poverty. In addition, the “decent work” concept addresses social protection for workers. Hemispheric and regional agendas on decent work include goals for expanding coverage in the various regions and countries, such as the goal of the “Decent Work in the Americas: An agenda for the Hemisphere, 2006-2015” of expanding such coverage by 20 percent, adopted in Brasília in 2006. Brazilian social programs, such as the 4 Bolsa Família, the Unified Health System (SUS), the Continuous Cash Benefit Program (social assistance for the elderly and extremely poor individuals living with disabilities – BPC), the rural welfare system (Previdência Rural), and unemployment insurance, play an important role in the expansion of Brazilian social protection for the most vulnerable segments of society. The degree of expanded coverage achieved in Brazil has been significant—not only in absolute numbers but also with respect to the percentage of the population covered by such programs.

• REPORT OF THE FEDERATIVE REPUBLIC OF BRAZIL ON IMPLEMENTATION OF THE MANDATES ARISING FROM THE FIFTH SUMMIT OF THE AMERICAS (Brazil 2010)

• Date:  6/7/2016    Paragraphs: -

Information available in Portuguese

• Date:  11/29/2010    Paragraphs: 92

The Global Financial Crisis:
Brazil’s experience exemplifies how social programs such as the ones mentioned above, representing social expenditure of just a few percentage points of GDP, need not dampen the country’s prospects for economic growth and development. On the contrary, during the recent financial crisis the programs of Brazil’s social protection floor have helped stabilize demand and maintain economic vigor. The global financial crisis has served as a catalyst for consolidating the “the social protection floor” concept, inasmuch as it has led to a weakening of the social protection network in some countries and underscored gaps in coverage in the industrialized countries as well.
Brazil has confronted the financial crisis by emphasizing its social aspects and adopted a number of measures to foster job creation. With respect to public investment in labor-intensive sectors, especially infrastructure-related sectors, the federal government announced its intentions not only to maintain but also to step-up investment through its Growth Acceleration Program (PAC), as well as to increase the intensity of such labor by adding a second labor shift. The government temporarily suspended the federal excise tax (IPI) on motor vehicles and its corporate income tax. Moreover, Brazil increased social protection by expanding social welfare programs (i.e., increasing the benefits and the number of Bolsa Família recipients), in order to maintain levels of consumption and buoy the economy, and has also extended unemployment insurance benefits from five to seven months. The government frequently includes civil society groups in the formulation and debate of strategies to combat the crisis. The Brazilian government has also promoted discussions on labor market issues, both at the domestic and international levels, through the Tripartite Commission on International Relations (CTRI) of the Ministry of Labor and Employment (MTE).

• REPORT OF THE FEDERATIVE REPUBLIC OF BRAZIL ON IMPLEMENTATION OF THE MANDATES ARISING FROM THE FIFTH SUMMIT OF THE AMERICAS (Brazil 2010)

• Date:  11/29/2010    Paragraphs: 7

The Global Financial Crisis:
Brazil’s experience exemplifies how social programs such as the ones mentioned above, representing social expenditure of just a few percentage points of GDP, need not dampen the country’s prospects for economic growth and development. On the contrary, during the recent financial crisis the programs of Brazil’s social protection floor have helped stabilize demand and maintain economic vigor. The global financial crisis has served as a catalyst for consolidating the “the social protection floor” concept, inasmuch as it has led to a weakening of the social protection network in some countries and underscored gaps in coverage in the industrialized countries as well.
Brazil has confronted the financial crisis by emphasizing its social aspects and adopted a number of measures to foster job creation. With respect to public investment in labor-intensive sectors, especially infrastructure-related sectors, the federal government announced its intentions not only to maintain but also to step-up investment through its Growth Acceleration Program (PAC), as well as to increase the intensity of such labor by adding a second labor shift. The government temporarily suspended the federal excise tax (IPI) on motor vehicles and its corporate income tax. Moreover, Brazil increased social protection by expanding social welfare programs (i.e., increasing the benefits and the number of Bolsa Família recipients), in order to maintain levels of consumption and buoy the economy, and has also extended unemployment insurance benefits from five to seven months. The government frequently includes civil society groups in the formulation and debate of strategies to combat the crisis The Brazilian government has also promoted discussions on labor market issues, both at the domestic and international levels, through the Tripartite Commission on International Relations (CTRI) of the Ministry of Labor and Employment (MTE).

• Date:  11/29/2010    Paragraphs: 13

Social Protection:
The “social protection floor” concept is considered a particularly appropriate tool for guiding policies of expanded social protection under conditions of an expansive informal labor market, and high rates of unemployment and poverty. In addition, the “decent work” concept addresses social protection for workers. Hemispheric and regional agendas on decent work include goals for expanding coverage in the various regions and countries, such as the goal of the “Decent Work in the Americas: An agenda for the Hemisphere, 2006-2015” of expanding such coverage by 20 percent, adopted in Brasília in 2006. Brazilian social programs, such as the 4 Bolsa Família, the Unified Health System (SUS), the Continuous Cash Benefit Program (social assistance for the elderly and extremely poor individuals living with disabilities – BPC), the rural welfare system (Previdência Rural), and unemployment insurance, play an important role in the expansion of Brazilian social protection for the most vulnerable segments of society. The degree of expanded coverage achieved in Brazil has been significant—not only in absolute numbers but also with respect to the percentage of the population
covered by such programs.

Employment and Income:
Brazil’s Minister of Labor and Employment, Mr. Carlos Lupi, took part in the Sixteenth Inter-American Conference of Ministers of Labor (IACML) of the OAS, organized around the theme “Facing the Crisis with Development, Decent Work, and Social Protection.” In most countries of the region, the response to the crisis points to consensus on matters such as appreciation of the role of the State, the implementation of monetary policies to ensure greater levels of liquidity in the economy, and the importance attributed to “anti-cyclical” policies—in most cases, investment policies designed to deter economic slowdowns and create jobs, policies targeting the labor market to promote new or maintain existing jobs, and social protection policies to increase coverage of or extend benefits and thereby ensure minimum levels for the most affected population.
With regard to strengthening the formal labor sector and the rights of migrants, it is essential to underscore the importance of protecting the most vulnerable groups, which should necessarily include migrant workers. Social protection programs for these groups should not be limited to creating jobs for those who are out of work, but also include non-contributory social security systems so as to cover workers in the informal economy and people who are unable to work.
Brazil’s results in the areas of labor and employment have outstripped expectations. Since 2003, a total of 24 million Brazilians were lifted from absolute poverty, while another 31 million joined the ranks of the middle class. From January 2003 to April 2010, a total of 12,715,090 jobs were created in the formal sector. Over the past 12 months, 1,278,277 new jobs were created, and this recovery has been witnessed in all sectors of the economy.
Moreover, in March 2009, unemployment in the country’s major metropolitan areas was 7.6 percent—the lowest March unemployment rate since such recordkeeping began back in 2002. It bears mentioning that since 2003, Brazil’s National Worker Training Policy (PNQ) has prepared nearly 800,000 workers for careers in civil engineering, tourism, the petroleum and natural gas industries, shipbuilding, textiles, agriculture and extractive activities, the “solidarity economy” (i.e., micro- and small-scale enterprises, etc.), as well as in the trade and services sectors. Another 700,000 young people were also prepared to enter the job market.
Also worthy of note is the National Agenda of Decent Work, comprising four priority areas of cooperation: (a) job creation, microfinance activities, and human resources training, with emphasis on the employment of young people; (b) viability and expansion of the social security system; (c) strengthening of “tripartism” and social dialogue; (d) combating child labor, child and adolescent sexual abuse, forced labor, as well as discrimination in the workplace and employment.

• Date:  11/29/2010    Paragraphs: 20

Employment and Income:
Brazil’s Minister of Labor and Employment, Mr. Carlos Lupi, took part in the Sixteenth Inter-American Conference of Ministers of Labor (IACML) of the OAS, organized around the theme “Facing the Crisis with Development, Decent Work, and Social Protection.” In most countries of the region, the response to the crisis points to consensus on matters such as appreciation of the role of the State, the implementation of monetary policies to ensure greater levels of liquidity in the economy, and the importance attributed to “anti-cyclical” policies—in most cases, investment policies designed to deter economic slowdowns and create jobs, policies targeting the labor market to promote new or maintain existing jobs, and social protection policies to increase coverage of or extend benefits and thereby ensure minimum levels for the most affected population.
With regard to strengthening the formal labor sector and the rights of migrants, it is essential to underscore the importance of protecting the most vulnerable groups, which should necessarily include migrant workers. Social protection programs for these groups should not be limited to creating jobs for those who are out of work, but also include non-contributory social security systems so as to cover workers in the informal economy and people who are unable to work. Brazil’s results in the areas of labor and employment have outstripped expectations. Since 2003, a total of 24 million Brazilians were lifted from absolute poverty, while another 31 million joined the ranks of the middle class. From January 2003 to April 2010, a total of 12,715,090 jobs were created in the formal sector Over the past 12 months, 1,278,277 new jobs were created, and this recovery has been witnessed in all sectors of the economy.

Moreover, in March 2009, unemployment in the country’s major metropolitan areas was 7.6 percent—the lowest March unemployment rate since such recordkeeping began back in 2002. It bears mentioning that since 2003, Brazil’s National Worker Training Policy (PNQ) has prepared nearly 800,000 workers for careers in civil engineering, tourism, the petroleum and natural gas industries, shipbuilding, textiles, agriculture and extractive activities, the “solidarity economy” (i.e., micro- and small-scale enterprises, etc.), as well as in the trade and services sectors. Another 700,000 young people were also prepared to enter the job market.
Also worthy of note is the National Agenda of Decent Work, comprising four priority areas of cooperation: (a) job creation, microfinance activities, and human resources training, with emphasis on the employment of young people; (b) viability and expansion of the social security system; (c) strengthening of “tripartism” and social dialogue; (d) combating child labor, child and adolescent sexual abuse, forced labor, as well as discrimination in the workplace and employment.

• REPORT OF THE FEDERATIVE REPUBLIC OF BRAZIL ON IMPLEMENTATION OF THE MANDATES ARISING FROM THE FIFTH SUMMIT OF THE AMERICAS (Brazil 2010)
• REPORT OF THE FEDERATIVE REPUBLIC OF BRAZIL ON IMPLEMENTATION OF THE MANDATES ARISING FROM THE FIFTH SUMMIT OF THE AMERICAS (Brazil 2010)
• Source: REPORT OF THE FEDERATIVE REPUBLIC OF BRAZIL ON IMPLEMENTATION OF THE MANDATES ARISING FROM THE FIFTH SUMMIT OF THE AMERICAS (Brazil 2010)

• Date:  11/29/2010    Paragraphs: 43

Digital Inclusion:
With respect to employing information and communication technologies (ICTs) for development at the national level, Brazil is working to close the “digital divide” through policies of digital inclusion, e-government, as well as the use of ICTs in its education and health sectors.
The digital inclusion policy includes the recently launched National Broadband Plan, which aims to triple the number of high-speed Internet connections for citizens by 2014, with lower costs and faster speeds; the “Computers for All” program, which has helped increase sales of personal computers by offering tax credits and incentives; and a national digital inclusion program to support communities, which provides a network of centers where the public can access the Internet and financial assistance for the training of “monitors” for these centers, who teach the public how to use the Internet. Another noteworthy initiative in this regard is Brazil’s program to provide broadband Internet access in the country’s schools. By year’s end, the school broadband program expects to provide Internet access to 84 percent of the country’s schoolchildren enrolled in primary education. Moreover, Brazil’s national “telehealth” program, a videoconferencing network, was established to serve as a decision-making tool for health professionals and technicians. This network is made up of teleconferencing centers distributed throughout the country, allowing health professionals to consult and obtain second opinions.
With respect to e-government initiatives, Brazil serves as a model of reference for e-citizen services via Internet and access to these tools, the progressive use of free and open-source software applications, as well as the interoperability of e-government systems.
All of the aforementioned initiatives are being considered for cooperation projects with other countries in the Americas. Also in this regard, the recent proposal discussed at the Fifth European Union-Latin America and the Caribbean Ministerial Forum on the Information Society (Segovia, March 14-16, 2010), regarding the proposed direct interconnection via submarine cable of teaching and research networks in Latin America, Europe, and Africa, would have positive benefits for the Americas.
The recommendations arising from the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS), the Agenda for Connectivity in the Americas, the Plan of Action of Quito, and the Declaration of Santo Domingo (“Good Governance and Development in the Knowledge-Based Society”), have guided Brazil’s international cooperation activities regarding the information society. In attempts to coordinate with the other countries of the region in various forums, including the Internet Governance Forum (IGF), the WSIS Forum, and the United Nations Commission on Science and Technology for Development (CSTD), Brazil has worked to advance certain principles, such as the need for global, multilateral, democratic, and transparent Internet governance mechanisms, as well as issues such as access to information and full compliance with and renewal of the IGF mandate.

• Date:  11/29/2010    Paragraphs: 22

Intellectual Property:
With respect to its foreign policy, Brazil defends the multilateral approach to addressing intellectual property issues. In partnership with other developing countries, Brazil advocates for the development of an equitable system of intellectual property (IP) to promote innovation and disseminate knowledge; one that takes into account both the private rights of patent holders as well as the broader interests of society. In this regard, the effective implementation of the principles and recommendations of the Development Agenda, approved by the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) in 2007, is a priority concern of the Brazilian government. Based on WIPO’s Development Agenda, Brazil and other developing countries have proposed a variety of initiatives, especially new legal instruments designed to strengthen IP exceptions and limit IP rights, as an essential basis for ensuring equilibrium between the rights and duties of patent holders and users of the system. For example, a proposed treaty on copyright limitations and exceptions for the visually impaired is currently being debated in the WIPO, co-sponsored by Brazil, Ecuador, Mexico, and Paraguay. Moreover, Brazil recently presented a proposal to the Standing Committee of the Law on Patents (SCP) for a working program in respect of exceptions and limitations to patent rights.
Internally, Brazil has formulated innovative strategies to combat piracy and counterfeiting, following the establishment, in 2004, of the National Council on Combating Piracy and Intellectual Property Crimes (CNCP), a consultative body comprised of representatives from all government agencies responsible for enforcement activities, as well as representatives of the private sector. Year after year, the CNCP compiles successive records on confiscations of pirated and counterfeit goods. The CNCP has also promoted intensive media campaigns to raise awareness on the negative societal impacts associated with piracy and counterfeiting activities.
In 2009, the CNCP launched its new national plan to combat piracy. The plan is based on Brazil’s view that law enforcement alone cannot successfully combat piracy and counterfeiting activities, and that the problem must also be addressed on the educational and economic fronts.2 The Plan sets forth 16 strategic objectives and proposes 23 projects to be implemented between 2009 and 2012. Of these, five have been identified as priority areas: (1) an initiative to promote partnerships and cooperation with internet service providers, under the direction of the Ministry of Culture; (2) development of a Web portal with information on combating piracy, under the direction of the Brazilian Association of Software Companies (ABES); (3) a “business against pirated goods” initiative, under the direction of the National Confederation of Commerce (CNC); (4) a “piracy-free cities” initiative; and (5) a series of street fairs promoting legitimate rather than pirated products, the latter two of which are to be carried out by the Brazilian Institute for Ethics in Competition (ETCO). In 2009, Brazil launched an anti-pirating label to promote and identify legitimate goods. The label’s message roughly translates to “Brazil against Pirated Goods: Buy into the Idea” [“Brasil Original: Compre essa atitude”], which hopes to change consumer behavior by encouraging the public to buy legitimate products.
Another significant IP reform has been the reorganization of Brazil’s National Institute of Industrial Property (INPI). Beginning in 2004, this reorganization has helped streamline the Institute’s administrative processes and specific areas under its purview, especially those pertaining to trademarks and patents. As part of its reorganization effort, the Institute added additional staff and tripled the number of patent examiners. The Institute’s efforts to automate administrative procedures have helped to reduce its overall backlog.3 At present, there is no backlog for trademarks, while the backlog for patents is expected to be reduced to approximately 4.5 years.
2. By “economic front” we mean efforts to achieve greater cohesion between business models and the actual socioeconomic circumstances of the country.
3. Refers to applications awaiting examination.

• REPORT OF THE FEDERATIVE REPUBLIC OF BRAZIL ON IMPLEMENTATION OF THE MANDATES ARISING FROM THE FIFTH SUMMIT OF THE AMERICAS (Brazil 2010)
• REPORT OF THE FEDERATIVE REPUBLIC OF BRAZIL ON IMPLEMENTATION OF THE MANDATES ARISING FROM THE FIFTH SUMMIT OF THE AMERICAS (Brazil 2010)