Brazil, indigenous peoples denounce President Bolsonaro to the Criminal Court for genocide

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August 10, 2021 The Association of Indigenous Peoples of Brazil (Apib)

the International Criminal Court (ICC) to open an investigation against President Jair Bolsonaro on charges of

, ecocide and anti-indigenous politics. 

The same association had already turned to the Hague Tribunal to denounce the far-right president, but it is the first time that Apib has launched a

"Given the inability of the current judicial system in Brazil to investigate, try and imprison those responsible for actions that constitute crimes against humanity, genocide and ecocide, then we denounce them before the international community through the CPI", announced Eloy Terena, legal coordinator of the APIB, which brings together various regional associations for the defense of indigenous rights. 

At the basis of the accusations, a series of university research, technical reports, documents of indigenous leaders and organizations that prove "a

and systematic policy, planned and implemented under the direction of Bolsonaro", starting from his inauguration as president of Brazil in January 2019 and in particular during the Covid-19 pandemic.

In addition to having facilitated the opening of indigenous lands and protected areas of the Amazon to the

of its natural resources - forests and mines - Bolsonaro is accused of having favored

within native communities, with a budget of 57,000 infected and 1,166 dead out of a population of 900,000 people, according to data released by the Apib.

Indigenous people represent 0.5% of the 212 million Brazilians but their lands cover

, as well as representing the second green lung of the planet. Last January the famous defender of the Amazon rainforest

he had already asked the CPI to investigate for "crimes against humanity", accusing Bolsonaro of "persecution" of indigenous peoples with the destruction of their habitat and the violation of their rights.

In the background, a series of

awaiting the vote of the Brazilian Parliament driven by the powerful agri-food lobby, aim to overturn the rules in force on the

of indigenous lands, further facilitating their exploitation.