This report examines in detail some of the serious failings of the public security and criminal justice system, which often result in abuses, and the arbitrary and unfair application of the law. Amnesty International makes recommendations to the government in five key areas: international human rights standards; public security and the criminal justice system; accountability; human rights defenders and the rights of victims. It is vital that federal and state authorities take necessary steps to ensure that state law and practice are consistent with international human rights standards and that longstanding impunity for human rights abuses ends.