Human rights organizations and groups linked to the Indigenous movement are going to the United Nations to demand that Jair Bolsonaro’s government investigate the murders of native Bruno Pereira and journalist Dom Phillips.
The complaint was submitted to the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva this Wednesday. The aim is to pressure the national authorities to deepen the investigation, especially after the Federal Police concluded that they had no mastermind behind the crimes.
The initiative confirms one of the scenarios outlined by Brazilian diplomats. At Itamaraty, the fear was that the case in Amazonas would increase international pressure against the government of Jair Bolsonaro. In recent days, the UN has launched a series of warnings against Palácio do Planalto’s stance, forcing national diplomacy to reject criticism.
But the pressure shows no signs of waning. “We call on the Brazilian government to launch an in-depth investigation into these killings, including those who ordered this crime,” the Conectas Commission on Human Rights and Arns said at a meeting at the UN.
“We call on this Council and the international community to closely monitor this investigation and demand justice. We urgently call on the need to strengthen mechanisms to protect indigenous communities in the Javari Valley, as well as to protect the environment and those who defend it,” Gustavo advises to organizations, Human Rights advocacy advisor Asked in a speech by Huppes.
Brazil is experiencing a “setback” when it comes to protecting those fighting for environmental justice and the most vulnerable, in institutions’ assessment.
The group also noted that when local communities raised the alarm over the disappearance of Bruno and Dom, and the indigenous communities were the first to embark on a search and rescue mission, Brazilian authorities “take a long time” to respond. “Ten days later the police found the bodies of Bruno and Dom,” Huppes said.
“The Bruno and Dom murders illustrate the increased risks faced by those in Brazil who dare to defend the environment and indigenous communities facing a historic setback under President Jair Bolsonaro’s government,” the parties said.
“Pensions, environmental and indigenous protection agencies that previously worked to prevent abuses suffered deep budget cuts and were systematically weakened. Journalists and those who opposed this devastating scenario were also persecuted by government officials and groups linked to the mining industry,” the warning said.
According to Julia Neiva, Coordinator of Conectas’ Defense for Socio-environmental Rights program, the killing of the duo underlines a scenario of grave insecurity in which advocates, journalists and indigenous leaders find themselves in Brazil. “Although there have been killings and threats against defenders in Brazil for many years, the situation is even more serious today. The current government, in addition to deliberately disbanding public institutions, promotes arming the population and incites violence against indigenous peoples and activists. Human resources such as Funai, Ibama and the Ministry of Environment on the protection of human rights and the environment”.
“The death of journalists and activists like Dom Phillips and Bruno Pereira is a barbaric crime that deserves investigation,” said Oscar Vilhena, attorney and founding member of the Arns Commission.
For him, it is also an attempt to intimidate anyone who dares to defend indigenous rights and the environment. Therefore, those responsible cannot go unpunished.”
In the face of criticism, the Brazilian government may demand a right of reply.
“Executions as State Weapons”
Another accusation will be presented by the (Cimi) Native Missionary Council this Wednesday. “Executions in Brazil have become a weapon of the state,” said Luis Ventura, Cimi’s executive secretary.
His call is for the UN rapporteur to take action “to take all measures to put an end to these crimes, fight impunity, control police forces and restart policies to protect the lives and lands of indigenous peoples”.
“The recent murders of domestic activist Bruno Pereira and journalist Dom Philips reveal the country that Brazil has come from, especially in the last four years,” he will say.
“The invasion of indigenous territories and the escalation of violence has the complicity and encouragement of the Brazilian government, which abandoned its policy of land conservation and created an environment in which life was brutally destroyed,” he denounced.
He will point out that, like the Arns Commission and Conectas, police forces “moved slowly” in the Bruno and Dom case.
“However, the same police force hastily and inexplicably claimed in just 48 hours that organized crime and organized crime were not behind these two murders, without taking into account the reports of the local indigenous organization on the situation in the region,” he accuses.
“Impunity is the greatest security for those who kill, and above all for those who order the killing in Brazil,” he insists.
Ventura also highlights that Brazil is the fourth country in the world for killings of community leaders and environmentalists, and that gun carrying quadrupled during Bolsonaro’s government.
According to him, the violence is not limited to the Bruno and Dom case.
“On June 15, Edivaldo Manuel de Souza, 61, an Indigenous member of the Atikum people, was tortured and beaten to death by military police in his own village in the Atikum Indigenous Territory in Pernambuco state. Edivaldo is the fourth Atikum native to be killed by arbitrary police operations in the past five years.” .
“Other crimes against Indigenous people by police in recent years, such as the murder of four Chikitano Indians in Mato Grosso state or the July 2000 massacre against indigenous and riparian communities in Amazonas, Abacaxis River, remain unpunished”, complete.
source: Noticias
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