News-Letter Nr. 432

Cimi Reports on Situation of Indigenous People at the OAS

The Interamerican Human Rights Committee of the Organization of American States (OAS), in Washington, United States, will hold a special briefing session on October 12 on the situation of indigenous peoples in Brazil. The audience was proposed by Cimi and by the Center for Justice and Human Rights (Cejil) in August of this year. The vice-chairman of Cimi, Saulo Feitosa, will have one hour to report on the violation of fundamental human and territorial rights of indigenous peoples of Brazil as a result of the action or inaction of governmental authorities in Brazil. Cimi will defy official information according to which records have been registered in the demarcation of indigenous lands in Brazil and will show that budget cuts have made it impossible for Funai to fulfil its mission and that Brazil's federal administration has transferred the responsibility for demarcating indigenous lands to G-7 countries.

Cimi will stress the abuse of power of Military, Civil and Federal police officers against indigenous peoples and communities. The OAS will be briefed about cases involving repressive actions of the police in demonstrations staged at the Indigenous Conference held in the state of Bahia on April 22, two invasions of the Truká indigenous area in January and August of this year, and one invasion of the Pataxó Hã-Hã-Hãe area in the south tip of the state of Bahia in November 1999, as a result of which two military police officers died and chief Gérson Melo was arrested. The Tupinikim and Guarani also suffered acts of violence in March 1997, when federal police officers surrounded and besieged their area in order to prevent them from demarcating it themselves. The incident had international repercussions because of the attempt to expel Dutch missionary Winfridus Overbeek from Brazil.

In all these situations, indigenous people were fighting to have the bounds of their territories officially ratified. Cimi data confirm that demarcation procedures for 68% of Brazil's 741 indigenous areas have not been completed. The Fernando Henrique Cardoso administration boasts that 60% of all indigenous lands have been demarcated, but the figure includes areas covered by administrative rulings and decrees, which constitute administrative procedures that are not sufficient to ensure the actual ratification of the bounds of indigenous territories. For that to happen, Funai has to register the lands with a Real Estate Title Registry or with the Union's Assets Department. In addition, conflicts will not be over until Funai removes all invaders from these areas. Demarcation procedures have been completed for only 32% of all indigenous areas and invaders have not been removed from all of them.

The most common conflicts are between indigenous people and squatters. In 1997, Cimi prepared a list of 109 conflicts involving indigenous people and squatters at the request of the National Land Reform Institute (Incra), but so far no measures have been taken in relation to them. "In reality, squatters are landless people expelled from other areas by large landowners who ended up settling in indigenous areas. These conflicts can be solved easily, but the government has shown no interest in eliminating them," says Cimi' s vice-chairman, Saulo Feitosa.

Land demarcation procedures have not advanced because the Integrated Program for the Protection of Indigenous Lands in the Legal Amazon Region (PPTAL) has funded many demarcations, while Funai's funds have been sistematically reduced. In the 1995-1999 period, the budget of the agency dropped from 52 million 171 thousand reais to 37 million 172 thousand reais. Because it is a program restricted to the Amazon region, the PPTAL does not fund demarcation procedures outside that region. It is a clear situation of prejudice, but it is also a scheme that shows how the Brazilian government has been transferring its responsibilities to international governments. "Unfortunately, the Brazilian government has lost its track. Although other participant States have shown good will, the Brazilian State has been shirking its resposibilities," Feitosa stresses.

Brasília, 11 October 2000.
Indianist Missionary Council - CIMI

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