Les cités, as favelas, and the projects: International Law obligations in combating racialized police brutality in French, Brazilian, and American ghettos

Abstract

Police brutality is a problem that plagues countries across the globe. All too frequently the victims of police abuse are racial minorities in their respective countries. This paper investigates the notion that international treaty obligations against torture, racial discrimination, and the violation of civil and political rights, when ratified, make state parties liable for systemic acts of racialized police brutality within their territory. It will analyze the treaty obligations of each country (the United States, France, and Brazil) which stem from their ratification of three treaties: The International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination, The Convention Against Torture, and The International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. A discussion of how race is framed as well as the institutionalization of racism in each of the three societies in question will be followed by an evaluation of the practice of police brutality along racial lines. The United States has a traditionally binary concept of race, and Blacks and Latinos are subjected to disparate treatment at every stage of the criminal process. France adopts the notion of “colorblindness,” however the police’s use of excessive and lethal force against Arab and African suspects is conducted without fear of serious repercussions. And while Brazil sees itself as a “racial Utopia,” non-white Brazilians are disproportionately beaten, tortured, imprisoned, and killed by Brazilian police. Finally, the paper will address the possibility of legal redress for the violation of the above treaties through the practice of racialized police brutality by the United States, France, and Brazil.

Key words: police brutality, racial minorities, favela, ghetto, treaty obligations.