Six Brazilian organizations will present this Tuesday (22) a complaint at the UN Human Rights Council against the bill that relaxes the rules for mineral exploration in indigenous lands. THE CNN had access to the document signed by the entities Conectas Human Rights, ISA, APIB, Instituto Maíra, Kowit and the Climate Observatory, which will be read at the council’s headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland.
In the text, the organizations claim that the project is “a direct attack on indigenous peoples and a clear violation of the constitutional right to their territories and of the international obligations assumed by Brazil, such as Convention 169 of the ILO”.
The proposal amends the Indian Statute and allows the exploration of ores – including through mining – the generation of energy and production of oil and gas by private companies.
The urgency of processing the project was approved at the beginning of the month by the Chamber of Deputies, which motivated the filing of the complaint. The NGOs alert the international community to the risk that the text will be voted on in a few weeks, without going through mechanisms of social control and debates with the affected populations, and they ask that the presidents of the Chamber and the Senate stop the progress of the proposal.
The topic returned to the agenda with the beginning of the war between Ukraine and Russia. President Jair Bolsonaro, defender of the agenda, argued that the conflict would affect the supply of fertilizers in the country, which, according to him, would be remedied with the right to exploit potassium in the Madeira River, in the north of the country.
The text of the complaint mentions that the project is not only criticized by civil society organizations, but also by mining companies. Last week, the Brazilian Mining Institute published a statement against the project.
Bill 191/2020 was sent by the Executive to the National Congress and was accelerated by 279 votes to 180, on March 9. The support came from the base of the government and the bench linked to agribusiness. After the vote, the president of the Chamber, Arthur Lira, estimated that the proposal should go to the plenary between April 12 and 14 after undergoing discussion in a working group.
Read the full complaint
Conectas Human Rights, ISA, APIB, Instituto Maíra, Kowit and Observatório do Clima, would like to draw the attention of this council to the bill 191/2020 that is currently being discussed in Brazil. The bill is a direct attack on indigenous peoples and a clear violation of the constitutional right to their territories and of the international obligations assumed by Brazil, such as Convention 169 of the ILO.
The proposal authorizes mining – including through prospecting –, the generation of electricity and the exploration and production of oil, natural gas and other hydrocarbons on indigenous lands.
Indigenous organizations and civil society have been raising awareness of the socio-environmental risks of the project, which directly affect the lives of indigenous peoples and environmental conservation. Large mining companies also expressed disagreement with the content of the project, pointing out the dangers of passing this legislation without public debate.
President Bolsonaro decided to prioritize the processing of this project and its urgency was approved last week in the Chamber of Deputies.
It is expected that the text will be voted on in a few weeks, without its due process of consideration and mechanisms of social control and debate with the interested parties, mainly the indigenous communities. We urge this Council and the international community to demand the immediate protection of people who live in forests, especially in the Amazon, and who are at imminent risk.
We ask the Brazilian authorities, in particular the Speakers of the House and Senate, to stop these devastating proposals from advancing and act to protect the climate, the environment and guarantee the rights of indigenous peoples and other traditional peoples and communities in Brazil.
Source: CNN Brasil
