Raposa Serra do Sol

Introduction - IACHR - CERD - Press Releases - Legislation - Reports

The Indigenous Peoples Law and Policy Program (IPLP Program) is assisting the Raposa Serra do Sol (Roraima, Brazil) with cases before the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights and the United Nations Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination. The cases affect the Macuxi, Wapichana, Ingarikó, Taurepang and Patamona communities of Brazil, who are demanding effective protection of their lands from the federal government, an end to the invasion and deforestation of their territories, and protection from the threats and violence their members are experiencing at the hands of non-indigenous Brazilians.

Over the past year, the IPLP Program, in partnership with the Indigenous Council of Roraima (CIR), the Rainforest Foundation-US (RFF) and the Forest Peoples Program (FPP), has been developing international legal strategies to protect the right to land of the Macuxi, Wapichana, Ingariko, Tauperang and Patamona indigenous peoples. Particularly, the team has worked to enforce the precautionary measures issued by the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) in 2004, and to monitor the government's compliance with international human rights norms regarding the indigenous peoples of Raposa Serra do Sol.

In late 2007, the IPLP Program, CIR and other organizations sent information about the ongoing situation of violation of indigenous peoples's rights in Raposa Serra do Sol to the United Nation's Human Rights Council. The Council has initiated the "Universal Periodic Review," a new process by which it will review the human rights situation in each of the 192 UN member States until 2011. The review will be conducted during the Council's first session from 7-18 April, 2008.

Inter-American Commission on Human Rights

In April 2005, largely influenced by the IPLP Program, CIR and RFF's compliant before the Commission, the land was demarcated. However acts of violence and threats against indigenous peoples' rights, culture, lives and property have continued and even worsened at the local level due to a lack of effective federal governmental measures to remove non-indigenous settlers from the land. On March 1, 2007, the Inter-American Commission held a hearing to consider the admissibility of the case and requests for new precautionary measures. The hearing was attended by all four organizations, with an IPLP SJD candidate representing the Program, four of seven Commissioners and the Brazilian government.  The Commission affirmed that the 2004 precautionary measures were still in effect, meaning that Brazil must continue to take measures to protect the life and physical integrity of the indigenous peoples of Raposa Serra do Sol, complete investigations of all attacks against indigenous peoples and their property, and not restrict the free movement of indigenous communities in RSS. The Commission further stated that it would continue to monitor the case and encouraged the parties to consider a friendly settlement.

Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination

Despite the formal demarcation and titling of the land, the indigenous peoples of RSS cannot fully exercise their rights over those lands and are subject to constant attacks and threats against individuals, institutions and properties. This situation lead to the submission, in June 2006, of a request for urgent action to the United Nations Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (CERD or "committee") by the IPLP Program, CIR, RFF and FPP in the name of the indigenous peoples of Raposa Serra do Sol. CERD considered the request at its August 2006 and March 2007 sessions and followed up with communications to the government of Brazil expressing concern with the situation in Raposa Serra do Sol. The Committee called on the government of Brazil to provide further information and clarification on the issues, and invited the State to be present at the August 2007 session to engage in a dialogue with the Committee. In its most recent letter, CERD continues to await a response from the Brazilian government.

Student Involvement

IPLP students have gained valuable experience assisting with this case. In February 2007, IPLP SJD candidate, Erika Yamada, traveled to Brazil to participate in the Conselho Indígena de Roraima General Assembly of Indigenous Peoples. Over 700 people including indigenous leaders, representatives of federal and state governments, and non-governmental organizations convened to discuss the current situation of the indigenous peoples in Roraima. In 2008, Erika wrote an article about the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples and the Supreme Court case Raposa Serra do Sol, available in Portuguese.