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Appendix B: Letter to Governor of Rio de Janeiro

August 11, 2003

Exma. Sra.

Rosângela Rosinha Garotinho Barros Assed Matheus de Oliveira

Governor of the State of Rio de Janeiro

Palácio Guanabara - Rua Pinheiro Machado s/n°

Laranjeiras, Rio de Janeiro

RJ, Brasil 22.238-900

Dear Governor Garotinho:

I write to express Human Rights Watch’s concerns for the health of youths in the Escola Santo Expedito, the Instituto Padre Severino, and the Cai-Baixada detention center in the State of Rio de Janeiro.  Most of the youths at these detention centers are infected with scabies, a contagious parasitic disease caused by infestation of the Scarcoptes scabiei mite.

As you know, Human Rights Watch conducts regular, systematic investigations of human rights abuses in some seventy countries around the world.  Two representatives of the Children’s Rights Division visited five Rio de Janeiro detention centers between July 28 and August 8, 2003.

Staff at the Escola Santo Expedito, the Instituto Padre Severino, and the Cai-Baixada detention center informed us that scabies was rampant among the youth population at each facility.  When we toured the centers and spoke with youths, they complained of skin rashes and severe itching.  Many of these youths showed us large, red, pimple-like spots on their arms and legs; others had crusty patches spread over their bodies.

Scabies is treatable with medications that are readily available.  If left untreated, scabies causes severe itching and may spread over the body.  Those with scabies are at risk of secondary bacterial infections if they scratch the affected areas.  In addition, because scabies may be transmitted by skin contact, the failure to treat youths puts detention center staff and their families at risk of contracting the disease.

Conditions in the three facilities and other detention centers are ideal for the spread of scabies.  These detention centers are overcrowded, with as many as twenty youths to a cell.  Many youths told us that they share mattresses.  Youths are generally not monitored when they are locked in their cells, increasing the likelihood of voluntary and coerced sexual activity.

In addition, bedding and clothing are laundered infrequently—in one detention center, for example, staff reported that bedding had not been changed in three weeks.  Youths also complained that they are not always issued soap and are sometimes given insufficient time to bathe.

When we spoke with Sérgio Novo, director of the General Department of Sócio-Educational Action (Departamento Geral de Ações Sócio-Educativas, DEGASE), on July 31, he told us that scabies was a seasonal problem in Rio de Janeiro’s juvenile detention centers and that it was due in large part to a youth population “not educated in terms of hygiene.”

The state has an affirmative obligation to ensure that its detention centers meet basic standards of hygiene and to provide for the basic health needs of those who are deprived of their liberty.  As the Human Rights Committee has observed, states have “a positive obligation toward persons who are particularly vulnerable because of their status as persons deprived of liberty.”  This obligation flows from the right of individuals deprived of their liberty to be treated with humanity and with respect for the inherent dignity of the human person, a right guaranteed by article 10(1) of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR).

The U.N. Rules for the Protection of Juveniles, “intended to establish minimum standards accepted by the United Nations for the protection of juveniles deprived of their liberty in all forms,” call for the following measures, among others, to protect the health and ensure the human dignity of children in detention:

• Adequate preventive and remedial medical care
• Prompt examination by a doctor of every youth who is ill, complains of illness, or demonstrates symptoms of physical or mental difficulties.
• Separate and sufficient bedding, which should be clean when issued, kept in good order, and changed often enough to ensure cleanliness.
• Accessible and clean sanitary installations.

In addition, the state’s failure to provide adequate medical treatment to detained children with scabies may amount to cruel, inhuman, and degrading treatment, in violation of the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment.  Brazil ratified the Convention against Torture in 1989.

We ask you to direct DEGASE and the Secretariat of Health to take the following steps as a matter of priority:

• Conduct thorough medical examinations of all youths in the Escola Santo Expedito, the Instituto Padre Severino, and the Cai-Baixada detention center.
• Provide immediate treatment to all youths found to be infected with scabies, with follow-up treatment as necessary.
• Wash all clothing, bedding, and towels in hot water and follow the other steps outlined by DEGASE’s health unit to prevent a recurrence of the disease.
• Provide youths with sufficient soap and adequate opportunity to bathe.
• Provide every youth with his or her own mattress and bedding.
• Ensure that living areas and sanitary facilities are cleaned frequently enough to meet all requirements of health and human dignity.

We would appreciate being notified of the steps your government takes in response to these serious concerns.

Sincerely,

Michael Bochenek

Counsel

Children’s Rights Division