A 39-year-old Ghanaian migrant has died while in detention at Guarulhos International Airport in São Paulo, Brazil.
This incident raises alarm about possible human rights violations in the Guarulhos International Airport about the handling of migrants.
A report by Reuters indicates that the man passed away on August 13, 2024, after receiving medical care at the airport.
The report added that the deceased was among a group of “inadmissible travellers” held in a restricted area of the airport due to a lack of proper documentation or visas to enter Brazil.
The death occurred amid alarming conditions at the airport, where hundreds of migrants from countries including India, Nepal, and Vietnam have been stranded for weeks.
These migrants are confined to a space with limited access to basic necessities such as food, water, and showers.
The Public Defender’s Office has flagged these conditions as severe violations of human rights, noting the deteriorating health of those detained.
Two days after the death, the Federal Public Defender’s Office (DPU) reportedly visited the site to make assessments and found “repeated situations of human rights violations”.
“Children and adolescents were found sleeping on the floor and there was a growing demand for health care, with many people showing flu symptoms,” the DPU said in a document delivered to Conare (National Committee for Refugees), the Federal Police, Anac (National Civil Aviation Agency), the government of São Paulo, and the City Hall of Guarulhos.
According to the agency, support for migrants is limited.
This situation has escalated as Brazil’s government plans to tighten entry rules to prevent migrants from using the country as a stopover on their way to the United States and Canada.
Currently, Brazil has announced that foreign travellers without a Brazilian visa will be required to travel directly to their final destination or return to their home country.
However, it is unclear if these new regulations would apply to the migrants already detained at the airport.