More than three decades after the tragic deaths of three teenagers in Tapanã, Belém, the Inter-American Court of Human Rights has delivered a significant ruling against the Brazilian state for the impunity surrounding these cases. The court found Brazil guilty of violating the rights to personal integrity, judicial protection, family protection, and the right to the truth, highlighting a major failure in the country's legal and social systems. This landmark decision represents the first judgment by the Inter-American Court concerning the killings of children and adolescents in urban areas of the Amazon, denoting a crucial moment in the fight for accountability and justice.

The three young victims were killed during a police operation in 1994, an event that was initially classified as a “resistance case,” effectively allowing the police to evade accountability. In 2018, 21 police officers charged by the Public Ministry were acquitted due to lack of evidence, bringing an alarming end to a judicial process that had already lasted decades without any real accountability for those responsible. The lack of internal justice highlighted serious flaws in Brazil's legal approach to human rights and the safety of young people in marginalized communities.

This ruling was brought to the international attention of the Inter-American Court by civil society organizations in Pará, coupled with support from a local public university, following nearly 30 years of inaction and lack of internal accountability. The ruling not only stands as a condemnation of the past injustices faced by the young victims but also serves as a call for systemic changes in Brazil’s law enforcement policies, promoting accountability and the protection of human rights, particularly in vulnerable communities. It may also inspire further legal and social reforms aimed at preventing such tragedies from occurring in the future.