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SÃO PAULO – The United Nations (UN) office in a statement expressed its concern over the death of João Alberto Silveira Freitas, known among friends as Nego Beto, beaten by two security guards in a Carrefour supermarket in Porto Alegre.
“The violent death of João, on the eve of the date on which Black Awareness Day is celebrated in Brazil, is an act that highlights the different dimensions of racism and inequalities found in the Brazilian social structure,” said the entity, in a distributed note. Friday night (20).
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In the open letter, the UN cites figures on racial violence in Brazil, noting that 75% of homicide victims in Brazil are black, and suggests that the government is more involved in the issue.
“The debate on the elimination of racism and racial discrimination is therefore urgent and necessary, involving each and every one of the agents of society, including the private sector.”
KNOW MORE: Carrefour branch in São Paulo destroyed during a protest after the death of João Alberto
In the statement, the organization reiterates that the prohibition of racial discrimination is included in the main international human rights instruments and also in Brazilian legislation, and that the law must be enforced.
“The UN Brazil urges the Brazilian authorities to guarantee the complete and rapid investigation of the case and calls for the adequate punishment of those responsible, the integral reparation of the victim’s family and the adoption of measures that prevent similar situations from being repeated,” the statement says.
OTHER INFORMATION: Friends say that a man killed in a Porto Alegre market was happy: ‘we were going to be his best man’
The UN office in Brazil is one of those promoting the Black Lives Campaign, an initiative of the organization to promote the “construction of an egalitarian society free of racism.”
João Alberto was brutally beaten to death by two white security guards outside the Carrefour unit in the Passo D’Areia neighborhood in Porto Alegre, Rio Grande do Sul. Videos circulating on social media show him being grabbed by his back by a security guard and attacked by another with several punches to the head. The autopsy report indicated that he died of suffocation.
The aftermath of the case sparked protests across the country, and a Carrefour store was looted in São Paulo. Father of four children, João Alberto was buried this morning (21) in Porto Alegre.
