Brasília, 12/8/2003 (Agência Brasil - ABr) - The World Health Organization says Brazil is the world champion in murders, with one occurring every 12 minutes. With 3% of the world's population, Brazil has 13% of the world's murders.

"Brazil is a world champion in areas that are not very positive," was the way Carlos Lopes of the United Nations Development Program, put it.

Speaking to the Human Rights Commission in the Chamber of Deputies, Lopes compared the situation in Brazil with the United States. In Brazil, he said, 1% of homicides are cleared up. In the US the number is 70%. Lopes said the way to improve the situation was to modernize the judicial branch of government and fix the country's prisons. (AB)