- Target:
- FIFA the IOC (International Olympic Committee) and event sponsors
- Region:
- Brazil
- Website:
- www.dontkill4me.org
The Brazilian police are one of the most violent in the world. Our MISSION is to create a safe environment in Brazil for its citizens, as well as participants and spectators before, during and after the 2014 World Cup and 2016 Olympics.
In 2007 my family was cruelly introduced to a little known human rights catastrophe occurring in Brazil. That year my nephew, Joseph Martin was murdered on his 30th birthday by a police officer in Rio de Janeiro. After a shoddy investigation, complete with signs of evidence tampering, Joseph’s killer managed to escape justice. Through tremendous shock and pain, my family struggled at first to understand what happened in Joseph’s case, and why. My father was a policeman his entire career so we did not grow up believing the police were killers. The answers we found when looking at Brazil’s police were disturbing. According to the government’s own statistics, Joseph was one of an astonishing 1,330 people killed by police in Rio in 2007. After Joseph’s murder, we discovered he was caught in a storm of police brutality that takes many lives on a daily basis in Brazil. Joseph’s case was only exceptional because he was a white foreigner killed in a touristy part of Rio. The vast majority of targets of police brutality in Brazil are poor black youths who reside in slum communities known as favelas. This profound injustice visited upon my family and countless more in Brazil and led me, Joseph’s aunt, to found Brazil Police Watch.
As the world turns its eyes to Brazil when it hosts the 2014 World Cup and the 2016 Rio Olympics, we, the undersigned, demand immediate police reform in Brazil. In order for the citizens of Brazil, foreign residents, international visitors and athletes to be safe up to, during and after the 2014 World Cup and the 2016 Olympics, major reforms must occur in the Brazilian police departments - reforms that do not encourage more killings, but rather improve public security.
We request that FIFA (Fédération Internationale de Football Association) and the IOC (International Olympic Committee) work with the government of Brazil to ensure that citizens of Brazil, as well as participants and spectators, are safe from police violence up to and during the World Cup and Olympics. We ask that FIFA and the IOC demand that the Brazilian government implement the recommendations and projects outlined in the petition to reduce the high rate of police killings committed in the name of our safety.
To the sponsors and partners of these events, since it is true that money talks then let it speak clearly. Demand that the Brazilian government implement these changes, lest your organization, products and services be affiliated with a government that murders its citizens.
Please stand with us in an international campaign urging immediate police reform in Brazil and consider signing our petition. Thank you.
We request that FIFA, the IOC and event sponsors work with the government of Brazil to ensure that citizens of Brazil as well as participants and spectators are safe from police violence up to, during and after the 2014 World Cup and 2016 Olympics. We ask that you demand that the Brazilian government implement the recommendations and projects outlined below to reduce the high rate of police killings committed in the name of our safety.
1. All police in all World Cup venues receive training in low-lethal defensive policing techniques
2. We demand an end to the raids on the favelas.
3. Per Amnesty International - End the use of the designation “resistance followed by death” for victims of police violence.
4. Include recommended police changes put forth by the United Nations, Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International in your commitment from Brazil.
5. Per the United Nations “In each State, the State Secretariat for Public Security should establish a reliable specialized unit to investigate and prosecute police involvement in militias and extermination groups.”
6. Implement concrete, actionable, quantifiable, measures to de-militarize the police.
Because the Brazilian police demonstrate a long history of “shoot first”, we are all at risk. Please ensure that the World Cup and the Olympics are a safe venue for all who want to share in their love of the game. We look forward to safe international sporting events that guarantee safety for all.
The Don't Kill for Me, Safe Games for All! petition to FIFA the IOC (International Olympic Committee) and event sponsors was written by BrazilPoliceWatch and is in the category Human Rights at GoPetition.