In an unprecedented letter to the Brazilian government, several UN mechanisms have come together to demand from the authorities a response to 20 years of police brutality, particularly against the Afro-Brazilian population.
The June 20 document obtained by UOL reveals deep discomfort with the government’s response to the dozens of murder cases that, according to the UN, were never clarified.
The impeachment was signed by the UN Rapporteur on Mass Execution, the Expert Working Group on Persons of African Origin, the UN Working Group on Enforced Disappearances and the UN Working Group on Discrimination against Women.
The document also increases the pressure on President Jair Bolsonaro, who since taking office has been making mutual accusations with the UN precisely for police brutality. The party criticized the actions of the order forces in 2019, which were opposed by the Palácio do Planalto in a rare form of aggression in diplomatic circles.
Called by UOL this Sunday, Itamaraty requested more time to answer questions in the report. UN mechanisms had set a 60-day deadline for providing the information, but it was unclear whether the government complied with the request.
The letter presented 69 unsolved murder cases
The document, which is unique in the scope of the charge, shows that UN mechanisms “received information about the alleged deaths of 69 people, including during police operations and while in detention, and the alleged enforced disappearance of three by members of the police.” , 1999 to 2020″. 13 of them are underage.
But while the UN rapporteurs impeaching insist that such cases point to a “systemic” problem in the country, other letters sent in recent months warn that police violence has increased since the inception of Jair Bolsonaro’s government.
“While the reported cases demonstrate the systematic and sustained nature of the excessive and sustained use of lethal force by Brazilian security forces, they do not represent all those affected by such alleged human rights violations,” they warned.
According to the document, UN mechanisms still complain that the Bolsonaro government did not provide sufficient information in its previous requests.
“We regret that the responses by the Government do not contain detailed information about the measures taken to ensure the impartiality of such investigations, the results of such investigations and the concrete steps taken to prevent the recurrence of such human rights violations.” they said.
In the special case of the new letter, the government is required to respond to 69 people, including children allegedly killed by establishment forces. Two cases refer to 1999, while others occurred in 2003 and almost all in the following two decades. The UN still seeks clarification on eight murders in 2019 and seven in 2020.
According to the UN, 25 of the cases refer to deaths in raids or operations carried out by the police. Many others were killed on the streets or while driving by bullets from gunshots allegedly coming from police vehicles.
“Three cases refer to deaths of persons while in the custody of the security forces. This includes persons alleged to have been killed after suffering ill-treatment, and persons arrested with injuries and died in custody for alleged lack of adequate medical treatment,” the rapporteurs explain.
In these 20 years, the entity states that it seeks clarification from individuals who have killed 37 in Rio de Janeiro State, 18 in São Paulo State, 9 in Ceará State, and two in Espírito State. Santo, two in the Federal District and one in the state of Goiás.
What is worrisome is that in many of the cases the investigations “do not appear to meet international standards, as hearings have allegedly been postponed several times.”
Afro-Brazilians are the main victims
Another UN warning concerns the fact that such deaths occur disproportionately to the Afro-Brazilian population. Between 2008 and 2018, the deaths of this population in the country increased by 11%, while the murders of the rest of the country decreased by 12%. According to the organization, 78% of police victims in the country in 2020 were Afro-Brazilian.
Such data “show persistent patterns of racial inequality linked to deadly police action,” according to the letter. In 2020, Brazil recorded the highest number of deaths in police interventions since 2013, with 6,400 victims, according to the document. Average 17.6 deaths per day.
While the list of cases ends in 2020, the letter continues to mention violence in other communities in 2021 and 2022, as in the case of Jacarezinho or Vila Cruzeiro. A case involving agents of the Federal Highway Police in the municipality of Umbaúba on May 25, 2022 still “shows that unlawful killings by members of the Brazilian police force continue”.
The document stated that UN mechanisms “are gravely concerned that they appear to target women and minors, and that witnesses are threatened for failing to cooperate with investigative authorities.”
For existence, the Brazilian state would be violating the right to life and security as well as violating international agreements of which it is a part.
“The disproportionate impact of such murder allegations on Afro-Brazilians would also directly contradict Articles 2 and 5 of the International Convention on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination, which Brazil ratified on March 27, 1968,” he stresses.
In the face of violence, the document asks the government “to provide information on the extent to which any investigation and investigation into the 69 murders complies with international standards, including the United Nations Principles on the Effective Prevention and Investigation of Criminals.” -Revised United Nations Handbook for the Effective Investigation of Lawful Executions, Arbitrary and Summarized Executions (1989), and Extrajudicial, Arbitrary, and Short-Term Executions (Minnesota Protocol on the Investigation of Potentially Unlawful Murders (2016)”.
The UN also seeks “details on all available data on remedies, including compensation to victims, and the results of investigations into 69 murders, including administrative and/or criminal sanctions against the perpetrators.”
source: Noticias
