Faced with the repercussion of the Moïse Kabagambe case, a Congolese brutally murdered in Rio de Janeiro, Conare (National Committee for Refugees) approved the creation of the Observatory on Violence against Migrants and Refugees.
The objective is to monitor complaints and procedures related to the issue, in addition to supporting the development of public policies to address them.
The work will begin with cases of violence against members of the Congolese community in Brazil, especially the recent heinous crime that took place in the capital of Rio de Janeiro.
The decisions were taken at a plenary meeting of Conare on Thursday (3). The committee includes representatives from the Ministry of Justice and Public Security and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Beaten and clubbed to death at age 24 in a kiosk in Barra da Tijuca on the 24th, Moïse was one of more than 50,000 people who were recognized as political refugees between 2011 and 2020 in Brazil.
This group includes, in the case of the murdered boy, hundreds of fugitives from armed conflicts or human rights violations in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
The official number of Congolese in the country is, however, lower than estimated by the community. There were 2,015 residence registrations granted since 2010, in addition to 1,400 that are still awaiting recognition as refugees, according to a survey carried out by the International Migration Observatory (OBMigra) for the Leaf.
Three suspects were arrested after confessing to the police of the crime. They said they went to intervene to protect a colleague, an employee of the Tropicália kiosk.
Moïse’s family members denounced that they were victims of intimidation by two military police officers, information revealed by the leaf. According to the Congolese’s relatives, the agents have visited the kiosk three times since the crime, the first time on the night of the attacks, on January 24.
The 2nd Military Judiciary Police Station, of the General Corregedoria of the Rio de Janeiro Military Police, opened an internal investigation to investigate the case.
