{"id":139243,"date":"2019-08-05T12:00:28","date_gmt":"2019-08-05T11:00:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/?p=139243"},"modified":"2019-08-12T10:54:38","modified_gmt":"2019-08-12T09:54:38","slug":"murder-of-brazilian-indigenous-leader-a-worrying-symptom-of-land-invasion","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/2019\/08\/murder-of-brazilian-indigenous-leader-a-worrying-symptom-of-land-invasion\/","title":{"rendered":"Murder of Brazilian Indigenous Leader a \u2018Worrying Symptom\u2019 of Land Invasion"},"content":{"rendered":"

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29 Jul 2019 – In the wake of the murder of indigenous leader Emrya Waj\u00e3pi in Brazil, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Michelle Bachelet, has called on the country\u2019s authorities to \u201creact quickly and decisively\u201d to protect the rights of indigenous peoples on their lands.<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

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Emrya Waj\u00e3pi was killed on July 23 in Amap\u00e1, a region in the far north of Brazil, bordering French Guyana.<\/p>\n

According to media reports, witnesses saw a number of gold miners enter the protected reserve of the Waj\u00e3pi community, then stab their leader to death.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe murder of Emrya Waj\u00e3pi, leader of the indigenous Waj\u00e3pi people, is tragic and reprehensible in its own right\u201d, said Ms. Bachelet on Monday.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt is also a disturbing symptom of the growing problem of encroachment on indigenous land \u2013 especially forests \u2013 by miners, loggers and farmers in Brazil.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Waj\u00e3pi people, in Amap\u00e1, Brazil. Rede de Coopera\u00e7\u00e3o Amaz\u00f4nica (RCA)<\/p><\/div>\n

According to the UN human rights chief, the proposed policy of the Brazilian Government to open the Amazon up to mining could lead to \u201cincidents of violence, intimidation and killings.\u201d<\/p>\n

The UN human rights chief underlined that the protection of indigenous peoples and lands is not only an issue in Brazil, but the whole world.<\/p>\n

While some progress has been made in recent years, enforcement of existing laws and policies has been weak, and in some cases existing environmental and indigenous institutional frameworks have been dismantled: the statement declared that this \u201cappears now to be the case\u201d in Brazil.<\/p>\n

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Fearing armed attack, indigenous villagers fled from their homes to nearby Aramir\u00e3.
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Ms. Bachelet called on the Government of Brazil to reconsider its policies towards indigenous peoples and their lands, so that Emrya Waj\u00e3pi\u2019s murder does not herald a new wave of violence aimed at scaring people off their ancestral lands.<\/p>\n

This could, she continued, enable \u201cfurther destruction of the rainforest, with all the scientifically-established ramifications that has, for the exacerbation of climate change.\u201d<\/p>\n

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#Brazil<\/a>: Effective measures should be taken to save lives & physical integrity of the #Wai\u00e3pi<\/a> people. I urge Gov to act decisively to halt invasion of #indigenous<\/a> territories & ensure their collective rights to their land \u2013UN Human Rights Chief @mbachelet<\/a>: https:\/\/t.co\/XE1VN9WxQ8<\/a> pic.twitter.com\/YWNyr1b1M9<\/a><\/p>\n

— UN Human Rights (@UNHumanRights) July 29, 2019<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n