Brasília, October 9, 2003 (Agência Brasil - ABr) - Impunity for police officers who act as members of death squads is one of the similarities discovered by the United Nations (UN) special reporter on Summary, Arbitrary,and Non-Judicial Executions, Asma Jahangir, in her visits to six Brazilian states: Bahia, Pernambuco, Pará, São Paulo, Espírito Santo, and Rio de Janeiro. The reporter was also in the Federal District, where her trip, made at the request of the Brazilian government, began and ended. The UN reporter herself chose the states she visited.
For over three weeks, Jahangir, of Pakistani origin, heard testimony on human rights violations in Brazil and met with state and federal officials, to a gather material for a report that will be presented to the UN Human Rights Commission and sent to the Brazilian government. The reporter affirmed that, with few exceptions, the majority of government officials and civil society leaders she interviewed acknowledged the practice of non-judicial executions that go unpunished in the country. According to her, official and unofficial sources revealed that most of these crimes are committed by police officers, who, in addition to carrying out the executions, threaten witnesses and humiliate relatives of the victims. "Police officers think they should be at the forefront of a tough, but easy, form of justice, eliminating those whom they and their colleagues consider undesirable," she criticized.
The motives, according to the reporter, are not always clear, but they usually follow certain patterns. In Pará, for example, the targets of non-judicial executions are frequently connected with agrarian struggles. Jahangir also observed that the orientation of police officers who patrol the streets to repress crime should be public, rather than military, to serve the population. She avoided comparing the situation in Brazil with that of other countries, because "each country has its own history." But she underscored that "the democratic process Brazil is undergoing makes it possible for society to be mobilized on behalf of human rights."
The UN representative said she was very disappointed and concerned about the situation of inmates at two juvenile detention facilities run by the Febem (State Juvenile Welfare Foundation) of São Paulo. In confidential sessions, she heard approximately 200 youngsters, who were afraid of suffering reprisals for participating in the interviews. According to the reporter, 75% of them were witnesses to assassinations committed by policemen. "They were unable to raise their voices to denounce these injustices. They were terrified, because they thought there would be reprisals after I left. According to them, violence was part of the daily routine," said Jahangir, who said that she expressed her concern about guaranteeing the inmates' physical well-being to the authorities in charge.
In a collective interview granted on Wednesday (8), in Brasília, Jahangir drew up a balance sheet of her mission in Brazil and affirmed that she is hopeful about change, despite the troublesome situation. According to her, this impression was fortified after a meeting that lasted almost two hours with President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, yesterday morning. In the reporter's opinion, Lula has a self-sustainable plan for this area. The plan will be carried out in stages and should generate fruits for future generations. "There are strong signs of changes to come. The government desires, indeed, to change this culture of impunity, to undertake preventive measures so that there are no more non-judicial executions," she concluded.
The UN representative said that she was even more impressed by President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva than she expected, because he refused to content himself with a general outline of the situation. "He wanted details. And he replied with details, as well," Jahangir said. According to her, Lula underscored the importance of Federal Police protection for defenders of human rights, in the locality where the person is the target of threats.
Jahangir assured that in her report there will be space not just for human rights violations, but also for efforts that are being made to overcome these problems. Vaious recommendations should be made to the Brazilian government, among them the need to strengthen extant institutions, such as the offices of police auditor and magistrate, and suggestions for changes in criminal law, such as the law that proscribes homicides after 20 years. Jahangir also called for the federalization of human rights crimes, when there is impunity in the states. Another recommendation is for better preparation and training of police officers.
Jahangir told the President that she intends to include in her report the need for the United Nations to send a special reporter on the Judiciary to Brazil, to contribute to the debates over the reform proposal that is under consideration in the National Congess. "This reporter would examine issues concerning the Judiciary, a task similar to what I did with respect to human rights," she explained.
Minister Nilmário Miranda, of the Special Secretariat for Human Rights, also attended the interview and expressed support for many of Jahangir's recommendations. "There is torture in Brazil, and this cannot be hidden. The best way to deal with this is to recognize that it exists," Miranda observed. He recalled that the government has worked intensively to combat human rights violations, and he said that, in the specific instance of federalizating these crimes, the approval of a constitutional amendment by the National Congress is needed.
Miranda also informed that the next UN reporter scheduled to visit Brazil, Juan Manuel Petit, will be in charge of the area of child prostitution. Petit will arrive in Brazil at the beginning of November. (DAS)
