A/HRC/31/56/Add.1 I. Introduction 1. The United Nations Special Rapporteur on minority issues, Rita Izsák, conducted an official visit to Brazil from 14 to 24 September 2015. In Brasilia, she met with officials of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministries of Justice, Education and Culture, the Secretariats for Human Rights, Policies for Women and Racial Equality, the National Institute for Colonization and Agrarian Reform, the Office of the Federal Prosecutor, the Federal Supreme Court, and the Federal Attorney General’s Office for Citizens’ Rights. She also consulted with the Resident Coordinator and representatives of United Nations agencies, as well as a wide range of representatives of civil society and social movements. 2. In the states of Rio de Janeiro, São Paulo and Bahia, the Special Rapporteur met with authorities working on issues of minority rights and with members of marginalized communities. This included visits to the Santa Marta favela (slum) in Rio de Janeiro, and the periferia Brasilandia on the outskirts of São Paulo. She also visited two Quilombos; Ivaporunduva (El Dorado municipality, São Paulo state) and Pitanga Dos Palmares (Bahia), and met with representatives of other Quilombos. She also visited a Roma (Cigano) neighbourhood in the municipality of Simões Filho, Bahia. 3. She consulted with various religious minorities, including representatives of the Muslim community, and religious organizations. She also met with Afro-Brazilian religious leaders, and visited a Candomblé terreiro (Afro-religious temple) in Salvador. 4. At the conclusion of her visit, the Special Rapporteur convened a one-day workshop on the situation of Roma in the Americas, which brought together representatives of Roma communities from Argentina, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador and Peru. The workshop was a follow-up to the Special Rapporteur’s 2015 comprehensive study on the human rights situation of Roma worldwide (A/HRC/29/24). 5. The Special Rapporteur expresses her appreciation to the Government of Brazil for the support provided in the organization and facilitation of the visit. She was pleased to undertake the visit in order to gain a better understanding of the unique minority rights protection schemes in Brazil, such as its disaggregated data collection and affirmative action policies, and will continue to explore how these positive practices may be translated to other countries and regions. 6. The Special Rapporteur also thanks the United Nations and the various minority communities, individuals, civil society organizations and social movements which shared their stories with her, as well as providing indispensable assistance in the coordination of the visit. II. Who are the minorities in Brazil? 7. With a population of more than 204 million people, Brazil is a highly diverse society, with countless minority groups which migrated there on account of a wide range of factors, including colonialism, slavery and targeted migration policies. 8. Originally inhabited by indigenous peoples, Portuguese colonization in the sixteenth century saw the first mass influx of Europeans into the territory. The colony quickly entered the slave trade, and soon became the largest importer of African slaves in the Americas. It is estimated that up to 5 million Africans were brought to Brazil as slaves, although many did not survive the treacherous sea crossing. Slavery quickly became central to the colonial economy, and gained particular importance in the mining and sugar cane industries, which fast became entirely dependent on slave labour. 3