violations must be serious, persistent and affect the victim’s free will. The opinion of Justice Rosa Weber in Special Remedy 459510/MT reflects this perspective: “Obviously, not every violation of labor rights constitutes slave labor. However, if the violation of the rights guaranteed by the labor laws in force is intense and persistent, if it reaches unacceptable levels and if workers are subjected to forced labor, extenuating working days or degrading conditions, it is possible, under these circumstances, to characterize the situation under the offense defined in art. 149 of the Penal Code, because the workers have been subjected to treatment analogous to that of a slave, with the deprivation of their liberty and, above all, their dignity, even in the absence of direct restriction of the freedom to come and go.”448 314. Based on the above, the Court does not find that the State’s argument regarding a broader protection provided by article 149 of the Brazilian Penal Code can exempt it from responsibility in this case. B.9. State responsibility in this case 315. Having characterized the situation of the workers present in Hacienda Brasil Verde as a manifestation of slavery, the Court will now examine whether the State was responsible for these facts based on the American Convention. 316. As on other occasions, the Court reiterates that it is not sufficient that States refrain from violating rights; it is also essential that they adopt positive measures determined on the basis of the specific needs for protection of the subject of law, due to his personal situation or to the specific situation in which he finds himself. 449 317. In addition, the prohibition of subjection to slavery plays an essential role in the American Convention, because slavery represents one of the most fundamental violations of an individual’s dignity and, at the same time, of various rights recognized in the Convention (supra para. 306). States have the obligation to ensure the creation of the conditions required to guarantee that violations of this inalienable right do not occur and, in particular, the duty to prevent its agents as well as private individuals from violating it. Compliance with Article 6, in relation to Article 1(1) of the American Convention, not only supposes that no one may be subjected to slavery, servitude, trafficking or forced labor, but also requires States to adopt all appropriate measures to end such practices and prevent violations of the right not to be subjected to such conditions pursuant to the obligation to ensure the free and full exercise of their rights to every person subject to their jurisdiction. 450 318. Moreover, owing to the elevated number of victims of slavery, trafficking and servitude that the Brazilian authorities continue to free, and the change in the perception of these phenomena and their occurrence “in the last links of the supply chains of a globalized Original: “Por óbvio, nem toda violação dos direitos trabalhistas configura trabalho escravo. Contudo, se a afronta aos direitos assegurados pela legislação regente do trabalho é intensa and persistente, se atinge níveis gritantes and se os trabalhadores são submetidos a trabalhos forçados, jornadas exaustivas ou a condições degradantes, é possível, em tese, o enquadramento no crime do art. 149 do Penal Code, pois conferido aos trabalhadores tratamento análogo ao de escravos, com a privação de sua liberdade and sobretudo de sua dignidade, mesmo na ausência de coação direta contra a liberdade de ir and vir.” 448 Case of the Pueblo Bello Massacre v. Colombia. Merits, reparations and costs. Judgment of January 31, 2006. Series C No. 140, para. 111, and Case of Wong Ho Wing v. Peru. Preliminary objection, merits, reparations and costs. Judgment of June 30, 2015. Series C No. 297, para. 128. 449 Cf. Case of the Pueblo Bello Massacre, para. 120, and Case of Rodríguez Vera et al. (Disappeared from the Palace of Justice), para. 518. 450 81