Defending Raposa Serra do Sol, Brazil

We are providing continued legal and advocacy support for indigenous communities in Raposa Serra do Sol, northern Brazil.

Location: Brazil
Partner: Indigenous Council of Roraima (CIR)

Why this project is important: Raposa Serra do Sol is a vast 6,500 square mile stretch of savannahs and forests, and home to nearly 20,000 indigenous people. It has also been the site of one of the most critical battles of the past decade for indigenous rights in Brazil. A recent Brazilian Supreme Court decision upheld the communities’ rights to their land, but a number of questions remain: will they be compensated for past human rights and environmental violations? How will they sustain their rights into the future? We see this as a critical case, which has implications for all indigenous peoples throughout Brazil.

Background: Located in the northern Brazilian Amazon, the territory of Raposa Serra do Sol is an area of both wide ecological diversity and significance for Brazil’s indigenous rights movement. The area is home to an estimated 18,000 Macuxi, Wapichana, Ingarikó, Taurepang and Patamona people who struggled for over 30 years to gain legal recognition and protection of their traditional lands and rights. They were opposed by ranchers, rice growers and others who had an economic interest in the area, and who in several cases over the years used violence and intimidation. This situation, and above all the strength and determination of the communities of RSS, made it an emblematic case for indigenous rights, in Brazil and beyond. It also led the Indigenous Council of Roraima (CIR) and RF-US to file a petition before the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights in 2004.

In April 2005, the Brazilian government formally recognized Raposa Serra do Sol, following years of legal work and campaigning in Brazil and internationally. The decree called for the removal of all illegal non-indigenous settlers from the territory within one year. A handful of violent rice-growers refused to leave however, instigating further threats and court cases. Finally, in 2009, the Supreme Court of Brazil issued a decision recognizing RSS, and determining the removal of the rice-growers. While communities celebrated the decision, it also brought with it a series of conditions that could impact indigenous rights throughout Brazil.

What we’re doing: The Rainforest Foundation was one of the earliest international NGOs to recognize the significance of the struggle over Raposa Serra do Sol and to partner with the indigenous communities and the Indigenous Council of Roraima (CIR) to support their work. RF-US is a co-petitioner, along with CIR, on a case before the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights regarding RSS. We submitted the petition to the Commission in 2004, and it was recently admitted, meaning that the Commission believes that the facts surrounding the case, if true, constitute human rights violations. Together with the Forest Peoples Programme, which has provided consistent legal support for the case through the years, we will continue pursuing the case at the Commission. We hope that the peoples of RSS will finally see justice for the violations of their human rights, and that the case can highlight concerns about the interpretation of the Supreme Court conditions, not only in RSS, but for indigenous communities throughout Brazil.

Timeline

1977: first official study of RSS by FUNAI, Brazil’s government agency for indigenous affairs, begins.
1993: study of RSS completed by FUNAI and sent to Minister of Justice.
1997: the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights reports that indigenous communities in RSS face invasions into their land for lumber, mining, agricultural operations and the establishment of non-indigenous settlements.
1998: the Brazilian Minister of Justice signs a decree recognizing RSS as a contiguous area (only Presidential Ratification remains for full recognition).
2004: 29 March: CIR and RF-US file petition with Inter-American Commission on Human Rights. 23 November: armed raid on four indigenous villages in RSS. 6 December: Inter-American Commission issues Precautionary Measures.
2005: President Luis Inácio Lula da Silva ratifies RSS. Fall 2005: armed raids on communities in RSS.
2009: Supreme Court of Brazil issues decision upholding ratification of RSS, and calls for the removal of all illegal inhabitants.