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WORLDWIDE FOREST/BIODIVERSITY CAMPAIGN NEWS

Brazilian Government Reneges on Indigenous Rights

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Forest Networking a Project of Ecological Enterprises

2/16/96

***Ecological Enterprises Action Alert***

BRAZILIAN GOVERNMENT RENEGES ON INDIGENOUS RIGHTS

Encourage The World Bank to Review Its Lending Policies

***Your Letter Needed***

In less than two weeks, the World Bank will take a position on

Decree 1,775/96, a policy deliberately adopted by the Brazilian

government which would legally permit developers and settlers to

invade demarcated indigenous territories in many areas of the

Amazon. The intent of the Decree is to weaken seriously the

protection of indigenous territorial rights guaranteed in the

Brazilian Constitution. In a February 6 meeting, representatives

of the Council for the Articulation of Indigenous Peoples and

Organizations of Brazil (CAPOIB) urged the World Bank to pressure

the Brazilian government to abandon its new policy by withholding

development funding.

Earlier on February 5, the Environment Commission of the Brazilian

BAR Association, Sao Paulo Division, approved a motion rejecting

Decree 1,775 and requested a revocation of the decree from the

Office of the Attorney General. The lawyers' document was also

submitted to the President of the Republic, the minister of

Justice, the ambassadors of the G-7 countries and to the

Interamerican Human Rights Committee.

Dennis Mahar, a representative of the World Bank in Brazil,

announced that the institution would take into account the

warnings of CAPOIB: "with the publication of Decree 1,775/96, the

federal administration is clearly forsaking its constitutional

duty to demarcate indigenous lands... demarcations are not being

determined by indigenous rights, but rather by the alleged right

of third parties and public powers to contest them."

***Body of Sample Letter***

Mr. James Wolfensohn

President

World Bank

1818 H Street, NW

Washington, DC 20433

Dear Mr. Wolfensohn,

I am writing to express my deep concern regarding the intention of

the Government of Brazil to weaken the territorial rights of

indigenous peoples. The result of Decree 1,775 will be to

accelerate the invasion and occupation of legitimately designated

indigenous territories by forces less concerned with conservation

than they are with exploitation. By undermining indigenous

property rights, Decree 1,775 will promote the destruction of

biological and cultural diversity which the indigenous lands

currently sustain.

I urge you to oppose Decree 1,775 and to advocate the rights and

interests of the indigenous peoples of Brazil. Use your economic

leverage to ensure the territorial integrity of demarcated

indigenous lands. Bank lending policies must be reviewed, and

support of unsustainable resource extraction stopped. Please

support the Motion against the Decree approved by the Environment

Commission of the Brazilian BAR Association to revoke or annul

Decree 1,775. Thank you very much for your attention.

Sincerely,

***Other Resources on Current Situation in Brazil &

The World Bank's Role in Financing Rainforest Destruction***

*Rainforest Action Network:

http://www.ran.org/ran/ran_campaigns/world_bank/index.html

*Gaia Forest Archives:

http://gaia1.ies.wisc.edu/research/pngfores/actalert/bracomin.html

gopher://gaia1.ies.wisc.edu:70/11/research/wforests/brazil

###RELAYED TEXT ENDS###

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Gaia Forest Archives at URL=

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Written & Networked by:

Ecological Enterprises || Phone/Fax->(608) 233-2194

Email-> gbarry@forests.org