Find out what the UN recommends to Brazil to tackle violations of children’s rights
UN Committee on the Rights of the Child criticizes police lethality, misuse of digital data and restrictions on legal abortion
Foto: Wilson Dias/Agência Brasil
In a report published following a review of Brazil by the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child, the country was criticized for its failures in safeguarding children and adolescents, particularly those who are Black and from low-income backgrounds. The international body highlighted systemic police violence, a high rate of child homicides, the misuse of data in digital spaces, and setbacks in access to sexual and reproductive healthcare.
One of the Committee’s main recommendations is that Brazil should adopt urgent measures to prevent the deaths and disappearances of children during police operations, with particular attention to the Afro-Brazilian population. The international body called for independent investigations, accountability of police officers and the adoption of international protocols, like the Istanbul and Minnesota Protocols, for investigating deaths caused by security forces.
The Committee also recommended that the country ban the use of children´s data by artificial intelligence systems and bolster legislation regarding the digital environment. In terms of education, it praised the decree that repealed the militarization of publicly-run schools, but called for this to be effectively implemented in state and municipal schools, and for improvements in the infrastructure of schools as well as better monitoring of private institutions.
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Regarding the rights of LGBTQIA+ children and adolescents, the Committee recommended that Brazil should respect their right to identity and adopt legislation that acknowledges the existence and rights of transgender children. In the area of sexual and reproductive rights, the Committee expressed concern over the obstacles faced by girls who are victims of sexual violence. It recommended full implementation of the legislation guaranteeing access to legal abortion and criticized legislative proposals under debate in Congress, such as Bill 1904/24, which equates abortion after 22 weeks with the crime of homicide, even in cases of rape.
What is the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child and how does the review work?
The Committed on the Rights of the Child was set up in 1001 and is the main international body responsible for monitoring compliance with the Convention on the Rights of the Child and its additional protocols. The Committee is made up of 18 independent experts of various nationalities and periodically reviews reports submitted by signatory countries, among them Brazil.
The Brazilian review, held in May 2025 in Geneva, Switzerland, was attended by an official delegation headed up by the Minister of Human Rights and Citizenship, Macaé Evaristo. The questioning addressed structural racism, police lethality, access to education, and food insecurity.
In addition to the official report submitted to the government, the Committee also considered documents sent by civil society organizations, which provided critical input for the assessment of the situation in Brazil. These shadow reports are essential in ensuring an independent and more comprehensive analysis of the real conditions faced by children in the country.
Conectas and partner organizations denounce setbacks
In partnership with the Independent Mothers of May Movement, Plan International Brazil, Associação Serenas and the Feminist Collective on Sexuality and Health, Conectas submitted reports containing data on state violence and the obstacles faced by girls in accessing sexual and reproductive healthcare.
In one of the documents, Conectas reports a 93% increase in police lethality in the state of São Paulo between 2022 and 2024, linked to the dismantling of monitoring policies, such as the reduction in the use of body cameras by police officers. The report also highlights the lack of independent investigations and systemic impunity in cases involving the deaths of children in police operations, such as those of Ryan da Silva Andrade Santos, age 4, and Gregory Ribeiro Vasconcelos, age 17, in the Baixada Santista region.
Another report, produced in collaboration with partner organizations, addresses the violation of sexual and reproductive rights. In 2023, more than 13 thousand girls under the age of 14 gave birth in Brazil. Although abortion is legal in cases of rape, access to this service is still limited and often impeded by conscientious objection or misinformation from healthcare professionals and the justice system. The document also condemns the advancement of legislative proposals that will make access even more difficult.
Recommended paths and state accountability
Based on reports and analyses by civil society, the UN Committee has put together a set of recommendations for Brazil. The following are of note:
- Mandatory implementation of body cameras with continuous recording for all police forces;
- Creation of independent forensic bodies;
- Independent investigation into crimes committed by police officers;
- Classification of enforced disappearance as a crime under Brazilian law;
- Promotion of sex education in schools and broader training for healthcare professionals;
- Decriminalization of abortion and guaranteed access to safe abortion services and post-abortion care for adolescents and girls in all the states and municipalities, ensuring that their opinions are always heard and duly considered as part of the decision-making process;
- Repeal of the existing legislation and rejection of bills that restrict and criminalize access to abortion even more, such as bill 1904/2024;
- Removal of obstacles to accessing abortion services, including racial and gender discrimination and abuse of the principle of conscientious objection;
- Effectively tackling structural racism in access to healthcare, education, and security.
The Committee also requested that Brazil inform on the measures taken to meet the recommendations, within the next two years. The UN expects the country to present concrete improvements, especially in the most critical areas highlighted in the independent reports. Brazil´s review by the UN Committee marks an important milestone for human rights policy in the country. Contributions from civil society were essential in bringing historically neglected violence to light and in putting pressure on the Brazilian state to adopt measures that guarantee the fundamental rights of children and adolescents. According to Conectas, the international monitoring process is an opportunity to make progress in constructing public policies that are fairer, more inclusive and are committed to the future generations.
