At the UN, NGOs denounce human rights violations during Operation Shield
Conectas and the Mothers of May Movement have drawn the attention of the Human Rights Council to violence and police lethality in the Baixada Santista
Conectas Human Rights and the Mothers of May Movement filed a complaint with the UN Human Rights Council on Wednesday (13) regarding human rights violations that occurred during Operation Shield in Baixada Santista (São Paulo state).
The operation was launched in response to the death of a military police officer on 28 July and resulted in at least 28 deaths in 40 days. The submission to the UN underscores the fact that the São Paulo state government has not ruled out the possibility of repeating the operation and has discredited all reports of abuse.
“We urge the Council to demand action from the Brazilian State to ensure thorough and independent investigations into all the reports of abuse and deaths caused by the police, as well as to refrain from repeating operations driven by institutional revenge rhetoric and to provide proper psychosocial support and reparation to victims and families”, the organisations request in their statement.
Legal action
A report by the National Human Rights Council identified at least 11 human rights violations, including cases of execution, failure to provide assistance, raids on homes, the absence of cameras or any identification on uniforms and the deaths of homeless people.
On Tuesday (5), the state administration announced the conclusion of Operation Shield. On the same day, the São Paulo Public Defender´s Office and Conectas filed a class-action lawsuit, requesting that the court compel the São Paulo State Government to deploy the use of body cameras by police officers who took part in the operation.
