Brasília, December 10, 2002 (Agência Brasil - ABr) - A study conducted by the Ministry of Justice, between September and November, and announced today by the National secretary of Human Rights, Paulo Sérgio Pinheiro, made possible an extensive mapping of conditions in units set up to care for adolescents who have been deprived of their liberty for having committed crimes.

Pinheiro underscored the importance of the study, which, "for the first time, provides us with a transparent profile of the real dimensions of service provided at the youth detention centers." And, based on the field work, the secretary recommended, for example, the appointment of an emergency task force to review all the cases of adolescents who are serving sentences. An effort that would be worked out between the Ministry of Justice and the courts, public defenders' offices, and the Brazilian Bar Association (OAB). He also suggested a review of conditions in all units of temporary detention, which, as a whole, "are extremely inadequate, as much in terms of physical area as in regard for fundamental rights." (DAS)