BRAZIL - DECREE #1775 TAKES ITS TOLL
The controversial Decree #1775, signed into law by Brazilian President
Fernando Henrique Cardoso on January 8, has already dealt a severe blow to
Brazil's indigenous rights. The Decree allowed private interests, and state
and local governments to challenge the demarcation of indigenous reserves.
By the April 8 deadline, Brazil's National Foundation for Indian Affairs
(FUNAI), which is in charge of processing the appeals, received 531 claims
from miners, loggers, ranchers, and government officials, targeting 83
different Indian areas.
About 250,000 indigenous people live in Brazil, representing 215 ethnic
groups and 170 different languages. They live in 526 territories
nationwide, which together comprise an area of 190 million acres... twice
the size of California. About 188 million acres of this land is inside the
Brazilian Amazon, in the states of Acre, Amap , Amazonas, Par , Mato Grosso,
Maranh_o, Rondnia, Roraima, and Tocantins. There may also be 50 or more
indigenous groups still living in the depths of the rainforest that have
never had contact with the outside world.
Since about 65% of the Amazon Basin is in Brazil, and 188 million acres of
that land is the ancestral homeland of Brazil's indigenous peoples, it is a
crucial strategy for both rainforest preservation and human rights to make
sure this land is put formally into indigenous control. However, 125
million acres of this land has not been demarcated as indigenous territory,
and much of it is jeopardized by appeals under Decree #1775.
FUNAI tossed some of these appeals aside immediately because the government
already recognized the challenged land as securely demarcated. Such was the
case with challenges to the hotly contested Yanomami territory, where strong
mining interests had promoted taking the land away from the Indians by
force.
Besides challenges by the usual suspects (miners, loggers, and ranchers)
several appeals were filed by state governments. The Amazonian states of
Rondnia and Par challenged all indigenous territories within their borders
whose demarcation was incomplete. This is ironic, since Rondnia received
$167 million from the World Bank earmarked for Indian land protection and
use-zoning.
Challenges to indigenous land must include anthropological proof that the
land in question is not ancestral Indian land. According to M rcio
Santilli (former President of FUNAI, and executive secretary for the
Socioenvironmental Institute) not a single filed challenge includes the
necessary studies.
FUNAI has 60 days to evaluate all challenges and make recommendations to
the Minister of Justice, Nelson Jobim, who then will take 30-120 days to
make final decisions.
Jobim, author of Decree #1775, argued that the Decree's challenge mechanism
will expedite the demarcation of Indian land by formally addressing
objections to the process. This is twisted logic, but we will see if he
lives up to his good intentions.
The international community, and environmental and human rights groups in
Brazil, want to see the immediate demarcation of the uncontested 73
territories which still need official recognition as indigenous terrritory.
There are no longer any constitutional obstructions to the process, and the
needed funds are available through the World Banks' Pilot Program for the
Amazon.
Article 231 of Brazil's constitution guarantees indigenous people control
of their traditional lands, and rights to secure their cultural identity.
Jobim should honor this promise when weighing his decisions on the Decree
#1775 challenges.
Please write to his excellency, Minister of Justice, Dr. Nelson Jobim, and
ask him to order the immediate demarcation of all indigenous territories,
and to make sure the human rights of Brazilian indigenous populations are
respected.
Dr. Nelson Jobim
Ministro da Justia
Esplanada dos Ministrios, Bl. T
Bras!lia, DF - CEP: 70.064-900
E-mail: njobim@ax.apc.org