“The murder of Emrya Wajãpi, leader of the indigenous Wajãpi people, is tragic and reprehensible in its own right. It is
also a disturbing symptom of the growing problem of encroachment on indigenous land – especially forests – by miners,
loggers and farmers in Brazil.
The Brazilian Government’s proposed policy to open up more areas of the Amazon to mining could lead to incidents of
violence, intimidation and killings of the type inflicted on the Wajãpi people last week.
It is essential that the authorities react quickly and effectively to investigate this incident, and to bring to justice
all those responsible in full accordance with the law. Furthermore, effective measures should be taken to save the lives
and physical integrity of the Waiãpi people, including through protection of their territory by the authorities.
The protection of indigenous peoples, and the land on which they live, has been an important issue all across the world,
not just in Brazil. While some progress has been made in recent years, we have also seen weak enforcement of existing
laws and policies, and in some cases the dismantling of existing environmental and indigenous institutional frameworks,
as appears now to be the case in Brazil.
I urge the Government of Brazil to act decisively to halt the invasion of indigenous territories and ensure the peaceful
exercise of their collective rights to their land. When indigenous people are pushed off their lands, it is not just an
economic issue. As the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples* makes clear, it affects their entire way of
life.
I call on the Government of Brazil to reconsider its policies towards indigenous peoples and their lands, so that Emrya
Wajãpi’s murder does not herald a new wave of violence aimed at scaring people off their ancestral lands and enabling
further destruction of the rainforest, with all the scientifically-established ramifications that has for the
exacerbation of climate change.”