The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) of the Organization of American States (OAS) issued a note expressing satisfaction for Brazil’s homologation of the demarcation of the Raposa Serra do Sol area, benefiting indigenous people of the Ingarikó, Makuxi, Taurepang, and Wapixana ethnicities.
According to the note, “This act by the Brazilian government occurs in the context of a petition and cautionary measures currently going through IACHR, and in this sense, the Commission will keep observing as the situation unfolds.”
The Commission emphasizes the special value of recognizing the rights of indigenous people and their territories, and mentions the decree signed by President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, April 15th, recognizing permanent possession by indigenous people, of approximately 1.74 million hectares of land, in the municipalities of Normandia, Pacaraima, and Uiramutã, in the Northern state of Roraima.
A continuous extension of the Raposa Serra do Sol reservation was homologated, with the exclusion of a few areas, such as the urban headquarter of the Uiramutã municipality, the area where Special Border Police is located, and places containing existing federal and state public equipment and installations, such as energy transmission lines and roads.
ABr