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Is Rio de Janeiro preparing for war? Combating organized crime versus non-international armed conflict
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 02 June 2023
Abstract
The idea that Rio de Janeiro has been plunged into an actual “war” against organized crime is widely discussed and is supported by an ever-increasing number of people in Brazil. Not surprisingly, such discourse has led to less protection for the civilian population, particularly in the so-called favelas, while allowing security forces to carry out operations with even greater relative impunity. This article argues that although urban violence in Rio de Janeiro is indeed a serious problem, it does not reach the threshold required to be considered a non-international armed conflict.
- Type
- Research Article
- Information
- International Review of the Red Cross , Volume 105 , Issue 923: Organized Crime , August 2023 , pp. 795 - 827
- Copyright
- Copyright © The Author(s), 2023. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of the ICRC
Footnotes
The advice, opinions and statements contained in this article are those of the author/s and do not necessarily reflect the views of the ICRC. The ICRC does not necessarily represent or endorse the accuracy or reliability of any advice, opinion, statement or other information provided in this article.
References
1 Constitution of the Federative Republic of Brazil, 5 October 1988 (Brazilian Constitution), Art. 142; Complementary Law 97/1999, modified by Complementary Law 117/2004 and Complementary Law 136/2010, available at: www.planalto.gov.br/ccivil_03/leis/lcp/lcp97.htm (all internet references were accessed in April 2023).
2 See Unidades de Conservação no Brasil, “Parque Estadual da Pedra Branca”, available at: https://uc.socioambiental.org/pt-br/arp/1288; Unidades de Conservação no Brasil, “Parque Nacional da Tijuca”, available at: https://uc.socioambiental.org/pt-br/arp/996.
3 See Casa Fluminense, “Inequality Map”, 2020, available at: http://casafluminense.org.br/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/mapa-da-desigualdade-2020-final_compressed.pdf.
4 2021 data from the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics (Instituto Brasileiro de Geografia e Estatística, IBGE), available at: www.ibge.gov.br/cidades-e-estados/rj/rio-de-janeiro.html.
5 2019 data from the Data.rio website of the Pereira Passos Municipal Institute of Urbanism, available at: www.data.rio/pages/rio-em-sntese-2.
6 More information on Afro-Brazilians can be found on the Minority Rights Group International website, available at: https://minorityrights.org/minorities/afro-brazilians/.
7 See above note 3. See also Will Carless, “A Brazilian Student Mapped Out Rio's Racial Segregation. What He Found Was Startling”, The World, 5 November 2015, available at: https://theworld.org/stories/2015-11-02/brazilian-student-mapped-out-rios-racial-segregation-what-he-found-was-startling.
8 Definition given by the IBGE.
9 In Rio de Janeiro, the word “community” has been used to talk about these spaces in order to include their aspect of conviviality and reduce the immediate association between favelas and violence.
10 See IBGE, “Favelas resistem e propõem desafios para urbanização”, 20 February 2018, available at: https://agenciadenoticias.ibge.gov.br/agencia-noticias/2012-agencia-de-noticias/noticias/20080-favelas-resistem-e-propoem-desafios-para-urbanizacao.
11 See above note 5.
12 See above note 5.
13 See above note 5.
14 See above note 5.
15 See State of Santa Carina Military Police, Ostensive Police Techniques Manual, 2011, available at: www.scribd.com/document/354007014/Manual-de-Policiamento-Ostensivo.
16 According to a report by the Office of the Prosecutor of the State of Rio de Janeiro, the pattern of police action prioritizes the fight against drug trafficking and the fight in the favelas, instead of preventive actions such as patrolling criminal spots and ostensive policing. See Centro de Pesquisas do Ministério Público do Estado do Rio de Janeiro, Letalidade policial no Rio de Janeiro em 10 pontos, 26 September 2019, available at: www.mprj.mp.br/documents/20184/540394/letalidade_policial_no_rio_de_janeiro_em_10_pontos_1.pdf.
17 See below note 20; Grupo de Estudos dos Novos Ilegalismos (GENI), Police Killings, Fluminense Federal University, May 2022, available at: https://geni.uff.br/wp-content/uploads/sites/357/2022/05/2022_Relatorio_Chacinas-Policiais_Geni_ALT2.pdf.
18 See below note 20. See also Rafael Soares, “Favelas têm taxa de homicídios por tiros três vezes maior do que as demais áreas do Rio”, Extra, 21 August 2017, available at: https://extra.globo.com/casos-de-policia/favelas-tem-taxa-de-homicidios-por-tiros-tres-vezes-maior-do-que-as-demais-areas-do-rio-21728048.html.
19 See International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), “Programa Acesso Mais Seguro”, 7 July 2016, available at: www.icrc.org/pt/document/o-programa-acesso-mais-seguro.
20 See Luke Dowdney, Children of Traffic, Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, 2003, available at: http://necvu.com.b r/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/DOWDNEY_Criancas-do-Trafico-2003.pdf; Favelas Observatory, Rotas de fuga, 2009, available at: https://of.org.br / wp-content/uploads/2016/03/RotasdeFuga_Pesquisa.pdf; Observatório Legislativo da Intervenção Federal na Segurança Pública do Estado do Rio de Janeiro (OLERJ), “Grupos criminosos armados no estado do Rio de Janeiro”, available at: http://olerj.camara.leg.br/retratos-da-intervencao/grupos-criminosos-armados-no-estado-do-rio-de-janeiro; Luiza Franco, “Maioria dos jovens do RJ entra no tráfico para ajudar a família”, Globo.com, 31 July 2018, available at: https://epocanegocios.globo.com/Brasil/noticia/2018/07/jovens-do-rj-entram-no-trafico-para-ajudar-familia-e-ganhar-muito-dinheiro.html.
21 See Fluminense Federal University, The Expansion of Militias in Rio de Janeiro: Use of State Force, Housing Market and Armed Groups, May 2021, available at: https://geni.uff.br/wp-content/uploads/sites/357/2021/04/boll_expansao_milicias_RJ_v1.pdf. See also do Nascimento, Andréa Ana, “A corrupção policial e seus aspectos morais no contexto do Rio de Janeiro”, Brazilian Journal of Public Security, Vol. 5, No. 9, 2011Google Scholar, available at: www.forumseguranca.org.br/storage/revista_09.pdf; Henrique Coelho and Márcia Brasil, “PMs investigados pelo MP criaram no WhatsApp o grupo ‘Os Mercenários’, com imagem do filme”, Globo.com, 26 May 2022, available at: https://g1.globo.com/rj/rio-de-janeiro/noticia/2022/05/26/pms-investigados-pelo-mp-criaram-no-whatsapp-o-grupo-os-mercenarios-com-imagem-do-filme.ghtml (collective interview with the Special Task Force in Combating Organized Crime of the Office of Public Ministry of the State of Rio de Janeiro).
22 Brazilian Constitution, above note 1, Art. 144.
23 Ibid., Art. 142.
24 Complementary Law 97/1999, above note 1.
25 Ibid., Art. 15, para. 1.
26 Ibid., Art. 15, para. 3.
27 The defence minister of Brazil stated in 2008 that the military had the expertise to deal with urban problems considering the Army's operations in Haiti, where civilians mingle with criminal gangs, and that he intended to create a statute for the Armed Forces to act in favelas. “Jobim quer criar estatuto para que as Forças Armadas atuem em favelas”, Extra, 14 December 2010, available at: https:// e xtra.globo.com/noticias/brasil/jobim-quer-criar-estatuto-para-que-as-forcas-armadas-atuem-em-favelas-526306.html. See also Natali Hoff and Ramon Blanco, From Haiti to Rio de Janeiro and Vice Versa: Pacification as Peacebuilding in a Brazilian Way, paper presented at the 44th Meeting of the National Association of Graduate Studies and Research in Social Sciences, 2020, available at: https://rbed.abedef.org/rbed/article/view/75254; Najla Nassif Palma, “Peacekeeping (in Haiti) and Justice (in Brazil): A Reflection on the Impact of MINUSTAH on the Brazilian Military Legal System”, in Instituto Igarape, Brasil e Haiti: Reflexões sobre os 10 anos da missão de paz e o futuro da cooperação após 2016, January 2015, available at: https://igarape.org.br/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/Artigo-estrategico-13-Minustah-final3-1.pdf.
28 In 2017, the Brazilian chancellor referred to the Brazilian participation in Haiti as a success story ( “Missão da ONU no Haiti foi ‘sucesso’, afirma Aloysio Nunes”, Estado de Minas, 2 June 2017, available at: www.em.com.br/app/noticia/internacional/2017/06/02/interna_internacional,873845/missao-da-onu-no-haiti-foi-sucesso-afirma-aloysio-nunes.shtml); the Brazilian Army organized an international symposium called “Brazil in Haiti: A Success Story 2004–2017” (Luiz Padilha, “Simpósio Internacional ‘Brasil no Haiti, um caso de sucesso’”, Defesa Aerea & Naval, 9 October 2017, available at: www.defe s aaereanaval.com.br/aviacao/simposio-internacional-brasil-no-haiti-um-caso-de-sucesso); and the Army and the think tank Instituto Igarape organized the publication Brazil's Participation in MINUSTAH (2004–2017), issued in November 2017 (available at: https://igarape.org.br/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/Brazils-Participation-in-MINUSTAH-2004-2017.pdf).
29 See Eduardo Italo Pesce and Iberê Mariano da Silva, “Armed Forces and Law Enforcement Actions”, Monitor Mercantil, 28 July 2008, available at: https://monitormercantil.com.br/foruas-armadas-e-garantia-da-lei-e-da-ordem/.
30 See above note 28.
31 Complementary Law 97/1999, above note 1, Art. 15, para. 3.
32 Law enforcement actions were provided in Rio de Janeiro by troops in Complexo do Alemão from 2010 to 2012, in Complexo da Maré from 2014 to 2015, and with no defined area from July 2017 to December 2018. On the agreement between the Federal Executive Power and the state of Rio de Janeiro, see also “Cabral e Jobim assinam acordo para ação do Exército no Alemão”, Globo.com, 23 December 2010, available at: https://g1.globo.com/politica/noticia/2010/12/cabral-e-jobim-assinam-acordo-para-acao-do-exercito-no-alemao.html.
33 Examples of large events in Rio de Janeiro in which troops provided security: the Pan American Games (2007), the World Military Games (2011), the Rio+20 Conference (2012), the Confederations Cup (2013), Pope Francis’ visit (2013), World Youth Day (2013), the World Cup (2014) and the Olympic and Paralympic Games (2016).
34 See the Military Police website, available at: https://sepm.rj.gov.br/; and the Civil Police website, available at: www.policiacivilrj.net.br/.
35 The specialized unit in the Military Police is the Batalhão de Forças Especais (see: www.facebook.com/bopeoficial.pmerj/); in the Civil Police, the specialized unit is the Coordenadoria de Recursos Especiais (see: www.facebook.com/COREPCERJ/).
36 See “Para Beltrame, desarticular cv é a prioridade”, Globo.com, 27 June 2007, available at: https://g1.globo.com/Noticias/Brasil/0,,AA1574684-5598,00-PARA+BELTRAME+DESARTICULAR+CV+E+A+PRIORIDADE.html.
37 See OLERJ, “Unidade de Polícia Pacificadora, UPP”, available at: http://olerj.camara.leg.br/retratos-da-intervencao/unidade-de-policia-pacificadora-upp.
38 See ICRC, “Projeto Rio: Programas ajudaram a reduzir as consequências humanitárias da violência no Rio de Janeiro”, 12 October 2016, available at: www.icrc.org/pt/document/projeto-rio.
39 See ICRC, “Programa Acesso Mais Seguro”, 7 July 2016, available at: www.icrc.org/pt/document/o-programa-acesso-mais-seguro.
40 See TV Brasil, “Retrospectiva a ocupação do Complexo do Alemão”, YouTube, 27 December 2010, available at: www.youtube.com/watch?v=CKprHc4jHW8. See also Carlos Alberto de Lima, The 583 Days of the Pacification of the Penha and Alemão Complexes, Agência 2A Comunicação, Rio de Janeiro, 2012; “Polícia e Militares invadem Complexo do Alemão”, BBC News Brasil, 28 November 2010, available at: www.bbc.com/portuguese/noticias/2010/11/101128_rio_invasao_fn.
41 See Ana Cláudia Costa, Gustavo Goulart and Vera Araújo, “Com apoio da Marinha, estado prepara ação na Vila Cruzeiro para acabar com atentados”, Extra Notícias, 24 November 2010, available at: https://m.extra.globo.com/noticias/rio/com-apoio-da-marinha-estado-prepara-acao-na-vila-cruzeiro-para-acabar-com-atentados-21899.html.
42 See Conor Foley, Pelo Telefone: Rumors, Truths and Myths in the “Pacification” of the Favelas of Rio de Janeiro, Humanitarian Action in Situations Other than War (HASOW) Discussion Paper No. 8, International Relations Institute, Catholic University of Rio de Janeiro (IRI-PUC), March 2014, available at: https://igarape.org.br/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/Pelo-telefone-Rumors.pdf.
43 See Müller, Frank and Steinke, Andrea, “Criminalising Encounters: MINUSTAH as a Laboratory for Armed Humanitarian Pacification”, Global Crime, Vol. 19, No. 3–4, 2018CrossRefGoogle Scholar. See also Schmitt, Moacir Fabiano, Schimitt, Valentina Gomes Haensel and Neto, Luis Moretto, “Cultural Conflicts in the Pacification Process in the Complexo do Alemão/Rio de Janeiro”, Review of the Superior School of War, Vol. 31, No. 63, 2016Google Scholar.
44 See Ministry of Defence, “Forças Armadas permanecerão no complexo do Alemão enquanto for necessário, garante Jobim”, 9 May 2011, available at: www.gov.br/defesa/pt-br/centrais-de-conteudo/noticias/ultimas-noticias/09052011-defesa-forcas-armadas-permanecerao-no-complexo-do-alemao-enquanto-for-necessario-garante-jobim.
45 See Ministry of Defence, “Ocupação das Forças Armadas no Complexo da Maré acaba hoje”, 30 June 2015, available at: www.gov.br/defesa/pt-br/centrais-de-conteudo/noticias/ultimas-noticias/ocupacao-das-forcas-armadas-no-complexo-da-mare-acaba-hoje.
46 See Esther Werling, Rio's Pacification: Paradigm Shift or Paradigm Maintenance?, HASOW Discussion Paper No. 11, IRI-PUC, August 2014, available at: https://igarape.org.br/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/Rio%E2%80%99s-Pacification-.pdf.
47 See Guilherme Azevedo, “UPP fracassou porque só ela não basta, diz ex-secretário nacional de Segurança”, UOL Notícias, 6 January 2017, available at: https://noticias.uol.com.br/cotidiano/ultimas-noticias/2017/01/06/upp-fracassou-porque-so-ela-nao-basta-diz-ex-sub-da-seguranca-do-rj.htm (interview with a former national secretary of public security). See also by Security and Citizenship Studies Centre, “The Failure of the PPUs”, 1 July 2017, available at: https://cesecseguranca.com.br/participacao/falencia-das-upps/.
48 The commander of the Rocinha PPU and twelve other policemen were convicted for torture followed by death, concealment of a human body, and procedural fraud. See “Caso Amarildo”, Globo.com, 28 October 2021, available at: https://memoriaglobo.globo.com/jornalismo/coberturas/caso-amarildo/noticia/caso-amarildo.ghtml.
49 See above note 47.
50 See Decree of 28 July 2017, available at: www.planalto.gov.br/ccivil_03/_ato2015-2018/2017/dsn/Dsn14485.htm#textoimpressao.
51 See Murilo Ramos, “Gen Santos Cruz é novo Secretário Nacional de Segurança Pública”, Época, 20 April 2017, available at: http://epoca.globo.com/politica/expresso/noticia/2017/04/governo-desiste-de-indicar-beltrame-para-secretaria-nacional-de-seguranca-publica.html; “Santos Cruz: General na linha de frente”, Diálogo Américas, 19 June 2017, available at: https://dialogo-americas.com/pt-br/articles/santos-cruz-general-na-linha-de-frente/#.YzB3kXbMLIU.
52 Cecília Olliveira, “‘Verdadeiramente assustador’: Ex-Comandante da PMERJ critica visão de general sobre ocupação militar no Rio”, The Intercept Brasil, 4 August 2017, available at: https://theinte r cept.com/2 017/08/04/verdadeiramente-assustador-ex-comandante-da-pmerj-critica-visao-de-general-para-a-ocupacao-militar-no-rio/.
53 See Gabinete da Intervenção Federal, “Comando Conjunto e Secretaria de Segurança realizam operações conjuntas em diferentes partes do RJ”, 9 May 2018, available at: www.intervencaofederalrj.gov.br/imprensa/notas-oficiais/comando-conjunto-e-secretaria-de-seguranca-realizam-operacoes-conjuntas-em-diferentes-partes-do-rj. See also the rules of engagement for troops in law enforcement actions, available at: https://s3-sa-east-1.amazonaws.com/nexojornal/www/docs/Engajamento+oficial.pdf.
54 See Luis Kawaguti, “Comandante do Exército diz que insegurança jurídica pode inibir ação de tropas no Rio”, UOL Notícias, 2 October 2017, available at: https://noticias.uol.com.br/cotidiano/ultimas-noticias/2017/10/02/comandante-do-exercito-diz-que-e-preciso-debater-efeitos-colaterais-do-combate-ao-crime-organizado.htm.
55 See Decree No. 9.288, 16 February 2018, available at: www.planalto.gov.br/ccivil_03/_Ato2015-2018/2018/Decreto/D9288.htm#textoimpressao.
56 On 16 February 2018, the president of Brazil, Michel Temer, appointed as intervenor General Walter Souza Braga Netto, then commander of the Eastern Military Command covering the states of Rio de Janeiro and Espírito Santo and part of the state of Minas Gerais. See ibid.
57 Brazilian Constitution, above note 1, Art. 34(III).
58 To learn more about the Federal Intervention in Public Security in Rio de Janeiro, see the Strategic Plan at: www.intervencaofederalrj.gov.br/arquivos/plano-revisado.pdf.
59 “General Richard Nunes será o secretário de Segurança do RJ”, Globo.com, 22 February 2018, available at: https://g1.globo.com / rj/rio-de-janeiro/noticia/general-richard-nunez-sera-o-secretario-de-seguranca-do-rj.ghtml.
60 “‘Não há guerra que não seja letal’, diz ministro da Justiça sobre intervenção no Rio”, Estado de Minas, 20 February 2018, available at: www.em.com.br/app/noticia/politica/2018/02/20/interna_politica,938791/nao-ha-guerra-que-nao-seja-letal-diz-ministro-da-justica.shtml.
61 Alex Rodrigues, “Jungmann vai chefiar novo Ministério da Segurança Pública”, Agência Brasil, 26 February 2018, available at: https://agenciabrasil.ebc.com.br/politica/noticia/2018-02/jungmann-vai-chefiar-novo-ministerio-da-seguranca-publica.
62 “Silva e Luna é efetivado no cargo de ministro da Defesa”, Globo.com, 13 June 2018, available at: https://g1.globo.com/politica/noticia/silva-e-luna-e-efetivado-no-cargo-de-ministro-da-defesa.ghtml.
63 Bernardo Caram, Guilherme Mazui and Roniara Castilhos, “Pezão diz que Rio, sozinho, não consegue deter guerra de facções”, Globo.com, 16 February 2018, available at: https://g1.globo.com / rj/rio-de-janeiro/noticia/pezao-diz-que-rio-sozinho-nao-consegue-deter-guerra-de-faccoes.ghtml.
64 Julia Dias Carneiro, “Nascida da remoção de favelas, Vila Kennedy vive ‘déjà-vu’ após virar bairro-piloto de intervenção no Rio”, BBC News Brasil, 12 April 2018, available at: www.bbc.com/portuguese/brasil-43720716.
65 Marcela Lemos, “Com rotina de tiroteios, ‘laboratório da intervenção’ vê aumento de mortes”, UOL Notícias, 7 March 2018, available at: https://noticias.uol.com.br/cotidiano/ultimas-noticias/2019/02/14/laboratorio-da-intervencao-vila-kennedy.htm.
66 “Isso não é uma guerra, diz General Braga Netto sobre Rio”, UOL Notícias, 2 September 2018, available at: www.band.uol.com.br/videos/isso-nao-e-uma-guerra-diz-general-braga-netto-sobre-rio-16532776.
67 Federal Government of Brazil, “Qual o Legado da Intervenção Federal para o Estado do Rio de Janeiro?”, available at: www.intervencaofederalrj.gov.br/imprensa/copy_of_legado-da-intervencao-federal-na-area-de-seguranca-publica-do-estado-do-rio-de-janeiro.
68 In 2018, the number of deaths caused by State agents was 36% higher than the previous year. See the database of the Institute of Public Security, available at: www.ispvisualizacao.rj.gov.br/. See also Human Rights Watch, “Brasil: Letaliade policial bate recorde no Rio”, 19 December 2018, available at: www.hrw.org/pt/news/2018/12/19/325453.
69 Rules of Engagement for Operation Rio de Janeiro, Ministerial Directive 16/2017, 21 July 2017.
70 Tahiane Stochero, “Para Exército, ocupar Alemão é mais difícil que guerra e missão no Haiti”, Globo.com, 15 August 2012, available at: https://g1.globo.com/brasil/noticia/2012/08/para-exercito-ocupar-alemao-e-mais-dificil-que-guerra-e-missao-no-haiti.html.
71 Expressions such as “hostile act” or “hostile intent” were replaced by “threatening act” or “threatening intent”, and expressions such as “adversary” or “enemy” were replaced by “agent disturbing public order”. See Rules of Engagement for the Pacification Force in Rio de Janeiro, Ministerial Directive 15/2010, 4 December 2010, available at: www.gov.br/defesa/pt-br/arquivos/File/2010/mes12/regras.doc.
72 Walter Souza Braga Netto, “Protocolo de abordagem em operações durante a Intervenção Federal”, 23 April 2018, available at: www.mpm.mp.br/portal/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/pgjm-protocolo-abordagem-23-4-18.pdf.
73 See Ministry of Defence, Garantia da lei e da ordem, 2013, available at: ww w .gov.br/defesa/pt-br/arquivos/File/doutrinamilitar/listadepublicacoesEMD/md33a_ma_10a_gloa_1a_ed2013.pdf.
74 As will be seen later, the Federal Executive Branch has presented bills to the Congress intending to “tighten” the interpretation of what would constitute a situation of threat or aggression in which security agents (police or troops in law enforcement actions) would be allowed to use force, including lethal force, exempting themselves from criminal liability for excesses committed. With regard to military personnel, see Luis Kawaguti, “Bolsonaro defende segurança jurídica para militares envolvidos em tiroteios”, UOL Notícias, 7 March 2019, available at: https://noticias.uol.com.br/politica/ultimas-noticias/2019/03/07/bolsonaro-defende-seguranca-juridica-para-militares-envolvidos-em-tiroteios.htm.
75 One officer and seven non-commissioned officers were convicted by the military justice. The defence appealed to the Superior Military Court, which has not yet judged the appeal. See Cleber Rodrigues, Lucas Madureira and Leandro Resende, “Oito militares do Exército são condenados por mortes de músico e catador no RJ”, CNN Brasil, 14 October 2021, available at: www.cnnbrasil.com.br/nacional/oito-militares-do-exercito-sao-condenados-por-mortes-de-musico-e-catador-no-rj/; “Homem morre após ser baleado em ação do Exército na Zona Oeste do Rio”, Globo.com, 7 April 2019, available at: https://g1.globo.com/rj/rio-de-janeiro/noticia/2019/04/07/homem-morre-apos-carro-ser-atingido-em-acao-do-exercito-na-zona-oeste-do-rio.ghtml.
76 See Decree 46.544, 1 January 2019, available at: http://aeerj.net.br/file/2019/Decreto-46544-estrutura%20de%20governo.pdf; Luiza Damé, “Witzel confirma extinção da Secretaria de Segurança Pública”, Agência Brasil, 12 December 2018, available at: https://agenciabrasil.ebc.com.br/politica/noticia/2018-12/witzel-confirma-extincao-da-secretaria-de-seguranca-publica.
77 See Bruna Fantti, “Fim da Secretaria de Segurança divide opiniões”, O Dia, available at: https://odia.ig.com.br/rio-de-janeiro/2018/11/5589101-fim-da-secretaria-de-seguranca-divide-opinioes.html.
78 “‘Traficantes serão tratados como terroristas’, diz Witzel em cerimônia de transmissão de governo”, R7 Notícias, 2 January 2019, available at: https://recordtv.r7.c om/cidade-alerta-rj/videos/traficantes-serao-tratados-como-terroristas-diz-witzel-em-cerimonia-de-transmissao-de-governo-18022020.
79 “‘Guerra às drogas’ de Witzel tem ‘altos níveis de violência’ e ‘violações de direitos humanos’, diz Anistia”, Globo.com, 27 February 2020, available at: https://g1.globo.com / rj/rio-de-janeiro/noticia/2020/02/27/guerra-as-drogas-de-witzel-tem-altos-niveis-de-violencia-e-violacoes-de-direitos-humanos-diz-anistia.ghtml.
80 Rafael Sores, “Witzel cria a patente de general para Polícia Militar e bombeiros”, Globo.com, 31 July 2019, available at: https://oglobo.globo . com/rio/witzel-cria-patente-de-general-para-policia-militar-bombeiros-23846463.
81 Quintino Gomes Freire, “Witzel acaba com general na PM e no Corpo dos Bombeiros”, Diário do Rio, 6 September 2019, available at: https://diariodorio.c om/witzel-acaba-com-general-na-pm-e-no-corpo-dos-bombeiros/.
82 Public Ministry of the State of Rio de Janeiro (MPRJ), “ADPF 635”, available at: www.m p rj.mp.br/a dpf-635; Supreme Federal Court, “ADPF 635”, available at: https://portal.stf.jus.br/processos/detalhe.asp?incidente=5816502.
83 See Supreme Federal Court, “STF determina condições para operações policiais em comunidades no Rio de Janeiro”, 19 August 2020, available at: https://portal.stf.jus.br/noticias/verNoticiaDetalhe.asp?idConteudo=449833&ori=1; MPRJ, above note 82.
84 Supreme Federal Court, above note 83.
85 Daniel Veloso Hirata et al., “Efeitos da suspensão de operações policiais no RJ”, Fonte Segura, available at: https://fontesegura.forumseguranca.org.br/efeitos-da-suspensao-de-operacoes-policiais-no-rj-2/.
86 See “Polícias do Rio de Janeiro realizaram duas operações em favelas por dia desde decisão do STF restringindo ações”, Folha de Pernambuco, 23 July 2022, available at: www.folhape.com.br/noticias/policias-do-rio-realizaram-duas-operacoes-em-favelas-por-dia-desde/234718/.
87 Daniel Veloso Hirata, Carolina Christoph Grillo and Renato Dirk, Efeitos da Medida Cautelar na ADPF 635 sobre as operações policiais na Região Metropolitana do Rio de Janeiro, GENI, Fluminense Federal University, June 2020, available at: https://geni.uff.br/ w p-content/uploads/sites/357/2021/02/2020_Relatorio-efeitos-da-Liminar.pdf.
88 The deadliest police operation in the history of Rio de Janeiro took place in May 2021, in the Jacarezinho favela. It resulted in the deaths of twenty-eight people, including a police officer. See Pauline Almeida, “Um ano após operação com 28 mortos, quatro policiais foram denunciados no Rio”, CNN Brasil, 6 May 2022, available at: www.cnnbrasil.com.br/nacional/um-ano-apos-operacao-com-28-mortos-quatro-policiais-foram-denunciados-no-rio. See also “Em 14 meses, Rio registra 3 das 4 operações mais letais da história, com mais de 70 mortos”, Globo.com, 22 July 2022, available at: https://g1.globo.com/rj/rio-de-janeiro/noticia/2022/07/22/em-14-meses-rio-registra-3-das-4-operacoes-mais-letais-da-historia.ghtml.
89 See Gabriel Barreira and Henrique Coelho, “Cidade Integrada: O que se sabe, o que falta saber e quais os principais desafios do projeto”, Globo.com, 19 January 2022, available at: https://g1.globo.com/rj/rio-de-janeiro/noticia/2022/01/19/cidade-integrada-o-que-se-sabe-do-novo-projeto-de-ocupacao-no-rj-e-quais-os-principais-desafios.ghtml.
90 In 2009, UN Special Rapporteur Philip Alston had already spoken of a “war approach” adopted by Rio de Janeiro's government. See Philip Alston, Promotion and Protection of All Human Rights, Civil, Political, Economical, Social and Cultural Rights Including the Right to Development: Report of the Special Rapporteur on Extrajudicial, Summary and Arbitrary Executions. Addendum: Mission to Brazil, UN Doc. A/HRC/11/2/Add.2, 23 March 2009, para. 27.
91 This term is used to describe “political-military” confrontations between States and armed groups that persist below and sometimes at the threshold of conventional conflict. See Michael John-Hopkins, The Rule of Law in Crisis and Conflict Grey Zones: Regulating the Use of Force in a Global Information Environment, Routledge, Abingdon, 2018.
92 Basic Principles on the Use of Force and Firearms by Law Enforcement Officials, adopted by the Eighth UN Congress on the Prevention of Crime and the Treatment of Offenders, 7 September 1990, available at: www.ohchr.org/en/instruments-mechanisms/instruments/basic-principles-use-force-and-firearms-law-enforcement.
93 Carlos Frederico de Oliveira Pereira, “Grey Zones and Crime Suppression: Between International Human Rights Law and International Law of Armed Conflicts”, Small Wars Journal, 2 May 2020, available at: https://smallwarsjournal.com/jrnl/art/gray-zones-and-crime-suppression-between-international-human-rights-law-and-international; Carlos Frederico de Oliveira Pereira, Gangues territoriais e direito internacional dos conflitos armados, Editora Juruá, Curitiba, 2016; Flávia Ximenes Aguiar de Sousa, O emprego das em forças armadas situações de conflitos internos graves, Editora Dialética, São Paulo, 2021; Adriano Alves Marreiros, Guerra à polícia: Reflexões sobre a ADPF 635, Editora EDA, Campinas, 2021; Leonardo Novo Oliveira Andrade de Araújo, Relatos de mais um combatente em uma guerra sem vitória, Editora Icone, São Paulo, 2020.
94 The newspaper justified the creation of the war editorial by saying that it was a way to “shout” to society that urban violence in Rio de Janeiro cannot be trivialized. See “Isso não é normal”, Extra, 16 August 2017, available at: h ttps://extra.globo.com/casos-de-policia/guerra-do-rio/isso-nao-normal-21711104.html.
95 See de Oliveira Pereira, C. F., “Grey Zones and Crime Suppression”, above note 93; Eduardo Bittencourt Cavalcanti, “Quando haverá um conflito armado no Rio de Janeiro: Os cenários cariocas e o marco legal aplicável à violência de fato vivenciada na cidade”, Revista do Ministério Público Militar, Vol. 44, No. 31, 2019Google Scholar, available at: https://revista.mpm.mp.br/artigos/?idedicao=31. See also below note 98.
96 See above notes 93 and 95 and below note 98.
97 International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia, Prosecutor v. Ramush Hadadinaj et al., Case No. IT-04-84-T, Judgment (Trial Chamber I), 3 April 2008, para. 394.
98 Peterke, Sven, “Urban Insurgency, ‘Drug War’ and International Humanitarian Law: The Case of Rio de Janeiro”, Journal of International Humanitarian Legal Studies, Vol. 1, No. 1, 2010CrossRefGoogle Scholar.
99 See Jelena Nikolic, Thomas de Saint Maurice and Tristan Ferraro, “Aggregated Intensity: Classifying Coalitions of Non-State Armed Groups”, Humanitarian Law and Policy Blog, 7 October 2020, available at: https://blogs.icrc.org/law-and-policy/2020/10/07/aggregated-intensity-classifying-coalitions-non-state-armed-groups/.
100 Data from the Institute of Public Security, available at: www.ispvisualizacao.rj.gov.br/.
101 Ibid.
102 See Centro de Pesquisas do Ministério Público do Estado do Rio de Janeiro, above note 16. See also Eduardo Santos, “Estudo revela que 10 das cidades mais perigosas do Brasil, 9 estão no Nordeste; confira a lista”, Portal de Prefeitura, 24 February 2023, available at: https://portaldeprefeitura.com.br/2023/02/24/estudo-revela-que-das-10-cidades-mais-perigosas-do-brasil-9-estao-no-nordeste-confira-lista/.
103 Data from the Institute of Public Security, available at: www.ispvisualizacao.rj.gov.br/.
104 See the case Ação de Descumprimento de Preceito Fundamental 635 currently in progress at the Supreme Federal Court.
105 Data from the Institute of Public Security, available at: www.ispvisualizacao.rj.gov.br/.
106 GENI, above note 17.
107 Institute of Public Security, Police Killings in the State of Rio de Janeiro: Overview of the Last Five Years (2016–2020), available at: http://arquivos.proderj.rj.gov.br/isp_imagens/uploads/TD05_2021-VPERJ-Vitimizacaopolicial.pdf.
108 See Gabriel Sestrem, “Assassinatos de policiais caem 22% no Brasil; números seguem elevados, dizem especialistas”, Gazeta do Povo, 16 April 2022, available at: www.gazetadopovo.com.br/vida-e-cidadania/assassinatos-de-policiais-caem-22-no-brasil-numeros-seguem-elevados-dizem-especialistas/; Carolina Heringer and Diego Amorim, “Sete em cada dez policiais mortos no Rio nos últimos cinco anos por causas não naturais foram assassinados”, Extra, 22 September 2021, available at: https://extra.globo.com/casos-de-policia/sete-em-cada-dez-policiais-mortos-no-rio-nos-ultimos-cinco-anos-por-causas-nao-naturais-foram-assassinados-25207526.html.
109 See Cristina Índio do Brasil, “Maioria dos policiais mortos no Rio de forma violenta estava de folga”, Agência Brasil, 22 September 2021, available at: https://agenciabrasil.ebc.com.br/direitos-humanos/noticia/2021-09/maioria-dos-policiais-mortos-no-rio-de-forma-violenta-estava-de-folga.
110 See Natalia Viana, Dano Colateral: A intervenção dos militares na segurança pública, Editora Objetiva, Rio de Janeiro, 2021. See also “Exército é acusado de matar inocentes em operações de segurança pública”, Centre for Security and Citizenship Studies, 2018, available at: https://cesecseguranca.com.br/participacao/exercito-e-acusado-de-matar-inocentes-em-operacoes-de-seguranca-publica/.
111 Leslie Leitão and Carlos de Lannoy, “RJ tem 1,4 mil favelas dominadas por criminosos, aponta relatório”, Globo.com, 6 July 2020, available at: https://g1.globo.com/rj/rio-de-janeiro/noticia/2020/07/06/rj-tem-14-mil-favelas-dominadas-por-criminosos-aponta-relatorio.ghtml.
112 See Institute of Public Security, Taxa de elucidação criminal: Contribuições para um indicador nacional com base na experiência do estado do Rio de Janeiro, available at: http://arquivos.proderj.rj.gov.br/isp_imagens/uploads/Textodiscuss%C3%A3oTaxaElucidCriminal.pdf.
113 See Luã Marinatto and Rafael Soares, “A Polícia civil só resolve um homicídio a cada oito no Rio, que tem uma das piores taxas de elucidação do país”, O Globo, 11 September 2021, available at: https://soudapaz.org/noticias/o-globo-policia-civil-so-resolve-um-homicidio-a-cada-oito-no-rio-que-tem-uma-das-piores-taxas-de-elucidacao-do-pais/.
114 The Mexican non-governmental organization Seguridad, Justicia y Paz has drawn up a ranking of the fifty most violent urban areas in the world, based on the number of people and the number of homicides in each city. Ten Brazilian cities appear in the ranking; in descending order of violence, these are Mossoró (RN), Salvador (BA), Manaus (AM), Feira de Santana (BA), Vitória da Conquista (BA), Natal (RN), Fortaleza (CE), Recife (PE), Maceió (SE) and Teresina (PI). See Gilson Garret Jr, “As 50 cidades mais violentas do mundo (o Brasil tem 10 na lista)”, Portal Exame, 27 March 2023, available at: https://exame.com/mundo/as-50-cidades-mais-violentas-do-mundo-o-brasil-tem-10-na-lista/. See also Seguridad, Justicia y Paz, Metodologia del ranking (2022) de las 50 ciudades más violentas del mundo, 20 February 2023, available at: http://geoenlace.net/seguridadjusticiaypaz/archivo/d86357_e0cc9ce8f0.pdf.
115 See above notes 105 and 106.
116 See Paula Bianchi, “Jacarezinho, no Rio, tem 7 mortos em 9 dias de confrontos entre traficantes e policias”, UOL Notícias, 20 August 2017, available at: https://noticias.uol.com.br/cotidiano/ultimas-noticias/2017/08/20/jacarezinho-tem-7-mortos-em-9-dias-de-confrontos-entre-traficantes-e-policiais.htm; “Confronto entre policiais e traficantes já dura seis dias no Rio de Janeiro”, SBT Brasil, 11 December 2021, available at: www.sbtnews.com.br/noticia/sbt-brasil/190323-confronto-entre-policiais-e-traficantes-ja-dura-seis-dias-no-rio-de-janeiro.
117 See the websites of Fogo Cruzado (Crossfire), available at: https://fogocruzado.org.br/; and Onde Tem Tiro (Where There Is Shooting), available at: www.ondetemtiroteio.com.br/.
118 See Fogo Cruzado, Relatório anual 2021: Região Metropolitana do Rio de Janeiro, 2022, available at: https://fogocruzado.org.br/dados/relatorios/relatorio-anual-grande-rio-2021.
119 See below note 130.
120 See Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR), Juan Carlos Abella v. Argentina, Case No. 11.137, 18 November 1997, para. 156, available at: www.cidh.oas.org/annualrep/97eng/argentina11137.htm.
121 In the Syrian civil war, as of November 2017, there were a total of 109,393 detected damaged structures. 2016 witnessed the highest damage with a total count of 77,568 structures; 37% of the detected structures are moderately damaged, 35.3% are severely damaged and the remaining 27.7% are destroyed. Aleppo accounts for 32.7% of the total count of damaged structures. See Ameen Najjar, “Damage Caused by the Syrian Civil War: What the Data Say”, Towards Data Science, 27 June 2018, available at: https://towardsdatascience.com/damage-caused-by-the-syrian-civil-war-what-the-data-say-ebad5796fca8.
122 See “Confronto no Alemão foi tão intenso que munição do BOPE acabou em 2 horas”, O Tempo, 22 July 2022, available at: www.otempo.com.br/brasil/confronto-no-alemao-foi-tao-intenso-que-municao-do-bope-acabou-em-2-horas-1.2703929.
123 See Luana Alves, “Postos de combustíveis são incendiados na Zona Oeste; polícia investiga atuação de milicianos”, Globo.com, 11 November 2021, available at: https://g1.globo.com/rj/rio-de-janeiro/noticia/2021/11/11/combustiveis-incendio.ghtml. See also “Rio de Janeiro tem ônibus queimados após ação policial”, Jornal do Comérico, 3 May 2017, available at: www.jornaldocomercio.com/_conteudo/2017/05/galeria_de_imagens/560441-rio-de-janeiro-tem-onibus-queimados-apos-acao-policial.html; Erick Guimarães, “Rio: 7 ônibus são queimados em confronto entre traficantes rivais”, R7 Notícias, 3 October 2019, available at: https://noticias.r7.com/rio-de-janeiro/rio-7-onibus-sao-queimados-em-confronto-entre-traficantes-rivais-04102019.
124 Institute of Public Security, Overview of Firearms and Explosive Device Seizures in the State of Rio de Janeiro in 2019, available at: htt p ://arquivos.proderj.rj.gov.br/isp_imagens/uploads/Panorama-Armas-de-fogo2020.pdf.
125 See “Entidades apontam falhas no sistema de controle de armas no Brasil que permitem a compra de pistolas e fuzis por criminosos”, Jornal Nacional, 22 July 2022, available at: https://g1.globo.com/jornal-nacional/noticia/2022/07/22/entidades-apontam-falhas-no-sistema-de-controle-de-armas-no-brasil-que-permitem-a-compra-de-pistolas-e-fuzis-por-criminosos.ghtml.
126 See above note 35.
127 See above notes 44, 45 and 50.
128 See above note 50.
129 See above note 50.
130 See, for example, Daniele dos Santos and Henrique Coelho, “Operação das forças de segurança na Maré, no Alemão e na Penha tem 1 militar e 5 suspeitos mortes”, Globo.com, 20 August 2018, available at: https://g1.globo.com/rj/rio-de-janeiro/noticia/2018/08/20/operacao-das-forcas-de-seguranca-deixa-mortos-no-rio.ghtml.
131 See IACHR, Abella, above note 120, para. 156.
132 Throughout 2017, interviews were conducted with residents of disadvantaged communities of Rio de Janeiro who had to leave their homes because of the violence, mainly due to disputes between rival factions and constant police incursions, with armed confrontation in regions close to their homes. See Maiara Folly, “Migrantes invisíveis: A crise de deslocamento forçado no Brasil”, Strategic Article No. 29, Instituto Igarapé, March 2018, available at: https://igarape.org.br/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/Migrantes-invis%C3%ADveis.pdf.
133 On the impact of armed conflict situations on essential public services for affected populations, see ICRC, Urban Services during Protracted Armed Conflict: A Call for a Better Approach to Assisting Affected People, Geneva, 2015, p.11; Saúl Franco et al., “The Effects of Armed Conflict on Life and Health in Colombia”, Revista Ciência & Saúde Coletiva, Vol. 11, No. 2, 2006, available at: http://dx.doi.org/10.1590/S1413-81232006000200013; Geneva Water Hub, The Protection of Water during and after Armed Conflicts, Summary Report for the Global High-Level Panel on Water and Peace, University of Geneva, 14 June 2016, available at: www.genevawaterhub.org/sites/default/files/atoms/files/gwh_ghlp_roundtable_armedconflicts_rev_march2017nomail_0.pdf.
134 ICRC, “Where We Work: Brazil”, available at: www.icrc.org/en/where-we-work/americas/brazil. The Geneva Academy, in its 2018 War Report, also refers to the situation in Rio de Janeiro as a high level of armed gang violence but not a NIAC: Annyssa Bellal (ed.), The War Report: Armed Conflicts in 2018, Geneva Academy of International Humanitarian Law and Human Rights, Geneva, April 2019, available at: www.geneva-academy.ch/joomlatools-files/docman-files/The%20War%20Report%202018.pdf. See also Robert Muggah, “Rio de Janeiro: A War by Any Other Name”, Small Wars Journal, 25 April 2017, available at: https://smallwarsjournal.com/jrnl/art/rio-de-janeiro-a-war-by-any-other-name.
135 See above note 99.
136 See Herculano Barreto Filho, “Milícia do Rio se une ao tráfico em guerra contra o Comando Vermelho”, UOL Notícias, 1 November 2019, available at: https://noticias.uol.com.br/cotidiano/ultimas-noticias/2019/11/01/milicia-do-rio-se-une-ao-trafico-para-enfraquecer-o-comando-vermelho.htm.
137 See above note 97.
138 On 26 October 2021, the secretary of State for the Military Police created a military judiciary police station specialized in the investigation of narcomilícias and complex crimes. Resolution No. 1827, Diario Oficiál, Vol. 47, No. 205, 28 October 2021, available at: www.ioerj.com.br/portal/modules/conteudoonline/mostra_edicao.php?k=5E72A42E-E19PF-445B-8351-80C4D500519C. See also above note 136; Kristina Hinz et al., “The Rise Of Brazil's Neo-Pentecostal Narco-Militia”, Open Democracy, 6 May 2021, available at: www.opendemocracy.net/en/democraciaabierta/rise-narco-militia-pentecostal-brazil-en/.
139 See Marcela Lemos, “Como Liga da Justiça se transformou no Bonde do Zinho, a maior milícia do RJ”, BOL Notícias, 26 August 2022, available at: www.bol.uol.com.br/noticias/2022/08/26/como-liga-da-justica-se-transformou-no-bonde-do-zinho-maior-milicia-no-rj.htm.
140 See de Oliveira Pereira, Carlos Frederico, “ADPF 635: Entrelaçamento do direito internacional dos direitos humanos e do direito internacional humanitário na repressão às gangues de 3ª geração com domínio territorial no Rio de Janeiro”, Revista do Ministério Público Militar, Vol. 46, No. 35, 2021Google Scholar.
141 See “Red Command”, InSight Crime, 17 July 2022, available at: www.insightcrime.org/brazil-organized-crime-news/red-command-profile/.
142 See “Pure Third Command”, InSight Crime, 26 April 2018, available at: www.insightcrime.org/brazil-organized-crime-news/pure-third-command/.
143 See “Amigos dos Amigos”, InSight Crime, 30 March 2018, available at: www.insightcrime.org/brazil-organized-crime-news/amigos-dos-amigos/.
144 See Carolina Callegari, Luiz Ernesto Magalhães and Vera Araújo, “Milícia do Rio tem fornecedor de armas dos EUA; veja quem é quem na maior organização criminosa do estado”, Extra, 29 August 2022, available at: https://extra.globo.com/casos-de-policia/milicia-do-rio-tem-fornecedor-de-armas-dos-eua-veja-quem-quem-na-maior-organizacao-criminosa-do-estado-25562746.html.
145 See Mariana Simões, “No Rio de Janeiro, a milícia não é um poder paralelo. É o Estado”, Exame, 3 January 2019, available at: https://exame.com/brasil/no-rio-de-janeiro-a-milicia-nao-e-um-poder-paralelo-e-o-estado/ (featuring an interview with Professor José Claudio Souza Alves from the Federal Rural University of Rio de Janeiro). See also Gil Alessi, “Mais vivo do que nunca, tentáculo político da milícia mira as próximas eleições”, El País, 17 May 2018, available at: https://brasil.elpais.com/brasil/2018/05/14/politica/1526325604_449819.html.
146 See GENI, “Historical Map of Armed Groups in Rio de Janeiro”, Fluminense Federal University, September 2022, available at: https://geni.uff.br/2022/09/13/mapa-historico-dos-grupos-armados-no-rio-de-janeiro/. See also “Mapa de tiroteios e operações policiais mostra que raramente confrontos acontecem em áreas de milícia”, Profissão Repórter, 30 May 2022, available at: https://g1.globo.com/profissao-reporter/noticia/2022/05/30/mapa-de-tiroteios-e-operacoes-policiais-mostra-que-raramente-confrontos-acontecem-em-areas-de-milicia.ghtml.
147 See Rafael Pereira, “Sob as leis do tráfico”, Época, 28 May 2004, available at: https://revistaepoca.globo.com/Revista/Epoca/0,,EDG64597-6014-315,00.html; Anderson Justino, “Polícia Civil apreende ‘Estatuto’ e ‘10 mandamentos’ do Comando Vermelho”, Meia Hora de Notícais, 8 October 2019, available at: www.meiahora.com.br/geral/policia/2019/10/5807578-policia-civil-apreende--estatuto--e--dez-mandamentos--do-comando-vermelho.html#foto=1; Darcianne Diogo, “Estatuto do Comando Vermelho é encontrado dentro de cela de presídio”, Correio Braziliense, 21 September 2022, available at: www.correiobraziliense.com.br/cidades-df/2022/09/5038456-estatuto-do-comando-vermelho-e-encontrado-dentro-de-cela-de-presidio-leia.html.
148 See Vania Regina do Nascimento, “Dos tribunais do tráfico à mediação de conflitos”, Fluminense Federal University, 2013, available at: http://ppgantropologia.sites.uff.br/wp-content/uploads/sites/16/2016/07/dos-tribunais-do-tr%C3%A1fico-a-media%C3%A7%C3%A3o-de-conflitos.pdf. See also “Memória: Como funcionam os tribunais do tráfico nas favela do Rio”, Extra, 23 June 2008, available at: https://extra.globo.com/noticias/rio/memoria-como-funcionam-os-tribunais-do-trafico-nas-favelas-do-rio-531257.html; “Supeitos do Tribunal do Tráfico são presos no Rio de Janeiro”, Jornal da Record, 22 May 2021, available at: www.youtube.com/watch?v=1fl5UYdOoJk.
149 P. Alston, above note 90, para. 7.
150 See Leslie Leitão and Carlos de Lannoy, “RJ tem 1,4 mil favelas dominadas por criminosos, aponta relatório”, Globo.com, 6 July 2020, available at: https://g1.globo.com/rj/rio-de-janeiro/noticia/2020/07/06/rj-tem-14-mil-favelas-dominadas-por-criminosos-aponta-relatorio.ghtml (discussing a report by the Civil Police). See also Nucleus for the Study of Violence, “Map of Armed Groups in Rio de Janeiro”, University of São Paulo, 2019, available at: https://geni.uff.br/2022/09/13/mapa-historico-dos-grupos-armados-no-rio-de-janeiro/.
151 See GENI, above note 146.
152 See Federal Fluminense University, above note 21.
153 See above note 152.
154 See above note 124.
155 See Cecília Olliveira and Leandro Demori, “Arsenal global: A origem das munições dos tiroteios do Rio de Janeiro”, The Intercept Brasil, 16 December 2019, available at: https://theintercept.com/2019/12/16/rio-municoes-balas-eua-bosnia-russia-guerra-fria/; Carolina Callegari, Luiz Ernesto Magalhães and Vera Araújo, “Milicia do Rio tem fornecedor de armas dos EUA”, Extra, 29 August 2022, available at: https://extra.globo.com/casos-de-policia/milicia-do-rio-tem-fornecedor-de-armas-dos-eua-veja-quem-quem-na-maior-organizacao-criminosa-do-estado-25562746.html.
156 See Igor Mello, “Exército enviará ao Ministério Público dados sobre colecionador que vendeu arsenal ao Comando Vermelho”, UOL Notícias, 27 January 2022, available at: https://noticias.uol.com.br/cotidiano/ultimas-noticias/2022/01/27/exercito-enviara-ao-mp-dados-sobre-colecionador-que-vendeu-arsenal-ao-cv.htm.
157 See Zaluar, Alba and Conceição, Isabel Siqueira, “Favelas sob o controle das milícias no Rio de Janeiro”, São Paulo em Perspectiva, Vol. 21, No. 2, 2007Google Scholar, available at: http://produtos.seade.gov.br/produtos/spp/v21n02/v21n02_08.pdf.
158 See “No Rio, ex-miliares ensinam táticas do Exército a facções”, Veja, 15 March 2018, available at: https://veja.abril.com.br/brasil/no-rio-ex-militares-ensinam-taticas-do-exercito-a-faccoes/; “Ex-miliares treinam tráfico no Rio”, Folha Online, 4 February 2022, available at: www1.folha.uol.com.br/folha/dimenstein/imprescindivel/semana/gd040202a100202.htm; Flávio Costa and Sérgio Ramalho, “Sniper, caçador e silencioso: O ex-Bope que comandava o Escritório do Crime”, UOL Notícias, 29 April 2019, available at: https://noticias.uol.com.br/cotidiano/ultimas-noticias/2019/04/29/capitao-adriano-milicia-ex-bope-escritorio-do-crime-rio-de-janeiro-rj.htm.
159 See Diego Haidar et al., “Polícia investiga imagens de bonde de criminosos após morte de Ecko e monitora disputa por sucessão da maior milícia do RJ”, Globo.com, 14 June 2021, available at: https://g1.globo.com/rj/rio-de-janeiro/noticia/2021/06/14/policia-investiga-imagens-de-bonde-de-criminosos-apos-morte-de-ecko-e-monitora-disputa-por-sucessao-da-maior-milicia-do-rio.ghtml.
160 See above note 98.
161 See above notes 93 and 95.
162 In wartime, targeting and killing the enemy is not a crime because it is a military objective, but in law enforcement actions, the use of lethal force should be the last resort in the face of a serious, proven threat.
163 See above note 92.
164 Bill 4038/2008 (available at: https://tinyurl.com/y2mvmebd) provides for the crime of genocide; defines crimes against humanity, war crimes and crimes against the administration of justice of the International Criminal Court; establishes specific procedural rules; and provides for cooperation with the International Criminal Court.
165 See Law No. 12.850/2013 (available at: www.planalto.gov.br/ccivil_03/_ato2011-2014/2013/lei/l12850.htm), which defines criminal organizations and provides for criminal investigation, means of obtaining evidence, related criminal offences and criminal proceedings.
166 See the official website of the National Group to Combat Criminal Organizations, available at: www.cnpg.org.br/site/index.php/gncoc-menu.
167 According to the ICRC, “[t]he non-applicability of IHL does not necessarily mean lesser protection for the persons concerned. In such cases, human rights rules and peacetime domestic law would apply; they are more restrictive, for instance, regarding the use of force and detention of enemies, while IHL gives States greater latitude on these two aspects.” ICRC, “Fundamentals of IHL”, How Does Law Protect in War?, available at: https://casebook.icrc.org/law/fundamentals-ihl.
168 See the number of victims of violence in Rio de Janeiro by age group in Fogo Cruzado, above note 118.
169 Rule 14 of the ICRC Customary Law Study refers to proportionality in attack, stating: “Launching an attack which may be expected to cause incidental loss of civilian life, injury to civilians, damage to civilian objects, or a combination thereof, which would be excessive in relation to the concrete and direct military advantage anticipated, is prohibited.” According to the commentaries on this rule, “[w]hile Additional Protocol II does not contain an explicit reference to the principle of proportionality in attack, it has been argued that it is inherent in the principle of humanity which was explicitly made applicable to the Protocol in its preamble and that, as a result, the principle of proportionality cannot be ignored in the application of the Protocol”. Jean-Marie Henckaerts and Louise Doswald-Beck (eds), Customary International Humanitarian Law, Vol. 1: Rules, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 2005 (ICRC Customary Law Study), Rule 14, available at: https://ihl-databases.icrc.org/customary-ihl/eng/docs/v1.
170 See Sven Peterke, Regulating “Drug Wars” and Other Gray Zone Conflicts: Formal and Functional Approaches, HASOW Discussion Paper No. 2, IRI-PUC, October 2012, available at: https://igarape.org.br/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/Regulating-Drug-Wars.pdf. See also C. F. de Oliveira Pereira, “Grey Zones and Crime Suppression”, above note 93.
171 According to the ICRC, internal disturbances involve “situations in which there is no non-international armed conflict as such, but there exists a confrontation within the country, which is characterized by a certain seriousness or duration and which involves acts of violence. These latter can assume various forms, all the way from the spontaneous generation of acts of revolt to the struggle between more or less organized groups and the authorities in power. In these situations, which do not necessarily degenerate into open struggle, the authorities in power call upon extensive police forces, or even armed forces, to restore internal order. The high number of victims has made necessary the application of a minimum of humanitarian rules. … As regards ‘internal tensions’, these could be said to include in particular situations of serious tension (political, religious, racial, social, economic, etc.), but also the sequels of armed conflict or of internal disturbances. Such situations have one or more of the following characteristics, if not all at the same time:
- •
• large scale arrests;
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• a large number of “political” prisoners;
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• the probable existence of ill-treatment or inhumane conditions of detention;
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• the suspension of fundamental judicial guarantees, either as part of the promulgation of a state of emergency or simply as a matter of fact;
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• allegations of disappearances.”
Yves Sandoz, Christophe Swinarski and Bruno Zimmmerman (eds), Commentary on the Additional Protocols, ICRC, Geneva, 1987, paras 4475–4476.
172 Protocol Additional (II) to the Geneva Conventions of 12 August 1949, and relating to the Protection of Victims of Non-International Armed Conflicts, 1125 UNTS 609, 8 June 1977 (entered into force 7 December 1978).
173 See ICRC, above note 167.
174 See above note 93 and below notes 175 and 177.
175 See “STJ considera ilegal busca e apreensão coletiva em comunidades pobres do Rio”, Consultor Jurídico, 5 November 2019, available at: www.conjur.c o m.br/2019-nov-05/stj-considera-ilegal-busca-apreensao-coletiva-rio. See also Habeas Corpus 435.934 in the Superior Court of Justice, available at: www.conjur.com.br/dl/hc-stj-comunidades-pobres-rio.pdf; and Habeas Corpus 154118 in the Supreme Court, available at: https://portal.stf.jus.br/processos/detalhe.asp?incidente=5370727.
176 In the scope of ADPF 635, the adoption of measures to reduce police lethality was once again considered by the courts. The Supreme Court ordered a plan and restricted the use of helicopters to cases of strict necessity, to be proven through a full and detailed report submitted at the end of the operation. Supreme Federal Court, “Emb.decl. na medida cautelar na arguição de descumprimento de Preceito Fundamental 635 Rio de Janeiro”, 3 February 2022, available at: https://portal.stf.jus.br/processos/downloadPeca.asp?id=15351553094&ext=.pdf.
177 In early 2019, the Executive Branch forwarded to Congress a proposal to extend self-defence to security agents who are in armed confrontation or at imminent risk of armed confrontation (in the context of the bill that became known as the “anti-crime package”). The project also provided for the possibility of the judge reducing the penalty or not applying it in case of excessive use of force in police action due to “fear, surprise or violent emotion”. See Bill 882/2019, available at: www.camara.leg.br/proposicoesWeb/prop_mostrarintegra?codteor=1712088&filename=PL+882/2019. At the end of 2019, and with the same argument of providing “legal protection to military and security agents”, the Executive Branch forwarded to Congress a new bill that expands the case scenarios of self-defence: see Bill 6125/2019, available at: www.camara.leg.br/proposicoesWeb/prop_mostrarintegra?codteor=1836676&filename=PL+6125/2019. In another attempt, in March 2022, the Executive Branch sent a new proposal to Congress based on the need to provide greater legal protection to security agents: see Bill 733/2022, available at: www.camara.leg.br/proposicoesWeb/prop_mostrarintegra?codteor=2153078&filename=PL+733/2022.
178 See, for example, International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, 171 UNTS 999, 16 December 1966, Art. 4; American Convention on Human Rights, 22 November 1969, Art. 27.
179 Brazilian Constitution, above note 1, Art. 136.
180 Ibid., Art. 137.
181 Ibid., Art. 139.
182 IACtHR, Zambrano Vélez et al. v. Ecuador, Judgment (Merits, Reparations and Costs), 4 July 2007, para. 51, available at: www.corteidh.or.cr/docs/casos/articulos/seriec_166_ing.pdf.
183 See above note 90.
184 IACHR, Situation of Human Rights in Brazil, 2021, available at: www.oas.org/en/iachr/reports/pdfs/brasil2021-en.pdf.
185 See above notes 82–84.
186 See the above section on “The ‘Militarization’ of Security: The Escalation of Warmongering Rhetoric and the Role of the Armed Forces”.
187 Camargo, Giovane Matheus, Bordin, Marcelo and Souza, Aknaton Toczek, “As intervenções federais no Rio de Janeiro: A hipermilitarização do cotidiano”, Revista do Núcleo de Estudos Paranaenses, Vol. 4, No. 2, 2018Google Scholar, available at: https://revistas.ufpr.br/nep/article/view/63837/37144.
188 Natalia Viana cites the “PMização” of the Armed Forces, alluding the Military Police of the State of Rio de Janeiro, popularly called the PM (Polícia Militar). N. Viana, above note 110. See also “‘Dano Colateral’ aborda efeitos da atuação dos militares na segurança pública”, Rede Brasil Atual, 2 October 2021, available at: www.redebrasilatual.com.br/politica/dano-colateral-militares-seguranca-publica/.
189 See above note 17.