VP/HR — Deaths of teenagers in riots in juvenile detention centres in Brazil

17.11.2016

Question for written answer E-008646-16
to the Commission (Vice-President/High Representative)
Rule 130
Francisco Assis (S&D)

In late October, 11 teenagers were killed in riots in two juvenile detention centres in the state of Pernambuco in Brazil; four in the town of Timbaúba on 25 October and seven in Caruaru on the 30th of the same month. These events are part of a wider crisis in the Brazilian correctional system, which has seen a series of riots with the brutal killing of 40 adolescents in the last five years. These facilities are characterised by overcrowding, insufficient infrastructure, poor diet and the systematic torture and mistreatment of detainees at the hands of staff. Various national and international bodies have warned the Brazilian Government about this situation, including the UN Subcommittee on Prevention of Torture (in 2015).

What does the European Union intend to do to urge the Brazilian authorities to imprison adolescents only as a last resort, to take action to ensure the physical and psychological integrity of detainees, to improve conditions in detention centres and to ensure that all deaths and allegations of torture are swiftly and independently investigated?