Brazil must not extend detention lengths for children

The proposal represents a serious setback for the human rights of children, putting Brazil in violation of its own Federal Constitution, the Statute of Children and Adolescents (ECA), and the international commitments it has undertaken - particularly the United Nations (UN)Convention against Torture, its Optional Protocol to the Convention (OPCAT), the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child the Beijing Rules, the Riyadh Guidelines, and the Havana Rules.

Bill 1,473/2025 undermines fundamental principles of the Brazilian legal system and international standards by disregarding the principles of brevity, exceptionality, and respect for the evolving capacities of the child, which are the foundations of socio-educational measures provided by the law. By transforming these measures - which are meant to be pedagogical and protective - into punitive and retributive mechanisms, the bill strips them of their rehabilitative purpose and denies adolescents the objective to social reintegration. Extending the duration of detention has no empirical basis: national and international studies show that longer periods of incarceration do not reduce recidivism. On the contrary, they increase the likelihood of reoffending and exacerbate the risks of institutional violence, overcrowding, and torture within detention facilities.

The OMCT warns that lengthening detention periods in a system historically marked by reports of abuse, ill-treatment and torture, as well as and structural violations will create even more favourable conditions for further torture and cruel, inhuman, and degrading treatment and punishment. Reducing the frequency of judicial reviews further weakens essential safeguards, increasing system opacity and reducing state accountability. Moreover, the bill lacks impact assessments on budgetary and institutional capacity, which could overload state systems and divert resources away from more effective interventions - such as community-based measures, restorative justice programs, psychosocial support, education, and family reintegration - toward maintaining an expensive, ineffective model of detention which is conducive of violations of children's rights.

As the review of the bill advances, the OMCT urges senators to reject Bill 1,473/2025 in its entirety and reaffirm Brazil's constitutional commitment to the comprehensive protection of children and adolescents. Approving this proposal would represent a historic regression and place the country on a collision course with its international human rights obligations.

OMCT further calls on the Brazilian state to adopt a positive agenda based on evidence-driven policies focused on prevention and social reintegration. This includes strengthening non-custodial socio-educational measures, increasing the frequency of judicial reviews, ensuring access to legal assistance and psychosocial services, investing in education and protected employment policies, and fully implementing independent torture prevention mechanisms with regular inspections and public reporting.

Finally, OMCT reiterates that the deprivation of liberty for adolescents must be used only as a last resort and for the shortest possible time, as established by international human rights treaties. Brazil now faces a historic opportunity to reaffirm its commitment to comprehensive protection and socio-educational justice - and must not revert to punitive, and rights-violating models that only perpetuate cycles of exclusion, violence, and torture.