Agency: Brazil has 150,000 Unsolved Murders

SAO PAULO -- A Brazilian government agency monitoring the work of prosecutors says more than 150,000 homicide cases remain unresolved in the country's judicial system.

The National Council of the Public Ministry says those are the cases it knows about up to the end of 2007.

A spokeswoman for the council said Tuesday the goal is to resolve the pending cases by the end of this year.

Lack of funding for police, an overburdened justice system and the absence of integrated systems of information for law enforcement officials all hinder investigations.

According to Justice Ministry statistics, Brazil registers around 50,000 homicides a year.

The FBI recorded 13,636 homicides in the United States in 2009.