FORCED REMOVAL IN CRACOLÂNDIA TARGET OF COMPLAINT IN IACHR

Organizations call for immediate suspension of eviction orders against nearly 400 families in the region of Luz, in São Paulo, scheduled for March 10

The São Paulo State Public Defender’s Office and Conectas Human Rights on Thursday, March 4, denounced the forced removal of residents from the downtown region of São Paulo known as Cracolândia (Crackland). The petition was submitted to the IACHR (Inter-American Commission on Human Rights) and requests urgent precautionary measures, namely the suspension of eviction orders against approximately 375 families that live in the region of Luz.

The document describes the historic interventions by the State, through the disproportionate use of force, for the purpose of removing the socially vulnerable population who occupy the region. It also pointed out that the government actions in the region continued unabated during the Covid-19 pandemic.

“It is at best contradictory that, at a time when the recommendations of the world and state health authorities determine that people should stay at home, the government acts to put people on the street who already live in precarious conditions and who have little or no ability to make changes to their lives in such critical times,” reads the complaint.

OAS

Brazil is a signatory to the American Convention on Human Rights, an international treaty signed between member countries of the OAS (Organization of American States). As a result, the country committed to observing the rights and freedoms recognized in the treaty.

Read the petition in full here.