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Technical Cooperation Project Summary

Project Title

COMBATING TRAFFICKING FOR FORCED LABOR IN BRAZIL

Region/Country

THE AMERICAS/Brazil

Project Duration

October 1, 2004 to April 30, 2008

Fiscal year and Funding Level

FY2004: $1,500,000
Matching Funds: $225,000

Problem Addressed

It is estimated that over 25,000 Brazilians are currently victims of trafficking for forced labor. Forced laborers are most commonly found in the remote areas of the Southern Amazon where they engage in clear-cutting, raising livestock and harvesting crops. The workers are lured by false promises and held by debt, isolation and physical threats. They are particularly vulnerable to trafficking due to a lack of viable economic alternatives and a lack of awareness about the dangers of trafficking for forced labor.

RESULTS

The project reduced the recruitment of more than 20,000 vulnerable workers into forced labor and assisted approximately 1,400 victims of forced labor.

Project Objectives

To reduce the numbers of workers trafficked for forced labor in target municipalities by 1) increasing the awareness about the dangers of being trafficked for forced labor; 2) improving social and legal support services for victims of forced labor; and 3) increasing access to economic opportunities for victims and potential victims of forced labor.

Summary of Activities
  • Conducted public awareness campaigns through local churches, schools, community centers and other existing structures.
  • Conducted train-the-trainer seminars for local union leaders to raise awareness among the workers on the dangers of trafficking.
  • Strengthened the capacity of community organizations to monitor trafficking and report cases to relevant authorities.
  • Worked with local institutions to provide psychological and judicial assistance to forced labor victims.
  • Implemented pilot income generation projects to employ victims or potential victims of forced labor.
  • Provided assistance to local communities in accessing micro-credit and job training programs.

Grantee

Catholic Relief Services

Implementing parnters

Cáritas Brazil in Piauí, Maranhão and Pará states; Repórter Brasil; Centro de Defesa da Vida e dos Direitos Humanos in Açailândia, Maranhão state; Centro de Direitos Humanos de Araguaína, in Tocantins; Ministry of Labor and Employment, the National Council to Eradicate Forced Labor, Secretariat of Human Rights, state committees to eradicate trafficking for forced labor, workers and employers organizations, the International Labor Organization.

Contact Information

Office of Child Labor, Forced Labor and Human Trafficking (OCFT)

(202) 693-4843