The United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Türk, he requested this Wednesday (29) that Brazil carries out a “comprehensive and effective” reform in policing methods, after the mega police operation that left more than 120 people dead in the Alemão and Penha complexes, in Rio de Janeiro. The deaths occurred during confrontations between security forces and criminals. In total, four police officers were killed in the clashes.
The operation, carried out this Tuesday (28), was classified by the Rio de Janeiro government as the most lethal in the state’s history. Türk said the UN “understands the challenges of dealing with well-organized, violent criminal groups such as the Red Command” but warned that “the long list of operations resulting in many deaths – which disproportionately affect people of African descent – raises questions about the way these operations are conducted.”
The commissioner also stated that “for decades, the high lethality associated with policing in Brazil has become normalized, especially in areas like Rio de Janeiro, where it has increased significantly.” For him, the country needs to “break the cycle of extreme brutality and ensure that security operations comply with international standards on the use of force”.
Türk defended the creation of “independent mechanisms” to “investigate the facts of the operation” and “support affected families and communities”, “ensuring access to justice and reparation”. He also asked the public authorities to adopt “a national policing strategy based on human rights”, respecting “the principles of legality, necessity, proportionality and non-discrimination”.
“Lethal force can only be used when strictly necessary to protect life or prevent serious injury in the face of an imminent threat,” he said.
A day earlier, the United Nations Office for Human Rights had already declared that it was “horrified” by the operation, in a publication on the X network.
Operation was planned for a year, says Rio government
The government of Rio de Janeiro reported that the operation carried out this Tuesday to combat organized crime in the state involved around 2,500 agents from the state security forces and other states, such as Pará. According to the Secretary of Public Security, Victor Santos, the objective was to execute 100 arrest warrants and 180 search and seizure warrants against members of the Comando Vermelho (CV).
“This high lethality that occurred was predictable, but it was not desired. All the police’s work was to comply with the warrants”, said Santos, who classified the deaths as “very small collateral damage”.
