May 18th though May 20, the Rapporteur of the Right to the City (Relatoria do Direito à Cidade – Plataforma Dhesca) will begin an investigation in Rio de Janeiro with the goal of evaluating the preparations for the 2014 World Cup and 2016 Olympic Games. The mission will include visits to the communities and will count on the participation of UN Rapporteur Raquel Rolnik.

Activities during this mission will have an axis in the impact of the World Cup and Olympic preparations. However, it doesn’t mean that any potential human rights, or housing rights violations found during this mission can’t be included in the report. The mission will include the participation of the World Cup and Olympic Committees, The Nation urban Reform Forum, NUTH, the Pastoral das Favelas, City Conflict Council, as well as participation from associated entities.

The mission’s main objectives are to

i) the strengthening of social movements and its corollary efforts
ii) Denounce housing rights violations and defend the accessibility of housing rights
iii) proposal of a committee for the conflict mediation. The goal is to document all the cases of housing rights violations directly related to the Olympic and World Cup building. The mission will also take into account violations not directly related to the World Cup and Olympic preparations.

The focus of the mission will be on communities that are directly being affected and fit into the following criteria:

– Violations of the city related to the implementation of road works and justified by the World Cup or the Olympics;

– Violations of the city related to the implementation of reform of sports stadiums (in this case, the Maracana stadium);

– Violations of the city related to construction / renovation of sports equipment and justified by the World Cup or the Olympics;

– Violations of the city related to the restructuring of urban areas within the city and justified by the World Cup or the Olympics;

– Violations of the city related to the completion of construction / renovation of tourist facilities and justified by the World Cup or the Olympics;

Itinerary For Mission:
-Location
-Understanding the situation
-Number of families
-Description of conflict
-Actual situation
-Claims by the communities

Mission Participants:
Orlando Junior – IPPUR-UFRJ/Observatório das Metrópoles, Cristiano Muller, Representante da Defensoria Pública, Conselho Popular, CMP, MNLM, UNMP, IPPUR/UFRJ, Comissão de Direitos Humanos OAB, GT Conflitos Ministério das Cidades.

Details:
May 18th
Start: 8am
Visits to: Favela do Metrô, Campinho; Vila Autódromo, Missão na Vila Harmonia, Restinga e Recreio II

May 19th
Start 8am
Visitis to: Missão na Estradinhas e Providência
Meeting with: NGOs

May 20th
Start 8am
Meeting at: the Samba Drome

Original Story: (Portuguese)