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STORY: GENEVA / BRAZIL
TRT: 1:08
SOURCE: OHCHR
RESTRICTIONS: NONE
LANGUAGE: PORTUGUESE /NATS
DATELINE: 7 MAY 2021 GENEVA, SWITZERLAND
FILE
1.Aerial shot, Palais Wilson
7 MAY 2021 GENEVA, SWITZERLAND
2.SOUNDBITE (Portuguese) Marta Hurtado, Spokesperson for the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR):
“Estamos profundamente consternados com a morte de pelo menos 25 pessoas em uma operação policial no bairro de Jacarezinho, no Rio de Janeiro, ontem quinta feira 6 de maio.
Esta parece ter sido a operação mais mortal em mais de uma década no Rio de Janeiro, e reforça uma tendência antiga de uso desnecessário e desproporcional da força pela polícia nos bairros pobres, marginalizados e predominantemente afro-brasileiros do Brasil, conhecidos como favelas. Lembramos às autoridades brasileiras que o uso da força deve ser aplicado somente quando estritamente necessário. A força letal deve ser usada como último recurso e somente nos casos em que haja uma ameaça iminente à vida ou de ferimentos graves. Pedimos ao Ministério Público que realize uma investigação independente, completa e imparcial deste incidente, de acordo com as normas internacionais - em particular o Protocolo de Minnesota sobre a investigação de mortes potencialmente ilegais.”
[“We are deeply disturbed by the killing of at least 25 people in a police operation in the Jacarezinho neighbourhood of Rio de Janeiro yesterday, 6 May. This appears to have been the deadliest such operation in more than a decade in Rio de Janeiro, and furthers a long-standing trend of unnecessary and disproportionate use of force by police in Brazil's poor, marginalized and predominantly Afro-Brazilian neighbourhoods, known as favelas.
We remind the Brazilian authorities that the use of force should be applied only when strictly necessary. Lethal force should be used as a last resort and only in cases where there is an imminent threat to life or of serious injury.
We have received worrying reports that after the events, the police did not take steps to preserve evidence at the crime scene, which could hinder investigations into this lethal operation.
We call upon the Office of the Prosecutor to conduct an independent, thorough and impartial investigation into this incident in accordance with international standards – particularly in line with the Minnesota Protocol on the Investigation of Potentially Unlawful Death.”]
The UN Human Rights Office is “deeply disturbed” by the killing of at least 25 people in a police operation in the Jacarezinho neighbourhood of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil on Thursday and called upon the Office of the Prosecutor to conduct “an independent, thorough and impartial investigation into this incident in accordance with international standards.”
According to the OHCHR, the incident started in the early hours of Thursday when, reportedly, police officers on the ground and in a helicopter overhead opened fire into the neighbourhood – in an operation allegedly aimed at members of a criminal organization. At least 25 people, including one police officer, were reported killed during the operation. The precise number of people injured, including bystanders and people inside their houses, is still unknown.
“This appears to have been the deadliest such operation in more than a decade in Rio de Janeiro, and furthers a long-standing trend of unnecessary and disproportionate use of force by police in Brazil's poor, marginalized and predominantly Afro-Brazilian neighbourhoods, known as favelas, said Marta Hurtado, Spokesperson for the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR).
The operation took place despite a Federal Supreme Court ruling in 2020, restricting police operations in Rio's favelas during the COVID-19 pandemic, the OHCHR noted in a press statement.
“We remind the Brazilian authorities that the use of force should be applied only when strictly necessary,” Hurtado said. “Lethal force should be used as a last resort and only in cases where there is an imminent threat to life or of serious injury.”
She added that her office has also received “worrying reports that after the events, the police did not take steps to preserve evidence at the crime scene, which could hinder investigations into this lethal operation.”
The spokesperson said “we call upon the Office of the Prosecutor to conduct an independent, thorough and impartial investigation into this incident in accordance with international standards – particularly in line with the Minnesota Protocol on the Investigation of Potentially Unlawful Death.”
The Minnesota Protocol lays down that authorities must ensure the safety and security of witnesses and protect them from intimidation and retaliation.
The OHCHR also urge a broad and inclusive discussion in Brazil about the current model of policing in favelas – which are trapped in a vicious cycle of lethal violence, with a dramatically adverse impact on their already struggling and marginalized populations.
