Every year, more than 25,000 workers are enslaved by landowners in rural Brazil, mostly in the Amazon region.

Despite the fact that Brazil pledged to eradicate slave labor by the end of 2006, there is still a long way to go. Current inspections barely cover half the complaints received from runaway slaves, and although 4,000 workers are released each year, no landowner has ever been imprisoned for the crime of slavery. The few criminal charges ever pressed remain at a standstill because of a debate over whether they should be tried in state or federal courts. Rampant impunity combined with a lack of economic opportunities continues to force tens of thousands of men to enter the cycle of slavery each year.

ACT NOW and tell President Lula that slave labor must end once and for all by signing the linked petition below.