A/HRC/59/62/Add.1 International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination. 4 Brazil is a member State of the Organization of American States and a State Party to the American Convention on Human Rights and the Inter-American Convention Against Racism, Racial Discrimination and Related Forms of Intolerance. Within the national legal framework, there are several legal provisions in place relating to the eradication of racial discrimination, including Law No. 12.711 of 2012 on a quota system in the public higher education network and in federal institutes; Law No. 12.990 of 2014 on public service quotas; and Law No. 12.288 of 2010 on racial equality.5 III. Positive measures 7. During her visit, the Special Rapporteur welcomed the fact that the Government of Brazil has recognized racism and racial discrimination as systemic phenomena, thus moving away from the previously commonplace but erroneous characterization of Brazil as a “racial democracy” in which all racial and ethnic groups live together harmoniously in conditions of broad equality. Moreover, she identified several promising steps that had been taken to address racial discrimination, including: (a) Institutionalization of anti-racial discrimination efforts in Brazil through the creation of the Ministry of Racial Equality and the Ministry for Indigenous Peoples, in 2023; (b) Creation of a secretariat on Roma people within the Ministry of Racial Equality and the development of a policy on Roma persons; (c) measures; Some increases in the resources available for anti-racial discrimination (d) Robust affirmative action programmes to facilitate access among marginalized racial and ethnic groups to some universities and to public sector employment; (e) New policies and programmes aimed at addressing important issues facing marginalized racial and ethnic groups. These include the “Black Youth Alive” plan, the National Plan to Combat Racism against Indigenous Peoples, the work of the National Justice Council to address the sentencing that is driving the mass incarceration of people of African descent, the aforementioned policy on Roma persons, and a pilot project to provide psychosocial support to mothers and other family members of victims of State violence; (f) Plans to develop the Recommendations Monitoring System (SIMORE) mechanism to monitor and evaluate implementation of the recommendations of the human rights mechanisms, including on racial discrimination; (g) Efforts to ensure the cultural recognition and memorialization of the experiences of those from marginalized racial and ethnic groups. These include, for example, efforts to memorialize the victims of the trade in enslaved persons, at 102 sites, including the arrival points of enslaved Africans, places of trade, labour and daily life, places of religious worship and Quilombo communities, as well as to preserve other forms of cultural heritage. They also include an exchange programme with African universities to develop research on African history, organized by the Ministry of Racial Equality; an award to celebrate Roma culture; and measures by the federal Government and state governments to recognize and celebrate hip-hop and other manifestations of Afro-Brazilian culture. The Special Rapporteur also welcomes reports that the National Truth Commission has acknowledged the right to truth, reparation and memory of at least 40 Black individuals victimized by the authoritarian dictatorship of 1964–1985; (h) A dedicated health facility in Bahia to address sickle cell anaemia, a debilitating health condition that disproportionately affects people of African descent; (i) Measures to facilitate regional and international cooperation on racial discrimination. Notable efforts include advocacy on the development of a new sustainable 4 5 GE.25-06011 See https://tbinternet.ohchr.org/_layouts/15/TreatyBodyExternal/Treaty.aspx?CountryID=24&Lang=EN. CERD/C/BRA/CO/18-20, para. 4. 3