Statement by UN High Commissioner
for Human Rights
Michelle Bachelet on killing of
indigenous leader in Amapá, Brazil
“The murder of Emrya Wajãpi, leader
of the indigenous Wajãpi people, is tragic and reprehensible in its own right.
It is also a disturbing symptom of the growing problem of encroachment on
indigenous land – especially forests – by miners, loggers and farmers in
Brazil.
The Brazilian Government’s proposed
policy to open up more areas of the Amazon to mining could lead to incidents of
violence, intimidation and killings of the type inflicted on the Wajãpi people
last week.
It is essential that the authorities
react quickly and effectively to investigate this incident, and to bring to
justice all those responsible in full accordance with the law. Furthermore,
effective measures should be taken to save the lives and physical integrity of
the Waiãpi people, including through protection of their territory by the
authorities.
The protection of indigenous
peoples, and the land on which they live, has been an important issue all
across the world, not just in Brazil. While some progress has been made in
recent years, we have also seen weak enforcement of existing laws and policies,
and in some cases the dismantling of existing environmental and indigenous
institutional frameworks, as appears now to be the case in Brazil.
I urge the Government of Brazil to
act decisively to halt the invasion of indigenous territories and ensure the
peaceful exercise of their collective rights to their land. When indigenous
people are pushed off their lands, it is not just an economic issue. As the UN
Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples* makes clear, it affects their
entire way of life.
I call on the Government of Brazil
to reconsider its policies towards indigenous peoples and their lands, so that
Emrya Wajãpi’s murder does not herald a new wave of violence aimed at scaring
people off their ancestral lands and enabling further destruction of the
rainforest, with all the scientifically-established ramifications that has for
the exacerbation of climate change.”
ENDS
*The UN Declaration on the Rights
of Indigenous Peoples, adopted by the UN General Assembly in 2007, emphasizes
the rights of indigenous peoples to the lands, territories and resources which
they have traditionally owned, occupied, used or acquired, as well as their
right “not to be forcibly removed from their lands or territories.” No
relocation shall take place without the free, prior and informed consent of the
indigenous peoples concerned” (article 10).
Indigenous peoples have the right to maintain and strengthen their
distinctive spiritual relationship with their lands, and other resources and to
uphold their responsibilities to future generations in this regard. Indigenous
peoples also have the right to the conservation and protection of the
environment and the productive capacity of their lands. In this regard, they
have the right to determine and develop priorities and strategies for the
development or use of their lands. According to the Declaration, States shall
give legal recognition and protection to these lands, territories and
resources. In addition, ILO Convention 169, ratified by Brazil in 2002, also
guarantees that, under article 16, “…the peoples concerned shall not be removed
from the lands which they occupy… Where the relocation of these peoples is
considered necessary as an exceptional measure, such relocation shall take
place only with their free and informed consent.”
For media requests please contact:
Rupert Colville
(rcolville@ohchr.org +41 22 917 9767 or Marta Hurtado (mhurtado@ohchr.org / +41
79 752 0488).
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