SÃO PAULO, Brazil — Until recently, I thought that being a writer was the most pitiful profession ever, especially in Brazil. Nobody reads our books, and we can easily spend an entire life just railing against the same things again and again. In general, we Brazilian writers have no impact at all. A bunch of local capybaras that are also believed to tell fortunes garner more respect than we do.

But then I found another job that is even more heartbreaking: the United Nations special rapporteur. The rapporteurs are independent experts working unpaid on behalf of the United Nations to monitor countries, governments and policies. They are usually appointed with three-year mandates. And they are completely ignored.

My brave, dear friends: I understand your pain. Every time I do research into a serious local matter related to, say, education, the environment, police brutality, racism or women’s rights, I find a stern, accurate, fact-filled statement from a special rapporteur condemning the situation. Again and again.

Almost two years ago, for example, Juan E. Méndez, an Argentine human rights lawyer who had been appointed special rapporteur on torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment, urged Brazilian authorities to immediately address prison overcrowding, as well as implement measures against torture. After visiting many of Brazil’s prisons and jails, Mr. Méndez collected credible testimonies on torture and ill-treatment by the police. He recommended that Brazilian authorities urgently provide custody hearings for all detainees within 48 hours of arrest and redesign those hearings to encourage victims to speak up and to allow for effective documentation of torture or ill-treatment.