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Threat to indigenous rights in Brazil : An indigenous movements are mobilizing in all the country from 30/09 to 05/10, the Indigenous chief AFUKAKA of the Kuikuro tribe is seeking support from international community.

The largest indigenous protests in Brazil to date are being held in a unitary movement for the first time, from 30/09 to 5/10 throughout the country – in Brasilia, Sao Paulo, Belem and Rio Branco.

Convened by APIB (Association of Indigenous Peoples of Brazil), these protests respond to widespread attacks suffered by indigenous peoples on their territorial rights; these attacks originate from the « bancada ruralista », a lobby of large companies and landowners acting in the National Congress and the government. The protest movement is supported by international organizations defending human rights and the environment; a rally for support of these protests is being relayed in Paris by the Indigenous leader Afukaka of the Kuikiro tribe.

Around a hundred proposed legislations are now under discussion in the National Congress of Brazil. They aim to restrict the rights of indigenous peoples that are today guaranteed by the Federal Constitution of 1988. Proposed legislation essentially targets the right to land and to the exclusive use of natural resources.
Among them: the Proposals for Constitutional Amendments aim to change the demarcation of their territories, causing their paralysis (PEC 215 and 38); a complementary bill aims to allow the introduction of any kind of corporate enterprise in recognized indigenous territories (PLP 22); and further, an order of the Attorney General aims to significantly restrict the rights of indigenous peoples over their own lands (Port303).

If these propositions enter into law, it may increase insecurity and lead to an explosion of land disputes. For example, PEC 215 would result in a revision of land rights across 13% of Brazilian territory, already experiencing strong land tensions: 563 Indians have been killed over the past 10 years, of which 60 in 2012. The PLP227 law would legalise many currently illegal initiatives, such as the Belo Monte dam and its hidden face, or the mega-mining project Belo Sun*, and as a result any further civil action would be in vain.

The government of Dilma Rousseff has already established the poorest record for management of indigenous lands: it’s actions do not respect free, prior and informed consultation to indigenous peoples guaranteed by Convention No. 169 of the International Labour Organization, paralyze native land demarcation, and violate the Constitution and international treaties.
Furthermore, the government subsidizes the agricultural models of large landowners, which concentrate land ownership and related income, promote the heavy use of agro-chemicals, and expel rural workers, small farmers and traditional indigenous peoples, while creating comparatively few jobs.

Brazilian human rights and environmental organizations are seeking the strong support of the international community, in the face of a resistance to dialogue on the part of the Brazilian government and the growing threats to the indigenous and traditional communities.

Afukaka, leader of the Kuikiro tribe, invited to Paris for Genesis, the Sebastiao Salgado exhibition, will testify to the offenses against the indigenous peoples and their struggle to defend the Brazilian Constitution, their rights and future of the Amazon in a press conference. He is accompanied by anthropologist Carlos Fausto of the National Museum of Natural History in Rio and Felipe Milanez, a journalist renowned for coverage of these issues.

Press Conference Thuesday 1rst October 10 AM in Comptoir General – 80 Quai de Jemmapes 75010 Paris

Supported by : Amazon Watch – Fondation Danielle Mitterrand – France Libertés – Planète Amazone – GITPA (Groupe International de Travail pour les Peuples Autochtones) – ICRA International