Indigenous Organizations advocate for enhanced protections before the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights

WASHINGTON, D.C. - On Friday, September 27, 2019, the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (the Commission) convened a public hearing in Washington, D.C. to address environmental protection in the Amazon and the rights of indigenous peoples in Brazil. During the hearing, the Coordenação das Organizações Indígenas da Amazônia (COIAB) and the Indian Law Resource Center (the Center) testified about the struggle of indigenous peoples in the Brazilin Amazon to protect the lands and forests they depend upon for physical and cultural survival against unprecedented fires, agribusiness activities, and logging and mining interests. The hearing also served as an opportunity to update the Commission on the situation of indigenous peoples in Brazil since February 2019 when COIAB and the Center, along with the Articulação dos Povos Indígenas do Brasil (APIB) and the Articulação dos Povos e Organizações Indígenas do Nordeste, Minas Gerais e Espirito Santo (APOINME), testified about the increasing violence towards indigenous communities since the 2018 presidential elections.