Youth Forum
Militarization of the favelas: The impacts of the UPP on the lives of young blacks
Rio de Janeiro
Objetivos e público prioritário
The project will further the debate on the processes of militarization of territories through the Police Pacification Units (UPPs) and the violations of the rights of young blacks in this context. The goal is to demystify this forced pacification and encourage the autonomous organization of youth, promoting discussion about institutional racism and the current development model of cities.
Main activities
– Conversation circles with the theme: “Young Blacks and Institutional Racism in the Current Development Model of the City”;
– Participatory workshops to construct a route for mapping the violations and violence suffered by these black youth;
– Organization of a seminar which will bring together black youth from occupied favelas, researchers, Human Rights movements and organizations with the aim of sharing the results (of the mapping of violations and violence) and coordinate a network of black youth to participate in youth networks.
Context
The militarization of the favelas began in 2008 and brought with it a rhetoric related to a new model of public safety for the favelas of the city of Rio de Janeiro. The so-called “pacification” brought with it the principle of a police force in close proximity to community structures, which has not happened in practice. We cannot discard the fact that the installation of the UPPs resulted in significant reductions in the number of homicides in the favelas, but this process impacted certain social groups in an unequal manner, among them black youth.
The Police Pacification Units come out of a new model of security, but in practice reproduce the traditional role of the Military Police in defending private interests and the current urban development model, in which the use of force and military control of the favelas serve to sustain the sale of city space as a commodity, based on the logic of the commercialization of life and consumerism, not the guarantee of rights.
About the organization
The Youth Forum of Rio de Janeiro’s mission is to struggle for the guarantee of the rights of youth in the state of Rio de Janeiro, especially black youth and favela residents.
Partnerships
The Youth Forum conducts dialog with the Communities Against Violence Network, the Manguinhos Social Forum and cooperates with the movements Favela Will Not Stay Quiet, Occupy Borel and Occupy Alemão, as well as the Youth Forum of Belo Horizonte, Talk Network, Apafunk and Occupation Manoel Congo.
Results
The organization was able to identify, map and georeference rights violations and specific violence against black youths from the “militarized” favelas, and discuss notions of human rights with black youths as well as the problems pertaining to the politics of militarization, institutional racism being what guides this construction process. With this they managed to raise the awareness about the state of racism that some face on the streets.
Funding Line
Annual Call for Proposals
Year
-
Total Granted
R$ 40,000
Duration
12 months
Main Themes
Guaranteeing the rule of law and criminal justice
