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The report on human rights practices published by the US State Department criticizes the Portuguese authorities, especially with regard to the fight against forced labor. It acknowledges that the Government “complied with the law” that prohibits these situations, but considers that the penalties for these crimes “are not proportional to those for other serious crimes.”
This report highlights warnings from civil society about the need to “strengthen the monitoring and regulation of temporary employment and hiring agencies.”The US State Department released reports on the human rights situation in various countries around the world on Tuesday.
“The government did not report that it had investigated or prosecuted fraudulent recruitment agencies or labor trafficking,” the report reads.
The State Department further notes that “Government resources dedicated to the prevention of forced labor, including for inspections and law enforcement, remain insufficient”, he adds.
The penalties for these crimes are considered to “vary from three to 15 years in prison,” with Convicted criminals “often manage to avoid arrest, undermining efforts to inspect and protect victims,” the report says., based on reports from non-governmental organizations and the press.
According to data from the Portuguese Observatory on Human Trafficking, victims of foreign labor trafficking “were exploited in the sectors of agriculture, construction and domestic service”, while victims of Portuguese nationality are mainly exploited in the catering sectors. , agriculture and domestic service.
Child labor: a door to Europe
Regarding child labor, the report highlights that Portuguese law “prohibits the worst forms of child labor” and considers that the Government “effectively complied with the applicable laws” and the penalties “were proportional to those of other serious crimes”, with “Resources and inspections”.
Although child labor has occurred in “very limited” cases, especially in the Roma community of children exploited for begging or forced crime to be coerced, the report highlights another worrying element: Portugal is increasingly an entry point for trafficking in children, who then make their way to other countries in Europe.
“Sub-Saharan trafficking networks increasingly use the country as a route to the Schengen area for the exploitation of children for sex trafficking or forced labor”, the report reads.
Domestic violence “remains a problem”
In cases of rape and domestic violence, Portugal “generally applies the law when the victim decides to press charges,” underlines the US State Department report.
Nevertheless, “Violence against women, including domestic violence, remains a problem”. The report recalls past court rulings that mitigated the penalties for the assailants.
“There was a greater focus on domestic violence cases (…) after a court in Porto upheld the sentence reduced to an assailant, claiming that the husband was motivated by the ‘disloyalty and sexual immorality of the victim.”recalls the report in relation to the cases tried by Judge Neto de Moura, who cited the Bible to frame the crimes of domestic violence.
“Human rights groups viewed the verdict as a ‘reflection of a culture and justice that promotes misogyny,” the report said.
Ihor Homenyuk
Other highlights of this report are the mention of two cases that made the news in the country last year, since the death of a foreign citizen caused by the action of the security forces.
“On September 30, the Public Ministry named three agents of the Foreigners and Borders Service (SEF) suspected of killing a Ukrainian who tried to enter the country illegally through the Lisbon airport on March 10. The alleged crime was committed in a temporary detention center managed by the SEF at Lisbon airport “the report underlines.
“The victim was reportedly killed on March 12 after ‘disturbing’ the center. An autopsy revealed that the man had possibly been strangled. The three SEF agents have been in custody since March 30 and the involuntary manslaughter trial was scheduled for January 2021, ”it reads.
The report also mentions the resignations of João Ataíde, then the SEF’s supervisory coordinator, and Cristina Gatoes, the director of the SEF, who acknowledged to RTP that there was “torture” in the case of the Ukrainian citizen.
Precisely in the chapter on torture and inhuman treatment by the authorities, the US State Department report says, on Portugal, that “There have been credible reports of excessive use of force by the police and ill-treatment and other forms of abuse of prisoners by prison officials.”.
“In 2019, the Government-run IGAI received 950 reports of mistreatment and abuse by police and prison guards, the highest number since 2012. Reports of physical abuse mainly consisted of stabbing, punching and kicking the body and head. as well as hitting with bats. The complaints were directed mainly against the Public Security Police (PSP) (551) and the Republican National Guard (GNR) (306). The IGAI investigated each complaint, ”says the report.
Racism and murder of Bruno Candé
In the field of racism, the US Department of Defense report highlights that the The Commission for Equality and Against Racial Discrimination received “436 complaints of discrimination in 2019, an increase of almost 26 percent compared to 2018, including a complaint of racism against a presidential candidate.”, Read in the document.
The Commission for Equality and Against Racial Discrimination itself explained that the increase in cases could be explained “by the global movement Black lives are important, which has led to a greater awareness of the issues of racial and ethnic discrimination and a better understanding of the legal mechanisms available to victims ”.
It also refers to the case of actor Bruno Candé, murdered on July 25 last year. “Candé was born in Lisbon but the family is originally from Guinea-Bissau. Police arrested the suspect and turned the case over to the Judicial Police, who determined that the crime was not racially motivated. The victim’s family, however, considered the death ‘premeditated and motivated by racism’ ”.the report underlines.
“The family claimed that Candé received death threats and racist insults from the suspect three days before the crime. SOS Racismo, a non-governmental organization that supports anti-racist work, condemned the murder and considered it a hate crime, ”the State Department document also states.
It also refers to the case of “a human rights defender received death threats, which led to his leaving the country for a month.” “When he returned, the government gave him police protection,” says the State Department.
The report also mentions the problems of the Roma community, who in part “continue to live in tents and tent camps”. Many of these sites “are in isolated areas from the rest of the population and generally lack basic infrastructure, such as access to potable water, electricity or garbage collection facilities.” There are even places where “walls were built around these settlements.” It acknowledges, however, that the Government has made progress in integrating in some communities and in an attempt to provide access to various services.
