Viva Rio

In 1993, according to the US State Department, extrajudicial killings of criminal suspects and minors by vigilante groups were the principle human rights problem in Brazil.

[3] From these meetings emerged the idea that an institution needed to be created to promote what the city lacked; a culture of nonviolence and community development.

[4] This drop in the city's homicide rate occurred parallel to the changes in policing methods largely brought about through the collaboration of Viva Rio.

[6] According to Brazil's Ministry of Justice, disarmament campaigns, such as those organized by Viva Rio, will become a permanent part of national gun control policy on June 1, 2011.

[10] When the internal conflict re-escalated in February 2004 and turned towards street violence, the United Nations Security Council passed Resolution 1542 establishing a new peacekeeping operation in Haiti.

These projects include the following: the purification and distribution of potable water;[12] providing basic sanitation by installing latrines and waste management systems;[13] and the establishment of a sports campaign aimed at keeping kids from gang violence.

Throughout Brazil, charity events, such as Benex Festival in Rio de Janeiro, which gathered 13 tons of nonperishable goods in 2 days,[15] have provided Haitians with basic necessities.

Viva Rio is involved in multiple social projects that focus on three areas of concern: community outreach, communications and human security.

Besides education, the community outreach programs involve projects that work to provide low-interest loans to entrepreneurs and local businesses in Rio de Janeiro.