Amnesty International Report 2017/18

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Amnesty International Report 2017/18

transgender woman who successfully 

challenged the government’s refusal to 

change her gender from male to female in 

her identity document as unconstitutional. 

Tshepo Ricki Kgositau had unsuccessfully 

applied to the Civil and National Registration 

Office in Gaborone to change her gender 

identity. The Office advised her to seek a 

court order after denying her application.

INTERNATIONAL JUSTICE

On 17 July, Parliament passed a bill which 

incorporated the Rome Statute of the 

International Criminal Court into domestic 

law, including the offences of genocide, 

crimes against humanity and war crimes. 

This followed Botswana’s ratification of the 

Rome Statute in 2000.

DEATH PENALTY

Tshiamo Kgalalelo and Mmika Mpe were 

sentenced to death on 13 December; they 

were convicted of murder and other charges, 

including theft and abduction, in the Lobatse 

High Court in May.

BRAZIL

Federative Republic of Brazil

Head of state and government: Michel Temer

A number of proposals which threatened 

human rights and represented huge 

setbacks to existing law and policy made 

their way through the legislative process. 

Violence and killings increased, mostly 

affecting young black males. Conflicts over 

land and natural resources resulted in 

dozens of killings. Human rights defenders 

were not effectively protected. Police 

responded to most protests with 

unnecessary and excessive force.

LEGAL, CONSTITUTIONAL OR 

INSTITUTIONAL DEVELOPMENTS

Up to 200 different proposals for 

constitutional amendments, new laws and 

changes to existing legislation threatened a 

range of human rights. Among other 

retrogressive measures, proposals were 

introduced to reduce the age at which 

children can be tried as adults to below 18; 

change or revoke the Disarmament Bill, 

facilitating licensing and purchasing of 

firearms; restrict the right to peaceful 

assembly and to criminalize social protests; 

impose a full ban on abortion, violating the 

sexual and reproductive rights of women and 

girls; change the land demarcation process 

and requirements for free, prior and informed 

consent of Indigenous Peoples and Afro-

descendant communities; and reduce the 

protection of labour rights and access to 

social security.

Law 13.491/2017, signed by President 

Temer on 13 October, provided that human 

rights violations, including murder or 

attempted murder, committed by military 

personnel against civilians would be tried by 

military courts.

1

 The Law violated the right to 

a fair trial, as military courts in Brazil did not 

guarantee judicial independence.

Despite these setbacks, in May a new 

migration law (Law 13.445/2017) came into 

effect, representing improvements to 

migrants’ rights.

INTERNATIONAL SCRUTINY

Brazil’s human rights record was examined 

for the third time under the UN 

UPR process.

2

 Brazil received 246 

recommendations, including on Indigenous 

Peoples’ rights to land; killings by the police; 

torture and degrading conditions in prisons; 

and protection of human rights defenders. 

Brazil accepted all but four 

recommendations; however, there remained 

concerns about their implementation in the 

context of the retrogressive laws and policies 

adopted during the year.

In May the Inter-American Court of Human 

Rights issued a ruling against Brazil for its 

failure to grant justice for the killing by police 

of 26 people in Favela Nova Brasília, in 

Complexo do Alemão, city of Rio de Janeiro, 

in October 1994 and May 1995.

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POLICE AND SECURITY FORCES

The deployment of the armed forces for 

policing and law and order increased.

The authorities failed to adopt measures to 

reduce the homicide rate, which remained 

high for young black males. The number of 

homicides increased in major cities, 

especially in the northeast. National data 

compiled and published during the year by 

the Brazilian Public Security Forum revealed 

that 61,619 people were killed during 2016, 

of which 4,657 were women. Public security 

policies continued to rely on highly militarized 

police interventions, motivated mainly by the 

so-called “war on drugs”.

In January the Ministry of Justice 

announced a Public Security National Plan 

which was to focus on reducing homicides, 

tackling drug trafficking and conducting a 

review of the prison system. A detailed and 

comprehensive plan was never presented or 

implemented and the public security 

situation deteriorated during the year.

Instances of “multiple homicides” (single 

events with more than three victims) and 

“chacinas” (multiple killings characteristic of 

executions) increased in several cities; the 

authorities often failed to properly investigate. 

On 5 January, eight men were killed by a 

group of armed men in Porto Seguro, Bahia 

state. On 3 June, six men were killed inside a 

house by armed hooded men in Porto das 

Dunas in Fortaleza, Ceará state. On 6 June, 

four men and a woman were killed and nine 

other people were injured by a group of 10 

hooded gunmen in a bar in Belem, Pará 

state. On 22 September, six young men aged 

between 16 and 23 were killed in Grande 

Natal, Rio Grande do Norte state. In Bom 

Jardim neighbourhood in Fortaleza, Ceará 

state, five people were killed and three others 

injured on 20 February, and four young 

males aged between 14 and 20 were killed 

inside a house on 8 October. In most cases, 

the perpetrators were unidentified.

Police interventions in favelas and 

marginalized areas often resulted in intensive 

shoot-outs and deaths. Data about people 

killed by the police remained inaccurate as 

states kept poor records using different 

methodologies; however, official numbers 

indicated that such killings increased across 

Brazil. Official figures showed that on-duty 

police officers killed 494 people in São Paulo 

state between January and September and, 

between January and November, 1,035 in 

Rio de Janeiro state and 148 in Ceará state.

On 13 February, four people were killed and 

others injured by military police during a 

police intervention in the favela of Chapadão, 

Rio de Janeiro city.

In February, a 21-day strike by the military 

police in Espírito Santo state resulted in 

chaos. Armed forces and national security 

forces were called in to police the state.

On 12 July, a homeless man was killed by a 

military police officer in the neighbourhood of 

Pinheiros, city of São Paulo.

In August, at least seven people were killed 

by the police during police interventions that 

continued for several days in the favela 

Jacarezinho, Rio de Janeiro city. Residents 

reported that police officers were violent and 

committed a number of abuses, such as 

assaults, unlawful raids on homes, and 

unlawful killings. The police interventions 

may have been in retaliation for a police 

officer being killed in the area.

On 3 September, 10 men were killed by civil 

police officers during a police intervention 

attempting to prevent an armed robbery in 

the neighbourhood of Morumbi, São Paulo 

city.

Early in the year, military police from the 

Pacification Police Unit raided several houses 

in the favela Complexo do Alemão, Rio de 

Janeiro city. These unlawful actions by police 

continued even after a court ruled that the 

police should leave the area. Those 

denouncing the police violations were 

threatened and intimidated. After months of 

mobilization, the Public Prosecutor’s Office 

brought charges against two police officers 

who were in command of the operation and 

responsible for the area.

On 11 November, seven men were killed 

during a joint security operation of the Civil 

Police and the Army in São Gonçalo, Rio de 

Janeiro state. Civilian authorities said they 

had no competence to investigate the killings 

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