57th UN Human Rights Council Session: Violations of Indigenous Rights in Argentina and Brazil

 

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

THE INDIAN LAW RESOURCE CENTER WILL DISCUSS VIOLATIONS OF INDIGENOUS RIGHTS IN ARGENTINA AND BRAZIL DURING THE 57TH SESSION OF THE UNITED NATIONS HUMAN RIGHTS COUNCIL: LEADERS FROM THE COORDINATION OF THE INDIGENOUS ORGANIZATIONS OF THE BRAZILIAN AMAZON (COIAB) AND THE JUJUY COMMUNITY (ARGENTINA) WILL SPEAK.

Geneva, Switzerland – September 23-27, 2024

The Indian Law Resource Center (ILRC) will participate in the 57th session of the United Nations Human Rights Council in Geneva, including the annual panel on Indigenous rights. This year’s panel will review the laws, policies, judicial decisions, and other measures adopted by States in compliance with Article 38 of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.

Leaders of the Coordination of the Indigenous Organizations of the Brazilian Amazon (COIAB) will present to the Council the risks associated with Law 14.701/2023, currently under review by Brazil’s Supreme Court. This law threatens to restrict the constitutional rights of Indigenous peoples through the application of the controversial “Marco Temporal.” According to this theory, only lands that Indigenous peoples occupied on October 5, 1988—the date when Brazil's Constitution was adopted—would be eligible for protection. This policy, already declared unconstitutional by the Supreme Court in the past, would severely undermine the territorial rights of Indigenous peoples, violating the Constitution, weakening established legal and political practices, and contradicting international agreements ratified by Brazil.

If approved, this law would set a dangerous precedent that could trigger mass land invasions and the indiscriminate exploitation of Indigenous territories, gravely endangering the lives of Indigenous communities.

The ILRC and COIAB are urgently calling on the international community to act swiftly and decisively against the implementation of this law, which contravenes the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, ILO Convention 169, and the American Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. Its enactment would lead to severe human rights violations, and a new wave of land invasions and environmental destruction in Indigenous territories.

The second case to be presented to the United Nations is that of the Community of Jujuy, Argentina, by Néstor Jerez, Leader of the Ocloya People and a member of the Third Malón de la Paz, and Beatriz Gutierrez, a Kolla leader from the Salinas Grandes y Laguna de Guayatayoc area. They will denounce the recent discriminatory policies and violent repression carried out by the provincial government against Indigenous communities. The reforms to the provincial Constitution, implemented within the framework of a national policy promoting lithium exploitation, have been carried out without respecting the well-established legal principle Free, Prior, and Informed Consent (FPIC), as established in ILO Convention 169, and ratified by Argentina in 1992. This failure directly violates Article 3, 4, 19, and 26 of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.

Implementation of FPIC remains inconsistent in many countries. For example, in the case of the El Angosto Community in Jujuy, Argentina, nearly 80% of a lithium mine overlaps the legally recognized lands of the Kolla Community. This overlap was confirmed by a report by the University of Buenos Aires, which used official government data to verify the location of the mine in relation to indigenous territories. And yet, no consultations whatsoever took place before the mine was authorized.

The El Angosto Community, in conjunction with more than 30 communities from the Salinas Grandes y Laguna de Guayatayoc area, had even developed their own consultation protocol in 2014 to ensure that its rights were respected in situations involving resource exploitation –– yet neither the provincial government nor the mining companies followed these protocols. Instead, indigenous lands were granted to mining companies without community consent. This failure constitutes a direct violation of the rights of indigenous peoples. Respect for FPIC is not only a legal obligation, but a vital tool to guarantee justice and self-determination of indigenous peoples against resource exploitation.

In Argentina, the overall right to natural resources is claimed by the State, although projects are specifically regulated at the provincial level. Currently, there are 17 mining projects in operation (in provinces such as Santa Cruz, San Juan, Catamarca, Salta, and Jujuy), and three lithium plants in operation (two in Jujuy and one in Catamarca). Jujuy, which accounts for 43% of the lithium extracted in Argentina, is the province with the third largest Indigenous population. In Jujuy, 11 Indigenous peoples coexist in approximately 274 legally recognized communities, while another 50 communities are still in the process of obtaining legal status. The lithium exploitation zones in Jujuy overlap with Indigenous territories, disrespecting the territorial rights of Indigenous peoples and intensifying conflict in the region.

This year’s Human Rights Council panel will focus on analyzing the impact of national laws, policies, and judicial decisions on the rights of Indigenous peoples, as well as how Member States consult and cooperate with Indigenous communities. The discussions will highlight both best practices and the significant challenges that remain in ensuring the respect of Indigenous rights worldwide.

As a leading advocate for the territorial rights of Indigenous peoples in the Americas, the Indian Law Resource Center continues to promote the protection and respect of Indigenous rights in international forums.

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For more information, please contact:

Indian Law Resource Center

Attributions:
United Nations Office at Geneva by Falcon Photography, available under a Creative Commons Attribution License 2.0 at: https://www.flickr.com/photos/falcon_33/

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