Starting on January 22nd, 2012, over 2000 Brazilian police officers conducted a forced eviction of 1600 families from the Pinheirinho settlement in the state of São Paulo. Amnesty International reports that these families were given no warning when they were evicted at six in the morning. The police approached these poor families as a violent threat as the police cut gas, telephone and electricity lines and had tear gas, rubber bullets, tanks and helicopters to back them up.
The Pinheirinho settlement was started back in 2004 by homeless people who started using abandoned and unused land. The community started growing as stores, churches and libraries sprung up and more and more people began to settle in the area. The community and homes that these people built up for so long are now going to be completely demolished.
Brazil clearly does not support these people as not only did they brutally evict them, but they offered no alternatives or assistance after they ripped these families from their homes.
Tell Brazil to allow these people to return to their homes and legalize this important settlement.
We the undersigned sincerely ask the Brazilian government to overturn the forced eviction of the Pinheirinho settlement and allow these people to return home. These poor people have no alternatives as they are trying to make the best of their unfortunate economic situation by starting homes and communities. They have received little to no support from the government and have tried to legalize the settlement in order to make their homes legal in the eyes of the law. But they have been rejected at every turn and are running out of options.
Furthermore, the Brazilian government is breaking international law by evicting these people as Brazil is held to the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR). The ICESCR states that member countries are not only disallowed from conducting evictions, but that they are supposed to protect people from being evicted. With the Brazilian government conducting this eviction, they are clearly breaking and violating this law.
Please show you people that you support them and show the world that you will uphold international agreements by allowing the Pinheirinho to return to their homes permanently.
Thank you.
