The Port-au-Prince-Rio Connection: 'Collateral Damage' by UN Troops in Haiti and Brazilian Troops in Rio

点击翻译按钮获取中文摘要

THE PURPOSE of the Impact and Engagement for Development Project is to expand the impact of the GCRF AHRC funded research on use of deadly force by the UN Stabilisation Mission in Haiti (MINUSTAH), to engage similarly affected communities in Brazil. BACKGROUNDIn addition to peer reviewed academic articles, the AHRC project AH/N00793X/1, produced a film using participatory practices, 'It Stays With You: Use of Force by UN Peacekeepers in Haiti' (www.itstayswithyou.com/film) which presents testimonies of survivors whose loved ones were killed or injured by MINUSTAH during heavily militarised law enforcement operations targeted at gang violence. The film has been shown internationally (see www.itstayswithyou.com for details). It was screened as a side event at the Human Rights Council session in July 2018 and has been selected for the Amnesty International Film Festival, France, 2019. On 26 June 2018, we received an email from Under Secretary-General for Peacekeeping, Jean-Pierre Lacroix, in response to nine months of emails to him and a visit by us to MINUJUSTH (the UN mission in Haiti that replaced MINUSTAH) seeking an investigation. Lacroix thanked us for drawing his attention to the issues raised in the film, assured us that the United Nations (UN) is taking the issue seriously and that he will respond with further details in due course. We believe it is important to continue to raise awareness and press for an investigation up until the UN provides a public response that addresses the concerns of those affected. Therefore, we plan to expand our impact and engagement activities internationally, focusing in particular on Brazil because militarised law enforcement operations similar to ones conducted by MINUSTAH in Haiti have recently been undertaken in Brazil's favelas and refugee camps leading to deaths and injuries - and to a perceived lack of accountability for the actions of the armed forces.THE PORT-AU-PRINCE RIO CONNECTIONBrazil contributed the commanders and most of the troops to the UN mission in Haiti. It has been argued that MINUSTAH provided the opportunity for 'acquisition and/or improvement of skills and knowledge related to social control and pacification, which could be adapted and executed in any other (urban) context'.' http://www.opeu.org.br/2018/05/25/as-licoes-do-haiti/. The Vila Cruzeiro operation in 2010 is one example of a law enforcement operation in which dozens of bystanders were killed. The commander, General Sardenberg, served in the first Brazilian contingent and more than half of the 800 members of the Brigada de Infantaria Paraquedista were Haiti veterans (Harig, 2015.) The issue is topical due to the sharp increase in militarised law enforcement operations in 2018 following a decree by President Temer in February putting the military in charge of security operations in Rio. In June a child was killed in an army operation in the Mare favela: reportedly ambulances were initially denied access. GCRF FoF PROJECTWe will work with our project collaborators to screen the film, discuss the issues it raises with communities affected by similar operations, and work with them and our contacts in Geneva and New York to a) seek investigations into deaths and injuries as result of such operations in both Brazil and Haiti and b) pressure the UN to promulgate standards designed to ensure that both the UN and its member states comply with human rights standards in all militarised law enforcement operations. Using participatory practices, we will expand our website www.itstayswithyou.com with filmed testimonies from Brazil, focusing on survivors and medical professionals. We will undertake a literature review of the links between militarised policing operations in Haiti and Brazil, and build on it to write reports on the situation and the need for these issues to be addressed at UN level. We aim to publish in the international and Brazilian press/social media and peer reviewed journals.