Als Reaktion auf die Ermordung von sechs jungen Menschen bei Polizeieinsätzen in Rio de Janeiro in dieser Woche sagte Jurema Werneck, Geschäftsführerin von Amnesty International Brasilien:
There is nothing but mourning and indignation in Rio de Janeiro right now. In less than a week, we saw the lives of six young people stolen from them. All of those killed as a result of police operations were black and lived in marginalized areas. The state should have protected the lives of these citizens but instead we see six shattered dreams, six devastated communities and six violated families.
Brazil’s police have repeatedly led operations that victimize people with the same profiles as Gabriel, Lucas, Tiago, Dyogo, Henrico and Margareth for decades in cities such as Rio de Janeiro. So we must ask: what effective or transformative results have they brought to improve public safety?
We all want security, and we all have this right. But it will not be achieved through policies that promote more death and violence. It is clear that the state does not protect life when it apologizes for deaths but continues to promote the policies that cause them. The state has the obligation to promote and preserve the lives of everyone. An effective and fair public security policy needs to be integrated, intelligent, well planned and focused on preserving life.