Viewing cable 09RIODEJANEIRO440, DOES RIO'S FAVELA PACIFICATION PROGRAM RESPECT HUMAN RIGHTS?
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VZCZCXRO3952
OO RUEHRG
DE RUEHRI #0440/01 3451723
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
O 111722Z DEC 09
FM AMCONSUL RIO DE JANEIRO
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 0063
INFO RUEHBR/AMEMBASSY BRASILIA IMMEDIATE
RUEHRG/AMCONSUL RECIFE IMMEDIATE 0026
RUEHSO/AMCONSUL SAO PAULO IMMEDIATE
RHEHAAA/NATIONAL SECURITY COUNCIL WASHINGTON DC
RUEAIIA/CIA WASHINGTON DC
RUEHRI/AMCONSUL RIO DE JANEIRO
UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 RIO DE JANEIRO 000440
SENSITIVE
SIPDIS
E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PHUM PGOV ASEC BR
SUBJECT: DOES RIO'S FAVELA PACIFICATION PROGRAM RESPECT
HUMAN RIGHTS?
REF: RIO DE JANEIRO 329; RIO DE JANEIRO 404; RIO DE JANEIRO
353 RIO DE JANEIRO 311
SUMMARY
¶1. (SBU) Human rights and favela community representatives
generally support Rio de Janeiro's Favela Pacification
Program and report no killings related to the 450
Pacification Police Unit (UPP) officers that patrol the
four favela shanty towns now under "pacification."
While acknowledging there have been no reports of
UPP human rights violations since the program began
a year ago, some human rights groups and favela
representatives harbor suspicions over the true aims
of the Pacification Program. Although the UPP's human
rights record is thus far positive, the number of
allegations of human rights abuses by the Rio state
Military Police, especially extrajudicial killings,
is alarming, with Human Rights Watch leadership releasing
a report in Rio de Janeiro on December 9 that highlighted
alleged human rights abuses here and in Sao Paulo.
According to human rights experts, the 2016 Olympic
Games offer both an opportunity and challenge to
improve the Rio police's human rights record, especially
considering the high incidents of police killings that
led up to the 2007 Pan American Games in Rio. End Comment.
POSITIVE HUMAN RIGHTS RECORD IN PACIFIED FAVELAS
¶2. (SBU) Human rights and favela community representatives
generally support Rio de Janeiro's Favela Pacification
Program (reftel A) and report no killings related to
the 450 Pacification Police Unit (UPP) officers that
patrol the four favela shantytowns now under "pacification."
Rafael Dias of Global Justice, one of the most prestigious
human rights groups in Rio de Janeiro, told us on December 1
that the record of the UPP on human rights was thus far
positive, explaining there have been no reported killings
by the UPP officers since Rio de Janeiro state and
municipal authorities launched the program one year ago.
(Note: Authorities have to date "pacified" four favelas,
i.e. eliminated drug-trafficking elements, established
a sustained UPP presence, and started provisions of
basic services. Anti-narco trafficking operations are
still underway in a fifth favela (reftel B), which
will receive UPP officers to conduct community policing
as soon as the security situation fully stabilizes. End note).
Franciso Marcelo from the Observatory of Rio de Janeiro
Favelas told us on November 30 that crime indicators -
especially homicides - are much lower in pacified
communities and the provision of basic services, such
as electricity and trash collecting, is steadily improving.
Itamar Silva, Director of the Observatory of Rio de Janeiro
Favelas also offered conditional praise of the UPP, citing
the experience of the pacified favela Santa Marta, where
local residents support the UPP presence due to a vastly
improved security climate (reftel C)
. ...BUT IN STARK CONTRAST TO OVERALL POLICE RECORD
¶3. (SBU) Although the UPP's record to date on respecting
human rights is positive, the number of allegations
of human rights abuses by the Rio state Military Police,
especially extrajudicial killings, is not. On December 8,
Human Rights Watch (HWR) published a report entitled "Brazil:
Lethal Force," which focuses on police violence in Rio
de Janeiro and Sao Paolo. HWR's Director for the Americas
Jose Miguel Vivanco and Associate Director Daniel Wilkenson,
who announced the release of the report in Rio de Janeiro,
expressed specific concern over alleged resisting-arrest
killings. During a meeting with a Harvard University
alumni group - attended by Poloff and PAO - on the day
of the release, Vivanco and Wilkenson said the 1,137
police killings documented as resisting arrest in Rio
state in 2008 constituted a "dramatic" figure. They
claimed forensic evidence and case studies compiled over
the past four years led them to conclude many such
incidents were extrajudicial killings. While condemning
such acts, Vivanco and Wilkenson conceded Military
Police faced a "huge challenge" of critical violence
in Rio de Janeiro and Sao Paulo, and praised the RIO
DE JAN 00000440 002 OF 003 receptiveness of Rio's
Governor Sergio Cabral to the report's findings and
proposals. The following day, however, Rio's State
Security for Public Security Jose Mariano Beltrame
publically called the report biased, and defended the
UPP law enforcement model as the best way to reduce
the number of killings documented as resisting arrest.
(Note: The HRW report referred to the Favela Pacification
Program as a positive initiative, but did not independently
evaluate the program. End Note). Cabral also later came out
in the press criticizing the report as highlighting only
the negative aspects of police conduct, and not recognizing
"good police."
¶4. (SBU) Local human rights groups also strongly criticize
the levels of force exercised by conventional police forces,
as well as wide-spread corruption. According to Global
Justice's Dias, military police do not make a distinction
between criminals and ordinary favela residents, part of
the cause for the large number of police-related killings.
Furthermore, he stated corrupt police fueled violence in
the favelas, recalling incidents where police even rented
out arms, ammunition, and vehicles to rival drug factions
engaged in de facto wars for control of favela territory
and narcotics markets. Monica Francisco of Group Arteiras,
a favela women's rights group, complained of a history of
rampant police corruption in the communities, which
fomented a high level of mistrust of the police. Rosino
deCastro Diniz, President of the Federation of Rio de Janeiro
Favela Associations said the risk of UPP corruption was his
greatest concern about the Pacification Program. In fact,
according to Itimar Silva, Director of the Brazilian
Institute for Social Analysis (IBASE), police corruption
is what ultimately led to the demise of an initiative
similar to the Favela Pacification Program in 1986. "The
police tried this before," he said, "until they themselves
got involved with drug trafficking."
THE OLYMPICS AND HUMAN RIGHTS
¶5. (SBU) According to human rights experts, the 2016
Olympic Games offer both an opportunity and possible
challenge to improve Rio's human rights climate. HWR's
Vivanco said the Olympics were "the best news for human
rights in Rio," as the designation of host city would put
the spotlight on the problem and offer authorities an
opportunity to capitalize on increased attention and
resources. HWR's Wilkenson cautioned, however, that the
Olympics could worsen the situation in Rio, recounting
the experience in Beijing, when government respect for
human rights worsened prior to and during the Games. He
offered further caution by recalling Rio's hosting of
the 2007 Pan American Games, when police killed some
20 persons in the massive favela Complexo de Alemao in
one day alone. Global Justice's Dias also expressed concern
that a large police crackdown due to the Olympics would
result in more extrajudicial killings. With the Pan American
Games experience in mind, Global Justice has already
started discussing this issue with large, international
human rights groups, such as Human Rights Watch and the
International Federation for Human Rights, to create a
global network of groups with a specific focus on the Olympics.
GROUPS QUESTION MOTIVES OF PACIFICATION
¶6. (SBU) While acknowledging there were no reports of
UPP human rights violations thus far, human rights
activists and NGO leaders express suspicion over the
government's true aims in pushing the Pacification
Program. Francisco Marcelo from the Observatory of Rio
de Janeiro Favelas questioned the construction of
walls around various favela communities. Although the
Rio Municipal Government states these walls are necessary
to protect surrounding rainforest from further encroachment,
as in the case of pacified favela Dona Marta, or as highway
noise shields for favela residents, as in the case of
Complexo de Mare, Fernando said these explanations were not
credible and masked authorities' attempts to further segregate
favelas from mainstream communities (reftel D). Group Arteiras'
Monica Francisco also suspected the implementation of UPP
officers in favelas constituted nothing more than a
short-term "emergency response" to the demands by Rio's
residents to address the favela issue. Global Justice's
Dias also questioned the presence of short-circuit
video cameras in the pacified favela Dona Marta, stating
locals viewed the cameras as an "intrusion." (Comment:
While hosting a tour of a pacified favela for Principal
Officer and other consulate officers, State Security
Secretary Beltrame explained these cameras were a crucial
component in the UPP's security scheme for the favela.
End Comment). Francisco echoed this sentiment, explaining
that while supporting the pacification of the favela where
he lived, he would oppose any installation of cameras in as
an intrusion of privacy and unreasonable means of "control."
He also hoped that UPP officers would not resort to the same
sort of corruption and violence he had witnessed in other
conventional forces during prior operations in his favela.
COMMENT
¶7. (SBU) Considering the legacy of heavy-handed violence
by the military police and the mistrust between them and
Rio's poorest and most violent favela communities, it is
noteworthy that UPP officers have had as much success
sustaining their operations, without major incidents,
over a year's time. The absence of allegations of human
rights abuses or police corruption in these four pacified
favelas from organized groups is equally significant.
Security officials have adopted special standards for
UPP officers, such as accepting only new recruits so as
to avoid the risk of prior corruption and instituting
mandatory human rights training, which have undoubtedly
been factors in the UPP's good human rights record so
far. In addition, narco-trafficking groups have yet to
openly resist the UPP forces, either with directed
violence or general propaganda. Should they do so,
this could test the UPP's heretofore solid human
rights record. End Comment. HEARNE
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