CNBB fears setback in the fight against slavery.

From Rede Brasil Atual - Reaffirming that "the value of life and human dignity transcends any economic objective", the Pastoral Office for Combating Human Trafficking of the National Conference of Bishops of Brazil (CNBB) states that it is necessary to "closely monitor the bills that repeatedly attempt to reverse the policy of combating slave labor built in Brazil without interruption since 1995". The message is from this Monday (28), National Day to Combat Slave Labor.

"The exploitation of human beings through slave labor is a serious disrespect for human rights, their dignity, and especially a grave violation of the right to work in dignified conditions, receiving a fair wage," says the statement, signed by the Bishop of Balsas (MA), Dom Enemésio Lazzaris, president of the Special Episcopal Pastoral Commission for Combating Human Trafficking of the CNBB (National Conference of Bishops of Brazil).

In 1995, during the Fernando Henrique Cardoso administration, mobile inspection groups were established, involving various official bodies, and have remained a state policy ever since. More than 50 workers have been rescued in these operations to combat forced labor. Since 2009, January 28th has become the day to combat this practice and also the national day of the labor inspector, in honor of the officials killed in 2004 in what became known as the Unaí massacre.

"Society has the task of conducting itself through an economy that values ​​human dignity above all else, and this implies, among other things, eliminating the practice of slave labor in any work relationship, whether in agriculture, construction, the textile industry, charcoal production, hotel services, or even domestic services," says Bishop Lazzaris. "It becomes even more serious that this form of human trafficking also affects children and adolescents."

There have been attempts to modify (or "make more flexible") the legal definition of slave labor. And the so-called "dirty list," a registry of employers who exploited labor analogous to slavery, was even suspended for more than two years by court order.

"We recall the obligation of the Brazilian State – recently reiterated by the Inter-American Court of Human Rights in the judgment of the Brasil Verde case – to continue taking actions that inhibit the practice of slave labor. (...) The pursuit of decent reintegration of freed persons also requires attention and the adoption of public policies that facilitate this process."

In 2016, Brazil was condemned by the Inter-American Court of Human Rights (IACHR) in the case concerning the Fazenda Brasil Verde farm in Pará. The case involved allegations of forced labor and debt bondage, which constitutes work analogous to slavery.

Since 1995, mobile inspection teams have rescued 53.607 workers found in conditions considered degrading, analogous to slavery. More than R$ 100 million has been paid out in wages and severance pay.