Brazil Programs

ABA ROLI has made its impact in Brazil through the implementation of three programs centered around combatting money laundering and terrorist financing as well as combatting forced labor in the cattle ranching industry. ABA ROLI currently implements a regional program, Countering the Financing of Terrorism in South America, which provides training and technical support to the governments, financial sectors, and civil society in Brazil, as well as Argentina and Paraguay, to combat money laundering (AML), financing of terrorism (CFT), and transnational organized crime (TOC) in the Tri-Border Area. ABA ROLI also runs a complementary program to improve the capacity of criminal justice sectors and financial institutions in the same three countries to promote public awareness about the risks and realities of terrorism financing, money laundering, and transnational organized crime.

Additionally, ABA ROLI supports an initiative to combat forced labor and reduce the amount of labor trafficking victims in the cattle industry of the northern state of Pará, Brazil. This program aims to strengthen the investigation, prosecution, and adjudication of cases involving forced labor in the cattle industry's supply chain in the state of Pará, while raising awareness of the issue and building capacity of the justice sector. 

Lastly, ABA ROLI has a regional program in Latin America focused on supporting environmental defenders in the Amazonian regions of Colombia, Brazil, Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia, and Venezuela. 

Combatting Forced Labor in Pará, Brazil 

In Brazil, forced labor (FL) cases are often concentrated in rural areas and the northern state of Pará had the highest annual average of FL victims across all industries from 1995 to 2020, according to official statistics. Most commonly, FL victims are recruited from poorer neighboring states by “gatos” or employers and moved to remote locations where they are immobilized and subjected to poor working conditions and debt bondage—one of the most common types of forced labor mechanisms in Brazil. In Pará, ABA ROLI is responding to these complex forced labor cases, specifically in the labor intense industry of cattle ranching. 

In partnership with the Pan American Development Foundation (PADF), ABA ROLI is supporting the implementation of the program Combatting Forced Labor in the Cattle Sector in Pará, Brazil. This program is focused on the cattle industry, where there is a high annual average of labor trafficking victims, often concentrated in rural areas.

This program carries out activities to strengthen the investigation, prosecution, and adjudication of cases involving forced labor in the cattle industry's supply chain in the state of Pará, while raising awareness of the issue and building capacity of the justice sector. The program team offers specialized training to justice system institutions to increase the number of systematized, victim-centered investigations and prosecutions of forced labor by law enforcement, prosecutors, and public defenders. The victim-centered component of the program works to promote access to justice and support forced labor survivors, as well as reduce the prevalence of forced labor in the region. 

Read more about the program launch here.

Countering the Financing of Terrorism in South America

Funded by the U.S. Department of State Bureau of Counterterrorism, this program provides technical support to the governments, financial sector, and civil society in Argentina, Brazil, and Paraguay with the goal to combat money laundering, terrorism financing, and transnational crime, thereby reducing the capacity of criminals and terrorist organizations to move assets and to conduct terrorist attacks and other illicit activities.

Working closely with central and local government agencies, financial institutions, and civil society, ABA ROLI aims to leverage specialized expertise to support the governments of Argentina, Brazil, and Paraguay in meeting their commitments under the United Nations Convention against TOC, the international standards on AML set by the Financial Action Task Force, and the United Nations Security Council Resolutions on Countering the Financing of Terrorism (CFT).

Read more about the program here.

Raising Public Awareness on Countering the Financing of Terrorism in the Tri-Border Area

Funded by the U.S. Department of State Bureau of Counterterrorism, this program improves the capacity of criminal justice sectorsand financial institutions in Argentina, Brazil, and Paraguay to promote public awareness about the risks and realities of terrorism financing, money laundering, and organized transnational crime in the Tri-Border Area and show how everyday activities may unwittingly contribute to related crimes.

By working closely with the communication departmentsof the criminal justice sectors, financial institutions, and Financial Intelligence Units, this program gathers information from different beneficiaries to provide customized advice to improve their processes. Additionally, the program develops awareness campaignson AML, TOC, and CFT and assists beneficiaries in implementing them, aiming to raise public awareness to help reduce unwitting involvement in these criminal acts. 

Read more about the program here.

Supporting Environmental Defenders in Latin America

As part of its regional program, ABA ROLI works to strengthen regional capacities for coordinated interventions to respond, protect, and prevent human rights violations of Environmental Defenders in the Amazon region, including Brazil. Through the Supporting Environmental Defenders in Latin America program, ABA ROLI is developing activities to strengthen their capacities to hold the private sector and governments accountable in the enforcement of environmental laws and the implementation of existing commitments in regional and international agreements. This is a two-year program from 2022-2024.

Read more about the program here.

Past Programs

Criminal Law Reform and Anti-Human Trafficking

Brazil, which has the world’s 12th largest economy and vibrant economic centers in its major southern cities, also has the fourth largest disparity between rich and poor among the nations, and the largest inequality of wealth outside of Africa. Twenty-one million children in Brazil live in absolute poverty and are vulnerable to exploitation.

To break this cycle, USAID’s Prevention Oriented towards At-Risk Boys and Girls Program worked from 1994 to 2004 and sponsored a wide variety of activities to assist at-risk children and youth. Activities included caring for children with AIDS; eradicating child labor; returning children to the formal education system; providing technical training and job placement; assisting AIDS prevention; assisting victims of physical abuse and sexual exploitation; supporting street kids; and a host of other initiatives designed to address the root causes of poverty and social exclusion.

In 2004, the ABA sent a consultant to Brazil to assess USAID’s POMMAR (translation of Portuguese acronym for Prevention Oriented towards At-Risk Boys and Girls) program.  The initiative, which came to a close in September 2004, included care for children with AIDS; eradicating child labor; returning children to the formal education system; technical training and job placement; AIDS prevention; assistance to victims of physical abuse and sexual exploitation; support for street children; and a host of other initiatives designed to address the root causes of poverty and social exclusion. The consultant documented the highlights of this project to provide a record of lessons learned.