Brazil’s Supreme Court on Wednesday continued the proceedings of a crucial trial for indigenous peoples, whose verdict could affect their right to occupy their ancestral territories, in reserves considered as a bulwark against deforestation.
The “trial of the century”, as defenders of indigenous peoples call it, was suspended in early June, after an initial postponement in September 2021, and resumed on Wednesday.
The eleven magistrates of the highest court of the country vote to validate or reject the “temporal framework”, a thesis which recognizes as lands returning by right to the indigenous people only those which they occupied at the time of the promulgation of the Constitution in 1988.
But the natives explain that certain territories were no longer occupied at that time because they had been expelled, in particular under the last military dictatorship (1964-1985).
“The time frame does not take into account our fundamental right to occupy our ancestral territories, a right recognized by the Constitution, jeopardizes reservations already approved and prevents the demarcation of new reservations,” the AFP told AFP. lawyer Dinamam Tuxa, from the Association of Indigenous Peoples of Brazil (APIB).
Some 800 indigenous people, including Me Tuxa, marched in Brasilia on Wednesday to the Supreme Court where they installed a giant screen to follow the proceedings. Chief Raoni Metuktire, an internationally recognized indigenous rights activist, was also present.
On Wednesday evening, only four judges had voted: two were in favor of this thesis supported by the agribusiness lobby, and the other two rejected it.
Deliberations will continue on Thursday for the vote of the remaining seven judges.
In a statement on Wednesday, the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) warned that the possible legitimization of this thesis “would constitute a serious setback for the rights of indigenous peoples in Brazil and would be contrary to international standards in matters of human rights”.
The trial, which should set a precedent, relates more specifically to the case of the Ibirama-Laklano territory, in the state of Santa Catarina (south), which lost its status as an indigenous reserve in 2009, following a judgment by a lower instance.
The judges then justified their decision by explaining that these lands were not occupied by the natives in 1988.
Brazil has a total of 764 indigenous territories already demarcated, but almost a third of them have not yet been officially approved.
The approval of new reserves was at a standstill during the mandate of far-right President Jair Bolsonaro (2019-2022), who kept his promise not to “give up one centimeter” of land to the natives.
But leftist President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, who returned to power in January, approved six in April and promised to push the process further.
Many scientists consider these reserves to be bulwarks against deforestation, due to the traditional way of life of the natives, which is more respectful of the environment.
According to the latest census, carried out last year, Brazil has nearly 1.7 million indigenous people.
08/31/2023 01:30:26 – Brasilia (AFP) – © 2023 AFP