scholarly journals Drug Trafficking and Youth Mortality in Brazil: An Expression of Human Rights’ Violations

2018 ◽  
Vol 17 (34) ◽  
pp. 235-251
Author(s):  
Ana Paula Motta Costa ◽  
Dani Rudnicki ◽  
Julia Maia Goldani

This paper aims to analyze the intersectional problematic that surrounds the vio-lations of adolescents’ human rights that happen in Brazil nowadays. It focuses, more specifically, on the involvement of these youths with drug trafficking, and on the relations between their participation in crime and the rising mortality rates amidst young age groups. A large part of Brazil’s children and teenagers grow up in contexts of social vulnerability, lack of opportunities, difficult access to economical assets, and personal devaluation. This situation often pushes young individuals into involvement with drug trafficking or armed robbery, since crime represents, in their context, a possibility for economic and social ascendance. In parallel, the criminal policy adopted by the Brazilian State, synthesized in the expression “war on drugs” and manifested in the promulgation of Law 11.343/06, focuses on repressive police actions, and favors imprisonment, while doing nothing to attack the social causes of the problem. The result is the mass incarceration of young and economically disfavored individuals as well as, not infrequently, their deaths during police approaches, characterizing a situation where these adoles-cents are both perpetuators and victims of violence.

2020 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 95-110
Author(s):  
G. C. Pal

Abstract   Caste, a social institution in India, has significant implications on social legislations, affirmative action and group-specific development policies. In the modern society, the traditional caste structure however continues to nurture the unequal social interaction process among caste groups. This often translates into various forms of human rights violations against the groups at the bottom of caste hierarchy. The key concern is that resistance to such violations often leads to ‘caste violence’ of different forms. Although a body of literature that explains this caste phenomenon in the discourse of human rights and social justice, its larger consequences remains a neglected dimension. This paper, drawing evidence from a series of empirical research on ‘mapping caste-based violence’ in contemporary Indian society, sheds light on diverse consequences of real or perceived violence, emanating from ‘caste’. The analysis reveals that consequences of caste violence are manifested in social, economic, psychological and moral terms. The ‘victims of violence’ speak the language of suffering and deprivation in different spheres of life, having a bearing on the basic human needs of ‘belongingness’ democratic honour and ‘sense of security’. The apathetic attitude and slow response of state machinery towards caste violence often accentuate the social conditions to make the ‘victims of violence’ and their communities fall into the vicious cycle of caste oppressions and increased vulnerability to poor human development.


2017 ◽  
Vol 44 (5) ◽  
pp. 91-107 ◽  
Author(s):  
Philipp Wolfesberger

Qualitative ethnographic study of the human rights violations committed in the course of the militarized combat against drug trafficking organizations in rural Michoacán unmasks state practices of coercive inclusion. The violation of human rights and the subsequent processing of human rights claims paradoxically bind the marginalized population to the formal state and foster its subordination. The practical configuration of the current arena of human rights is not the lever for a democratic, inclusive Mexico but a curtain that conceals the repressive practices that it makes possible. In the processing of human rights complaints, the legal rights of physical integrity and private property become moral rights with no effect of legal justice. Un estudio etnográfico cualitativo sobre las violaciones a los derechos humanos cometidas durante la lucha militarizada contra las organizaciones de tráfico de drogas en el Michoacán rural sirve para desenmascarar las prácticas de inclusión coercitiva del Estado. Las violaciones y el posterior procesamiento de las denuncias paradójicamente vinculan a la población marginada con el Estado oficial, fomentando su subordinación. La configuración práctica del actual contexto de los derechos humanos no funge como la palanca de un México democrático e inclusivo, sino como una cortina que oculta las prácticas represivas que el Estado hace posibles. En la tramitación de las denuncias sobre violación de derechos humanos, los derechos legales de la integridad física y la propiedad privada se convierten en derechos morales sin ningún efecto de justicia legal.


2020 ◽  
Vol 51 (1-2) ◽  
pp. 5-24
Author(s):  
Anna Bræmer Warburg ◽  
Steffen Jensen

This article explores the social and moral implications of Duterte's war on drugs in a poor, urban neighbourhood in Manila, the Philippines. Drawing on long-term ethnographic fieldwork, surveys, and human rights interventions, the article sheds light on policing practices, social relations, and moral discourses by examining central perspectives of the state police implementing the drug war, of local policing actors engaging with informal policing structures, and of residents dealing with everyday insecurities. It argues that the drug war has produced a climate of ambiguous fear on the ground, which has reconfigured and destabilised social relations between residents and the state as well as among residents. Furthermore, this has led to a number of subordinate moral discourses — centred on social justice, family, and religion — with divergent perceptions on the drug war and the extent to which violence is deemed legitimate.


2014 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 11-49
Author(s):  
Otávio Raposo

Violence among criminal groups in dispute over domination of drug trafficking in the favelas and intervention by the state security forces in those areas encourage a climate of fear and oppression that intensifies the segregation that historically afflicts their residents. In Maré, an area of Rio de Janeiro made up of sixteen favelas, some of the most powerful drug trafficking factions operate, and armed conflicts and aggressive behavior by the police are commonplace. This is the backdrop against which the residents of Maré and local organizations have mobilized against the constant violations of their human rights, following an upsurge in the number of conflicts. This article intends to debate the issue of violence in Rio de Janeiro, presenting some of the social struggles that the population of Maré has fought in recent times.


2017 ◽  
Vol 43 ◽  
pp. 509-522
Author(s):  
Barbara Stańdo-Kawecka

The importance of the fundamental principles of punishment in criminal policy — remarks against a background of causes and results of “mass incarceration” in the United StatesIn the last century, in the United States, there was a significant change in the paradigms of punishment. In the 1970s the ideology of rehabilitation collapsed and reforms, which aimed at restoring justice in punishment and reduction of the prison population, were initiated. In the next decade, the movement aiming at liberal reforms lost the social and political support and was replaced with the repressive criminal policy. At the same time, a rapid increase in the prison population started which has been referred to in the criminological literature as the phenomenon of mass incarceration. After four decades of continuous growth in the number of persons deprived of their liberty there is no doubt that the social and financial consequences of a repressive system of punishment proved to be dramatic. For this reason, issues concerning the restoration of justice and rationality in punishment have again been discussed in the United States.Many European countries also experienced the “punitive turn” in the criminal policy at the end of the 20th century, although its scale was incomparable with what happened in the United States. It does not mean, however, that American discussions on the philosophy of punishment and criminal policy are irrelevant for Europe. Multidimensional negative effects of the American policy of mass incarceration indicate the dangers resulting from ignoring the basic principles of punishment that protect against abuses of the state’s power to punish. Additionally, they encourage a serious discussion about the integration of punishment theories with the empirical knowledge on the results of sentencing and sentence enforcement.


2017 ◽  
pp. 247
Author(s):  
Óscar Daniel Rodríguez Fuentes

The enforced disappearance as serious human rights violations had been practiced in México constantly. The profiles of missing people, the modus and the motivations had been changed as well as the context, for this reason, our research studies the evolution of the some variables, from political reasons in the authoritarian rule of past century up to the social crisis that began with the fight against drug trafficking. The enforced disappearance is a big problem no only by the number of victims (30,000) but also for the corruption and impunity that surround this crime in a supposed context of democracy.  


2019 ◽  
Vol 21 (2) ◽  
pp. 122-135
Author(s):  
Caroline Barros de Sales ◽  
Samara Sayonara Cândida da Silva ◽  
Lutiane Queiroz de Almeida

O presente trabalho tem como objetivo caracterizar o risco nas comunidades Mazagão 1 e José da Silva Sobral, a partir de indicadores sociais de vulnerabilidade e ambientais de perigo para movimentos de massa. Para isso, buscou-se inicialmente o levantamento bibliográfico, respaldando-se em autores que trabalham com as temáticas de riscos e vulnerabilidade, e foram realizadas atividades de campo, as quais possibilitaram a aplicação dos questionários de vulnerabilidade social e das fichas de exposição a movimentos de massa, além de permitir a realização de registros fotográficos. A partir da sistematização dos dados de vulnerabilidade social e de exposição, permitiu-se estabelecer as características mais presentes nas comunidades, indicando os elementos mais críticos, os quais colaboram para que haja risco de movimentos de massa, apontando então para a necessidade de pesquisas que venham a estudar profundamente a situação, podendo vir a propor medidas mitigadoras diretamente aplicáveis à área de risco.Palavras-chave: Vulnerabilidade; Perigo; Desastre. ABSTRACTThe present work aims to characterize the risk in the communities Mazagão 1 and José da Silva Sobral, considering social indicators of vulnerability and environmental indicators of danger to mass movements. In order to do this, a bibliographical survey was sought, supported by authors working on the themes of risk and vulnerability, and field activities were carried out, which made possible the application of the social vulnerability questionnaires and the exposure sheets to mass movements, besides allowing the realization of photographic records. Systematizing social vulnerability and exposure data, the most present characteristics in the communities were established, indicating the most critical elements, which contribute to the risk of mass movements, pointing to the need for research that will deeply study the situation, and may propose mitigating measures directly applicable to the area of risk.Keywords: Vulnerability; Danger; Disaster. RESUMENEste trabajo tiene como objetivo caracterizar el riesgo en las comunidades Mazagão 1 y José da Silva Sobral, con base en indicadores sociales de vulnerabilidad y peligro ambiental para los movimientos de masas. Para ello, se buscó inicialmente la investigación bibliográfica, apoyada por autores que trabajan con los temas de riesgos y vulnerabilidad, y se llevaron a cabo actividades de campo, que permitieron la aplicación de cuestionarios de vulnerabilidad social y hojas de exposición al movimiento, además de permitir la realización de registros fotográficos. A partir de la sistematización de datos sobre vulnerabilidad social y exposición, fue posible establecer las características más comunes en las comunidades, indicando los elementos más críticos, que contribuyen al riesgo de movimientos masivos, señalando la necesidad de una investigación que Estudie la situación en profundidad y proponga medidas de mitigación directamente aplicables al área de riesgo.Palabras Claves: Vulnerabilidad; Peligro; Desastre.


2016 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
W akar Amin

History is witness to the fact that warring factions in any armed conflict often commit several human rights violations like murder, rape, torture etc., and the act of disappearance of person is one among them. While the persons who are subjected to disappearance are the primary victims, the families they leave behind are the secondary victims. The situation makes families of the disappeared person suffer great anguish when their loved ones go disappeared. The phenomenon produces anguish, fear and unspeakable sorrow for thousands of families. Appreciating the importance of social work professionals in helping families deal effective with their life situations the present paper aims to provide a case for social work interventional techniques of Social Support System (SSS) and Case Management to modify and make the social environment conducive for the families to live a normal life.


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