Business and Human Rights Resource Centre and Reporter Brasil prepared two reports about business and human rights in Brazil. The first report (available only in Portuguese) was sent in June 2014 to all presidential candidates in the country. The second report (English summary report here, full report in Portuguese here), from November 2014, is to the reelected president Dilma Rousseff.

2014 has been a particularly important year for Brazil, with the presidential elections and the FIFA World Cup. The aim of this new report is to address the subject of business and human rights, and make some recommendations. The next presidency from 2015 to 2019 presents an opportunity to address concerns related to business and human rights by adopting some important measures in the Government. Main concerns about essential business and human rights issues that should be a priority on the agenda of the President of Brazil: the right to land and housing rights, impact on indigenous peoples and Quilombolas; free, prior and informed consent/consultation, abuses of labour rights, including slave-like labour, environmental contamination with impacts on people’s health and access to water, impacts of public works related to the 2016 Rio Olympics International, among others.

Recommendations to the President of Brazil: I. Comply with and implement laws that contribute to sustainable growth while at the same time respect and promote human rights. II. Ensure the rights of communities affected by business activities; promote dialogue and transparency. III. Ensure international human rights standards are met in project finance, procurement and taxation policy.

To read this story in Portuguese, click here.