On August 22nd and 23rd, the Pan American Development Foundation (PADF) held the 2nd International Colloquium on Forced Labor in the Cattle Ranching Sector in Pará, Brazil. The event aimed to strengthen the efforts of COETRAE (State Commission for the Eradication of Slave Labor), share the progress of PADF’s Fair Work Program, and support the implementation of the national protocol for assisting victims of forced labor in Pará.
“This international meeting sought not only to strengthen COETRAE’s actions but also to share the important work that the state of Pará has historically undertaken to combat forced labor. The 2nd Colloquium brought together experts, managers, technicians, and civil society to expand the discussion and pursue necessary paths to remove Pará from the list of states with the highest cases of workers in forced labor conditions,” highlighted Irina Bacci, Technical Director of the Fair Work Program.
The event is part of PADF’s ongoing strategy to implement the Fair Work Program and was carried out in collaboration with the American Bar Association (ABA ROLI), Federal University of Pará (UFPA), and the Secretary of State for Racial Equality and Human Rights (SEIRDH).
“The event is now in its second edition; the first was held last year at UFPA with the goal of introducing the project and establishing partnerships. With ongoing research and partnerships now in place, we were able to demonstrate where the Clinic can act and contribute to combating forced labor in our region of the Pará Amazon,” emphasized Professor Valena Jacob, General Director of the Institute of Legal Sciences at UFPA.
According to Fernanda Brandão, ABA ROLI Program Manager and moderator of the roundtable titled “Strengthening the State Commission for the Eradication of Forced Labor (COETRAE-PA) – Contexts and Challenges,” the activity helped strengthen COETRAE-PA. “The activity gathered key members and authorities involved in the topic of combatting contemporary slave labor in Pará and allowed the group to think through next steps to be implemented by this relevant commission,” she affirmed.
The program also included roundtable discussions on “Presentation of the Study on Barriers to Access to Justice and Formative Assessment of Prevalence Study” and “Strengthening the Protection Response to Forced Labor in the Cattle Ranching Sector in Pará – Challenges and Presentation of Projects Supported by the Donation Subfund;” as well as two workshops on “Guidelines for Combating Work Analogous to Slavery: The National Protocol for Assisting Victims and Challenges for Implementing the State Protocol” and “Protocols for Humanized and Worker-Centered Assistance to Survivors and Vulnerable Workers in the Livestock Production Chains in the State of Pará.”
“The 2nd International Colloquium on Forced Labor in the Cattle Ranching Sector in the state of Pará is of utmost importance for the cross-sector integration of this issue within the State Network. The participation of other stakeholders, such as COETRAE Bahia, in discussing this topic alongside COETRAE Pará is essential for advancing this theme not only at the state level but also nationally. This practice should be extended to other states to work on this focus of public policy against forced labor, in coordination with civil society and public administration,” emphasized Admar Junior, State Coordinator for Combating Human Trafficking and Forced Labor in Bahia.
Video: 2nd International Colloquium on Forced Labor in the Cattle Ranching Sector in Pará
Program to End Modern Slavery (PEMS) Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons
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