Érica Santana
Reporter Agência Brasil

Brasília - After two weeks in Brazil, and travelling to various parts of the country (Brasília, Pará, Bahia, Pernambuco, São Paulo and Santa Catarina), the UN rapporteur for Human Rights, the Pakistani, Hina Jilani, says that in general there is a solid understanding of the issue of human rights by the government and a strong will to protect them. As examples of the government's response to Brazilian society's demand for more human rights protection she cites the creation of the cabinet-level special secretariats of Racial Equality (Seppir) and Human Rights (SEDH). She also said that "Brazilian social movements have added more value to the country's democracy and played an important role in reducing violence."

However, in her preliminary report, Ms Jilani said the problem was that there existed "a large gap between the creation and the implementation of human rights defense policies."

Translation: Allen Bennett