Amnesty attacks Brazil in defense of indigenous people.

By Claudio Julio Tognolli_247 – Amnesty International, the world's largest human rights organization, is releasing a report this Thursday in London on the situation of indigenous peoples. Brazil is the country most criticized in the report. Both the Lula and Dilma governments are accused of brazenness regarding indigenous issues.

The organization is calling on governments across the Americas to stop prioritizing development projects at the expense of the rights of indigenous peoples. The report was compiled to mark the International Day of the World's Indigenous Peoples, celebrated on August 9th worldwide. "The course of human rights violations against tens of millions of indigenous peoples in the Americas is alarming," said Susan Lee, Americas Director at Amnesty International.

Brazil is being harshly criticized. “In Brazil, for example, the construction of the Belo Monte dam on the Xingu River, in the Amazon basin, continues, despite an order from the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights to suspend the project so that its impact on local indigenous communities can be fully assessed.”

"After centuries of abuse and discrimination, their cultural and physical survival is at stake because there is not enough political will to recognize, respect, and protect the rights of Indigenous Peoples, when those rights are seen as obstacles to economic growth," Lee assesses.

The expansion of agricultural and extractive industries and large development projects, such as dams and roads on traditional indigenous lands, pose a significant and growing threat to indigenous peoples, according to Amnesty International.

In the Americas, the organization says, indigenous peoples are seen only “in terms of commercial interests, and are threatened, persecuted, forcibly expelled, displaced, and killed in industrial facilities set up to exploit natural resources in the areas where indigenous peoples live.”

There is a chapter in the Amnesty dossier against Brazil. It says the following:

On June 1, 2011, Brazil's environmental agency approved the construction of the Belo Monte dam on the Xingu River in the Amazon region. This decision has defied an order from the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights to suspend construction of the Belo Monte dam until the rights of indigenous communities are fully guaranteed. Local indigenous organizations and NGOs have argued that the dam could displace thousands of families and threaten the survival and health of numerous indigenous communities in the state of Pará. The Inter-American Commission ordered the suspension until indigenous communities were fully and effectively consulted – including access to a Social and Environmental Impact Assessment of the project in their languages. Indigenous peoples are fighting for their constitutional rights to traditional lands, but continue to face discrimination, threats, and violence. The situation is particularly serious in the state of Mato Grosso do Sul, where Guarani-Kaiowá communities face constant persecution by gunmen hired by local ranchers. Despite efforts by federal prosecutors to expedite the process of recognizing indigenous peoples' rights to traditional lands, the The process remains stalled.

According to Amnesty International, Argentina, Brazil, Canada, Colombia, Ecuador, Guatemala, Mexico, Panama, and Peru failed to consult with indigenous peoples before passing laws that threaten their livelihoods. "These countries also carried out development projects on the ancestral lands of indigenous peoples without respecting their right to give their free, prior, and informed consent."

In countries such as Chile, Ecuador, Peru, and Mexico, indigenous leaders and community members regularly face criminal prosecution on charges that, according to Amnesty International, "appear to be disproportionate and politically motivated."

"Economic development doesn't have to be a zero-sum game where the rights of Indigenous Peoples are always sacrificed," said Susan Lee. "All countries in the Americas have ratified the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. But States must respect it in order to move beyond centuries of marginalization and discrimination."

According to Amnesty International, the “false and dangerous dichotomy of 'indigenous peoples' rights versus development' is widespread across the continent. It is on the basis of this flawed argument,” the organization continues, “that extractive development projects, which serve national interests (increasing national wealth and generating jobs), are maintained at any cost – they can never be 'obstructed' by indigenous peoples who are 'only' a fraction of society. Thus, when indigenous communities organize to demand respect for their rights, state actors accuse them of blocking the growth of the entire country.”

This response has had devastating consequences for the human rights of indigenous peoples in the region, Amnesty International argues. “These cases are the tip of the iceberg of a regional trend. Human rights violations, social conflicts and, at times, violent clashes between indigenous peoples and security forces could have been avoided if states had followed their obligation to conduct consultations before proceeding with development projects. Furthermore, in many countries, indigenous peoples continue to face numerous obstacles in obtaining legal recognition of their rights to their traditional lands. In many countries, state authorities forcibly evict them or threaten them with eviction on an ongoing basis. Indigenous leaders and community members are frequently threatened, intimidated and sometimes killed in conflicts over their lands. These conflicts often involve both state and non-state actors. The latter are usually interested in indigenous peoples' lands for commercial purposes.”

For Amnesty International, the violations of the rights described above are the result of entrenched discriminatory attitudes against the indigenous peoples of the Americas—and a lack of acceptance of their different way of being, seeing, and acting in the world, “which is part of a historical legacy that current democracies have failed to reverse.” In addition to suffering from such problems, indigenous women are affected by gender-based violence and “the impunity that often surrounds these cases.”

Amnesty International believes that human rights standards guarantee the right of indigenous peoples to participate in decisions that affect their lives and territories, without discrimination. These standards exist to overcome centuries of marginalization and discrimination that have placed indigenous peoples in a vulnerable situation where decisions that profoundly affect them, even to the point of threatening the survival of some individuals or cultures, are made without their participation.

Within this context, the indigenous peoples of the region have become increasingly organized to defend their rights and are now at the forefront of the fight for their rights and for equality.

Courts across the region and international and regional intergovernmental bodies are increasingly recognizing the rights of indigenous peoples. The United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples enjoys recognition throughout the Americas, now that Canada and the U.S., which initially voted against it, have approved it in 2010.

Amnesty International calls on leaders in the region to take decisive and urgent action to fulfill their obligations to defend and protect the rights of indigenous peoples. In particular, governments should, in collaboration with indigenous peoples, suggests Amnesty:

• To enact legislation to fulfill the right to free, prior, and informed consultation and consent, in accordance with human rights standards.

• Refrain from granting concessions, which they always do when authorizing exploration activities or carrying out any other development project that may affect indigenous peoples without proper consultation.

• Take urgent measures to resolve land disputes and refrain from expelling indigenous peoples until these claims are resolved.

• To create and preserve the conditions so that indigenous leaders and community members can defend their rights peacefully, without fear of reprisals – and, above all, preventing the misuse of the criminal justice system to discourage their work as human rights defenders.

• Take measures to protect indigenous women from violence, as well as prosecute and punish those responsible for these abuses.

• Take measures to fully implement the rights enshrined in the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.