Covid-19 and Brazil: analysis of the impact of the pandemic on the Brazilian prison system from a Human Rights perspective.

In March 2020, the World Health Organization declared COVID-19 as a new global pandemic. Even with social distancing and sanitary measures, the virus spread rapidly across the globe. In places like prisons and other detention areas, where it is not possible to have social distancing because of their structural organisation, the level of spread and contamination is even higher. Beyond all the chaos and deaths caused by this pandemic, it was also responsible for highlighting and reinforcing inequalities and other divisions present in our societies. Brazil has the second-highest number of COVID-19 deaths and contaminations. Due to previous inequalities and systematic violations of prisoners' rights in Brazil, inmates face even more challenges accessing vaccinations and health treatment. This research aims to analyse the impact of the pandemic on the Brazilian prison system from a human rights perspective. It can be classified as qualitative and quantitative, combining literature and data. We will analyse reports and data regarding the number of deaths and contamination by COVID-19 inside the Brazilian prison system and about mass incarceration. First, we will briefly examine prison models, their origins, characteristics, and famous models. In the second moment, we will analyse the international and local legislation on prisoners’ rights, from international treaties and recommendations like “Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners” and the “Nelson Mandela Rules”, to the review of national legislation like the Federal Constitution and Penal Execution Law. In a third moment, we will address the prison system situation in Brazil before the pandemic. Then, we will analyse the impact of the pandemic on the Brazilian prison system. Nevertheless, first, we will contextualise the pandemic in the world and Brazil; after that, we will make a general overview of the situation in prison systems and then lean over the condition of the Brazilian prison. The questions that involve our studies are: if the pandemic somehow affected the previous status and dynamic in the Brazilian prisons if the governments adopted measures to stop the spread of the virus inside the prison system, what were the results found, and so on. Finally, we will write some notes about how the pandemic worsens the “Unconstitutional Status of Affair” of the Brazilian Prison System. Keywords: COVID-19; Brazilian Prison System; Prisons; Prisoners; Human Rights; Violations.