UN Rapporteur Holds Bolsonaro Responsible for Violence Against Indigenous People

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – The United Nations Special Rapporteur on Indigenous Rights, Victoria Tauli-Corpuz, has condemned Brazil’s policy on the Amazon and considers president Jair Bolsonaro responsible for the attack on a Wajãpi village in the state of Amapá.

Meanwhile, Bolsonaro has reaffirmed his intention to legalize the extraction of natural resources in the Amazon region, including in indigenous protected areas.

In a statement, Tauli-Corpuz sharply criticized Bolsonaro’s rhetoric, saying that his plans to legalize gold mining in protected areas are responsible for the increasing violence against indigenous people in the Amazon region.

She sees a direct link between his statements and the invasion of the Wajãpi village less than two weeks ago.

“In practice, every time Bolsonaro fosters economic exploitation of indigenous lands through his speeches, he grants a free pass to economic and political interests wishing to exploit them,” Tauli-Corpuz said.

She also condemned Bolsonaro’s publicly expressed doubts over the murder of indigenous leader Emrya Wajãpi. “At this time, it is irresponsible to say that the murder was not carried out by interest groups.”

“The international community now needs to put more pressure onto the Brazilian government, particularly countries and companies importing meat and soybean from Brazil.”

The increase in mining in the Amazon region may also become a source of conflict in further negotiations on the free trade agreement between the EU and Mercosur signed at the end of June.

An EU press release emphasized Brazil’s “commitment to fight deforestation” and the “promotion of indigenous peoples’ rights” as terms of the agreement.

However, Bolsonaro has announced that he intends to seek economic partners, in the USA in particular. This is one of the reasons for the contentious nomination of his son for the position of ambassador to Washington.

After the murder of the indigenous leader Emrya Wajãpi, he publicly challenged the deed: “They use the indigenous people as pawns to protect more and more areas, allegedly ill-treated. In this case, there is no conclusive evidence that this Indian was murdered there.”

The United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Michelle Bachelet, has also sharply criticized Bolsonaro for this statement and called on the Brazilian government to reconsider its mining plans in the Amazon.

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