WBO Supports Indigenous Leaders in the Debate on the Temporal Framework in Geneva
WBO Press Release
September 24 2024
A coalition formed by more than ten members of Indigenous movements, together with teams from organizations that work to defend the rights of Indigenous and quilombola peoples, as well as causes related to the environment and religious tolerance, including the Washington Brazil Office (WBO), is meeting in Geneva, Switzerland from September 23 to 27 to carry out a series of activities related to the 57th session of the United Nations Human Rights Council.
Members of the delegation will make oral statements at the Council's main plenary session, in addition to participating in several meetings with interlocutors from Geneva, Brussels, Berlin, and other capitals in Europe, to provide first-hand information on the Brazilian reality in the sector. They will also raise awareness in the international community about the serious risks and violence that continue to affect Indigenous peoples, quilombolas, environmental defenders, and practitioners of religions of African origin in their territories. The coalition will also consider legal action in international bodies.
Context and History
Among these serious violations reported in Geneva is the Temporal Framework thesis, which after being rejected by Federal Supreme Court in a judgment about its general repercussions, was reintroduced by the Brazilian Congress through Law 14.701/2023, whose content violates the very decision taken previously by the highest court in the country.
According to the unconstitutional nature of the Temporal Framework thesis, traditional peoples can only claim ties to lands that were already occupied by them on October 5, 1988 – the date of the promulgation of the Brazilian Constitution, which is in force today. This law violates not only the Constitution, but also international human rights law. The Temporal Framework is causing enormous legal uncertainty, which is contributing even more to the various fires in Brazil and to violence in the countryside, including the creation of armed militias that are forcibly expelling communities from their territories.
A recent case is the murder of 22-year old Neri Guarani Kaiowá on September 18, who was shot in one of these conflicts, even though the National Security Force was in the territory. The owner of the farm where the Guarani Kaiowá was killed had been appointed to participate as an “expert” in the conciliation panel set up by the Supreme Court to deal with the matter.
Universal Periodic Review - UPR 2024
Brazil participated in the mechanism called Universal Periodic Review (UPR), in which countries are questioned about their internal policies in the area of human rights, at the end of President Jair Bolsonaro's government. At the time, the delegation of the Brazilian State received more than 20 recommendations on land demarcations, time frames, and laws that violate the rights of Indigenous peoples.
Despite this, the National Congress is backtracking on the recommendations made to the Brazilian State itself during the last UPR. Furthermore, the Supreme Court is also backtracking on a decision already made, as it has chosen to open a conciliation table between Indigenous people and agribusiness, relaxing a constitutional clause that is unavailable.
In September, an action by the Military Police of Mato Grosso do Sul against a community of the Guarani Kaiowá people resulted in the shooting death of a 23-year-old indigenous man in the city of Antônio João, Mato Grosso do Sul. The area surrounded and attacked by police forces is part of the Nhanderu Marangatu Indigenous Land.
In this climate of fear, intimidation, and violence, it was reported that on September 23, Fred Souza Garcete, a 15-year-old teenager from the Guarani Kaiowá people, was found dead on the side of the MS-384 highway in the same city of Antônio João, Mato Grosso do Sul.
What is the Role of the WBO?
The WBO is supporting the work of all these organizations and social movements during their visit to Geneva, through Paulo Lugon Arantes, who is responsible for the WBO’s activities in Europe.
“We are happy to be able to offer part of the support needed for our partners to be able to make themselves heard in international bodies,” said Lugon.
The WBO is a nonpartisan and independent think tank that discusses and disseminates analyses and practices of Brazilian civil society to international public opinion. In this specific case, the WBO considers it pertinent to bring to light information and observations produced by experts on political and judicial aspects of Brazil and aspects linked to individual freedoms and the judicial responsibilities of all those who enjoy these freedoms in the country to contribute to a better understanding of the singularities and complexities of this debate.
