A/HRC/31/56/Add.1 in 2013, nearly 80 per cent of the victims of homicides resulting from police interventions were Afro-Brazilian, of whom 75 per cent were youth between 15 and 29 years of age. 6 In addition to the killings committed by police on duty, it is believed that a large number of deaths are also caused by so-called death squads and militias made up primarily of civil and military police and other agents of the State (see A/HRC/11/2/Add.2). 51. The Special Rapporteur further observes that, compounding the violence itself, is the widespread impunity surrounding such crimes. Police officers are seldom brought to justice and the vast majority of the victims do not obtain any kind of reparation. For example, a recent review of 220 investigations of police killings opened in 2011 in the city of Rio de Janeiro found that, after four years, only one police officer had been charged.7 Given the widespread nature of the impunity, witnesses of police killings rarely go to the police to testify for fear of retaliation. This is compounded by deficiencies in witness-protection programmes and a lack of protection for human rights defenders. As a result of the high death rate, and the ensuing impunity, social movements have labelled the situation a “genocide of black youth”. 52. One of the instruments enabling these homicides and the surrounding impunity is the so-called “resistance followed by death” (autos de resistência). A remnant of the military dictatorship, this mechanism essentially operates to legitimize homicides by police on the grounds of self-defence and in practice operates to create a shield of impunity for police officers. Draft Bill 4471 of 2012 is currently pending before Congress and is aimed at eliminating this by establishing procedures for the preservation of crime scenes and for better investigation at the federal level. The Special Rapporteur strongly believes that the passage of the Bill into law would mark a significant turning point in addressing the abuse of police power. This has already been evidenced in Rio de Janiero, where a resolution by the State Civil Police to stop applying the autos de resistência mechanism has allegedly had a positive impact in reducing the number of police homicides. However, she observes that abolishing this mechanism must be accompanied by other measures, including the restructuring of the police force, in particular the abolition of the military police, and the strengthening of the independent police ombudsman. The Special Rapporteur further notes that, on 4 January 2016, the Superior Council of Civil Police Chiefs issued a joint resolution abolishing the use of the term auto de resistência, with a view to guaranteeing that homicides committed by security agents are duly investigated. It is hoped that this resolution will indeed contribute towards the passing of draft bill 4471. B. Criminalization of Afro-Brazilians 53. The Special Rapporteur is also concerned about the criminalization of AfroBrazilians. It is estimated that 75 per cent of the Brazilian prison population is AfroBrazilian (see A/HRC/27/68/Add.1, para. 68). Studies also reveal that, if charged, AfroBrazilians are disproportionately subject to imprisonment and are more likely to be kept in prison and deprived of alternative options. 8 54. This inequality is sustained by the approach to policing, with reports indicating that Afro-Brazilians are more often stopped by the police. In this context the Special Rapporteur is also concerned about the consequences of the so-called “war on drugs” which is an important factor in the criminalization of Afro-Brazilians. The ambiguities of the current 6 7 8 “You Killed My Son”, Amnesty International, 2015. Ibid. Relatório de Aplicação de Penas Alternativas do IPEA, Available from www.ipea.gov.br/portal/ images/stories/PDFs/relatoriopesquisa/150325_relatorio_aplicacao_penas.pdf. 11