A CARTA DO INY MAHADU COORDENAÇÃO

Washington DC, April 19, 2012 Open Letter from Indigenous Peoples of the Americas We, the indigenous peoples of Brazil are 230 indigenous peoples, 180 distinct languages, and 82 indigenous peoples in voluntary isolation, for a total of 817,000 Indians. We call on the indigenous peoples of the Americas present for the 14th negotiating session on an American Declaration, in Washington, DC, April 18-20, 2012. The Great Charter, violates PEC 215 in article 2 which interferes with the independence and harmony between the three powers. It also violates the Petreas Clauses, in article 60, subheadings I, II and 4. Which prohibit a debate about an amendment that could abolish the structure of the Federal State and the separation of powers. And it could diminish autonomy of the Union, in article 231 which establishes the competence of the demarcation of the union, and it protects those rights. The indigenous peoples of Brazil are currently facing the approval of Constitutional Amendment PEC 215, which would transfer to the Brazilian National Congress competence for the approval of demarcation of indigenous lands as well as conservation areas and Quilombola lands. PEC 215 is a tool of agribusiness, large estate owners, and mining lobbies who are interested in exploitation of lands and who are pushing this proposal without participation of indigenous representatives or related debate to obtain consent. The INy Mahadu Coordenator (IMC) denounces the Brazilian state for failure to apply the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, and requests intervention of the UN Expert Mechanism on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. Additionally, the International Labor Organization Convention 169 recognizes the right to consultation of indigenous peoples, such as article 6.1, which gives affected indigenous peoples the right to consultation through appropriate measures, in particular through their representative institutions, whenever legislative or administrative measures are planned which would directly impact them. The United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development, Rio+20, will bring heads of state of all the continents to discuss the special theme of the green economy. The Articulation of Indigenous Peoples of Brazil (APIB) will host a parallel event with the support of indigenous movements of Latin America, including the Coordinator of Indigenous Organizations of the Amazon Basin (COICA), the Coordinator of Andean Indigenous Organizations (CAOI), and the Indigenous Council of Central America (CICA) as a culminating and decisive demonstration for the protection of indigenous rights in Brazil. The indigenous peoples of Brazil issue this open letter to join forces with indigenous peoples of the Americas to participate in the People’s Summit and the Terra Livre Encampment (ATL) which will take place in Aterro de Flamengo parallel to the official conference of Rio +20. We are greatly concerned regarding the actions of the large estate owners, agribusiness, mining and forestry companies, mega projects, transnational corporations, and of the government itself, which are maneuvering to subvert the rights of indigenous peoples recognized in the Brazilian Constitution and our international human rights instruments such as ILO Convention 169 and the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. Additionally, the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights called for cautionary measures to impede the hydroelectric dam of Belo Monte which would generate grave social, environmental and economic impacts for indigenous peoples and local peoples. Domilto Inaruri Karaja Representante Indigena de IMC billkaraja@yahoo.com.br