NGOs denounce risks of the draft bill to allow mining on indigenous lands, at the UN

Civil society have presented a declaration to the United Nations Human Rights Council

On Tuesday (22), six civil society organisations denounced the risks to the indigenous peoples of Brazil, of bill of law 191/2020, at the UN Human Rights Council. The proposal, which is being processed in the Chamber of Deputies as a matter of urgency, would allow mining – including garimpo (wildcat miners) -, the generation of electricity and the exploitation and production of oil and natural gas on indigenous lands that are protected by the Federal Constitution and international treaties. 

The denouncement, made within the United Nations system, was presented by Conectas, ISA, APIB, Instituto Maíra, Kowit and the Climate Observatory. 

“The bill is a direct attack on the indigenous peoples and a clear violation of the constitutional right to their territories and of international commitments made by Brazil, such as Convention 169 of the ILO”, the organisations stated.

The NGOs are also asking the UN Council and the international community to demand immediate safeguarding of the peoples who live in the forests, particularly in Amazônia, and that the presidents of the Chamber, Arthur Lira, and of the Senate, Rodrigo Pacheco, prevent these devastating proposals from proceeding through Congress, in order to protect the climate and the environment and to guarantee the rights of the indigenous peoples and other peoples and traditional communities in Brazil.

Watch the denouncement: