transgender woman who successfully challenged the government’s refusal to change her gender from male to female in her identity document as unconstitutional. Tshepo Ricki Kgositau had unsuccessfully applied to the Civil and National Registration Office in Gaborone to change her gender identity. The Office advised her to seek a court order after denying her application. INTERNATIONAL JUSTICE On 17 July, Parliament passed a bill which incorporated the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court into domestic law, including the offences of genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes. This followed Botswana’s ratification of the Rome Statute in 2000. DEATH PENALTY Tshiamo Kgalalelo and Mmika Mpe were sentenced to death on 13 December; they were convicted of murder and other charges, including theft and abduction, in the Lobatse High Court in May. BRAZIL Federative Republic of Brazil Head of state and government: Michel Temer A number of proposals which threatened human rights and represented huge setbacks to existing law and policy made their way through the legislative process. Violence and killings increased, mostly affecting young black males. Conflicts over land and natural resources resulted in dozens of killings. Human rights defenders were not effectively protected. Police responded to most protests with unnecessary and excessive force. LEGAL, CONSTITUTIONAL OR INSTITUTIONAL DEVELOPMENTS Up to 200 different proposals for constitutional amendments, new laws and changes to existing legislation threatened a range of human rights. Among other 98 retrogressive measures, proposals were introduced to reduce the age at which children can be tried as adults to below 18; change or revoke the Disarmament Bill, facilitating licensing and purchasing of firearms; restrict the right to peaceful assembly and to criminalize social protests; impose a full ban on abortion, violating the sexual and reproductive rights of women and girls; change the land demarcation process and requirements for free, prior and informed consent of Indigenous Peoples and Afrodescendant communities; and reduce the protection of labour rights and access to social security. Law 13.491/2017, signed by President Temer on 13 October, provided that human rights violations, including murder or attempted murder, committed by military personnel against civilians would be tried by military courts.1 The Law violated the right to a fair trial, as military courts in Brazil did not guarantee judicial independence. Despite these setbacks, in May a new migration law (Law 13.445/2017) came into effect, representing improvements to migrants’ rights. INTERNATIONAL SCRUTINY Brazil’s human rights record was examined for the third time under the UN UPR process.2 Brazil received 246 recommendations, including on Indigenous Peoples’ rights to land; killings by the police; torture and degrading conditions in prisons; and protection of human rights defenders. Brazil accepted all but four recommendations; however, there remained concerns about their implementation in the context of the retrogressive laws and policies adopted during the year. In May the Inter-American Court of Human Rights issued a ruling against Brazil for its failure to grant justice for the killing by police of 26 people in Favela Nova Brasília, in Complexo do Alemão, city of Rio de Janeiro, in October 1994 and May 1995. Amnesty International Report 2017/18