What the CNDH has to say about the firefighter arrest

After an on-site mission, the council found inconsistencies in the police investigations and little effort by the public authorities to protect human rights defenders in the region

Members of the CNDH meet during their mission to Alter do Chão, in the state of Pará, in December (Photo: CNDH)

In a report released at the end of February, the CNDH (National Human Rights Council) called into question the investigations conducted by the Pará state police into the “Day of Fire” – the name given to the most critical period of fires in the Amazon.

According to the council, the police investigation does not provide evidence of the crime, it draws conclusions without proof and it contains correlations that are groundless.

In addition to the inconsistencies in the investigative process, the Council revealed that the local authorities have little power to protect and prevent abuses against human rights defenders. It said the police often escalate conflicts, even when it is remiss, permitting greater militarization and the intensification of disputes, in addition to restricting spaces for dialogue.

The report was drafted after an on-site mission by representatives of the CNDH to the city of Santarém in December 2019. 

At the time, the Civil Police had detained four members of the Alter do Chão Forest Fire Brigade after an inquiry had identified them as responsible for starting fires in the local Amazon rainforest. 

The NGO Projeto Saúde e Alegria (Health and Happiness Project) was also targeted by the police operation, when its equipment and documents were seized.

Representatives of the non-governmental organization, the four volunteer firefighters from Alter do Chão, members of the Public Defender’s Office and the Public Prosecutor’s Office in the state, the mayor of Santarém, the judge from the 1st Criminal Court of the city, the chief of police and leaders of social movements were heard by the council members. 

Problems with the investigation

The police inquiry into the firefighters was based on telephone interceptions made without any concrete evidence that crimes had been committed. 

According to Camila Asano, project coordinator at Conectas, the manner in which the inquiry was conducted represents yet another attempt to criminalize civil society. 

“Ever since the election campaign of Jair Bolsonaro, who attacks environmental and human rights activism, the situation facing rights defenders working in regions of conflict has deteriorated. The handling of this investigation is an example of this – there is no concrete evidence that the firefighters were involved in the fires. What we see here is yet another attempt to criminalize civil society,” she said.

The context in Alter do Chão

In the report, the CNDH outlines the overall context in the region, which is one of reducing the democratic space through the persecution of activists and organizations. Moreover, in Alter do Chão there are several long-time economic conflicts involving land grabbing, logging, soybean farming, mining and fishing that further increase tensions in the region.  

There is also a general absence of the State, which prompts the leaders of traditional communities to assume the role of overseers and protectors of environmental sustainability. This situation has contributed to an increase in threats and conflicts between these communities and people pursuing economic interests.

The information gathered by the mission also reveals a stifling of civil society space in the region. It is a situation in which there is little room for social participation and the public authorities are ill-equipped to protect and prevent abuses against rights defenders and activists. Moreover, the authorities have also proven to be apathetic about guaranteeing the protection of these groups and their right to participation in public decision making. 

Bachelet

The notes made by the CNDH during the mission were corroborated by the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Michelle Bachelet, who included Brazil in the list of countries where there are human rights concerns. During her speech at the 43rd Session of the Human Rights Council, in Geneva, Bachelet said that efforts to discredit the work of social movements and attacks on human rights defenders are cause for concern in the country. 

“In Brazil, attacks against human rights defenders, including killings – many of them targeted at indigenous leaders – are taking place in a context of significant rollbacks of policies to protect the environment and the rights of indigenous peoples. There are also increasing takeovers of indigenous and Afro-descendants’ lands, and efforts to discredit the work of civil society and social movements,” said Bachelet.

 

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