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Land ruling threatens Brazil’s Indigenous Peoples and climate commitments


As Brazilian President Michel Temer fought for his political life over the past three months, he sought support from powerful interests to keep from being impeached. His efforts paid off: On August 2, Brazil’s Chamber of Deputies voted against having Temer stand trial for corruption in the country’s Supreme Court. But this victory for the president brought a threat to his nation’s indigenous peoples and to Brazil’s climate commitments under the Paris Agreement. The threat took the form of a legal opinion issued in mid-July by Brazil’s Office of the Attorney General. It directs federal government agencies to freeze all indigenous land demarcation cases where the area was not occupied before October 1988, when the federal constitution was enacted. The act has the potential to halt over 700 pending cases of tribal lands demarcation, the process by which people apply for legal rights over the land where they live ― a violation of Indigenous Peoples’ constitutional rights to permanent and exclusive use of their territories.


Country
Brazil
Language
English
Publication date
2017
Resource type
Insights


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