Human Rights & Public Liberties

Human Rights & Public Liberties

Newsletter
Published on: 13 Jan, 2021

Brazil indigenous land demarcation

Published on: 2 September, 2021
Brazil is in the process of examining 237 Indigenous lands for demarcation/HRW.

Brazil is in the process of examining 237 Indigenous lands for demarcation/HRW.

The Supreme Court of Brazil meets again on Thursday in the landmark case of indigenous land demarcation.

It’s unclear whether a ruling will be made this week.

Previous hearings have been postponed or decisions delayed.

The judges were scheduled to decide on August 25 but pushed another issue ahead on the agenda.

About 1,000 indigenous people from various parts of the Amazon continue to camp out outside the Supreme Court.

The issue: The 1988 Constitution says indigenous peoples have the right to ancestral lands – but there are attempts to limit their claims.

The idea is to establish a time frame: if you did not claim lands or proven that you live there by 1988, then you have no right to do so.

The problem is that many tribes were expelled and new ones are being discovered.

So Bolsonaro’s supporters want to have laws in their favor before the Supreme Court judges against them.

“Brazil’s Congress should reject a bill that would prevent or hinder many Indigenous peoples from claiming their right to traditional lands, violating their rights under international law,” Human Rights Watch said.

Aljazeera/Agencies/Human Rights Watch.