PT: Bolsonaro violates UN recommendation regarding Funai.

247 The Workers' Party issued a statement condemning the initiative of Jair Bolsonaro's government to transfer responsibility for the demarcation of indigenous lands from the National Indian Foundation (Funai) to the Ministry of Agriculture.

"This is a clear administrative maneuver aimed at weakening the rights of indigenous and quilombola communities and, in this way, allowing their territories, including those in the sensitive Amazon biome, to be made available for predatory exploitation by agribusiness and large national and foreign mining companies," says the text signed by the national president of the PT, Senator Gleisi Hoffmann, by Lindbergh Farias (RJ) and by Paulo Pimenta (RS), the latter two being leaders of the party in the Senate and the Chamber of Deputies, respectively.

"The latest UN Human Rights Council report on the rights of indigenous peoples in Brazil, prepared in 2016, highlighted the strengthening of FUNAI (National Indian Foundation) as one of the measures that Brazil had to adopt to ensure these rights prevail. Obviously, the Bolsonaro government's maneuver contradicts this UN recommendation."

Read the full note:

The Workers' Party and its representatives in the Senate and the Chamber of Deputies publicly and vehemently denounce the Bolsonaro government's decision to transfer the responsibility for demarcating indigenous and quilombola lands to the Ministry of Agriculture.

This is clearly an administrative maneuver aimed at weakening the rights of indigenous and quilombola communities, thereby allowing their territories, including those within the sensitive Amazon biome, to be made available for predatory exploitation by agribusiness and large national and foreign mining companies.

This maneuver, designed solely to serve the immediate economic interests of the large groups that supported Bolsonaro's candidacy, violates the Federal Constitution and international instruments for the defense of indigenous rights already ratified by Brazil.

In this regard, we note that Article 231 of the Brazilian Constitution recognizes the permanent occupation of lands traditionally occupied by indigenous peoples as an original right. Furthermore, according to the Constitution, this right is imprescriptible, rendering null and void any acts that aim to occupy, control, or possess these lands or to exploit the natural resources of the soil, rivers, and lakes existing therein.

Furthermore, we emphasize that Convention 169 of the International Labour Organization (ILO) concerning Indigenous and Tribal Peoples, adopted in Geneva on June 27, 1989, and promulgated by Decree No. 5.051 of April 19, 2004, stipulates, in its Article 6, paragraph 1, a), that the Brazilian State undertakes to "to consult the peoples concerned, through appropriate procedures and, in particular, through their representative institutions, whenever legislative or administrative measures are contemplated that may affect them directly."

It is clear that the maneuver transferring the authority to demarcate indigenous lands to rural landowners was carried out without prior consultation with indigenous peoples. Therefore, this decision directly contradicts the provisions of ILO Convention 169.

Furthermore, Article 8 of the UNITED NATIONS DECLARATION ON THE RIGHTS OF INDIGENOUS PEOPLES, adopted on 13 September 2007, stipulates that “Indigenous peoples and individuals have the right not to suffer forced assimilation or the destruction of their culture. and that "States shall establish effective mechanisms for the prevention and redress of any act which has as its object or consequence the alienation of their lands or resources."

For this very reason, the latest UN Human Rights Council report on the rights of indigenous peoples in Brazil, prepared in 2016, highlighted the strengthening of FUNAI (National Indian Foundation) as one of the measures that Brazil had to adopt to ensure these rights prevail. Obviously, the Bolsonaro government's maneuver contradicts this UN recommendation.

Furthermore, it should be considered that the large economic groups behind this destructive measure against rights are also committed to hindering agrarian reform, which benefits thousands of small Brazilian farmers.

The Workers' Party (PT) and its representatives in the Chamber of Deputies and the Senate warn national and international public opinion that, should the Bolsonaro government's illegal maneuver against Brazilian indigenous and quilombola communities prevail, their territories will be opened to predatory activities and, without a doubt, there will be no further demarcation of lands occupied by Brazilian indigenous and quilombola peoples. This will lead to the progressive extinction of these peoples' traditional cultures and severe and irreversible environmental damage, especially in the Amazon biome.

The Workers' Party (PT) and its representatives in the Chamber of Deputies and the Senate will fight with determination and firmness against this absurd measure and will take all appropriate initiatives to reverse it.

Finally, we call upon indigenous peoples, quilombola communities, and all institutions dedicated to protecting their rights and the environment to join us in this essential struggle.

Gleisi Hoffmann, President of the Workers' Party (PT)

Lindbergh Farias, Leader of the Workers' Party in the Federal Senate

Paulo Pimenta, Leader of the PT in the Chamber of Deputies