Press release: European Parliament will condem Bolsonaro’s human rights policies

Tomorrow, Thursday 07/07/2022, the European Parliament will vote on an urgency resolution on the situation of indigenous and environmental defenders in Brazil, including the killing of Dom Phillips and Bruno Pereira. If the resolution will be adopted as expected, the European Parliament will call for the independent and swift investigation of the murders as well as better protection of indigenous peoples and human rights and environmental defenders in Brazil.

MEP Anna Cavazzini, Vice President of the European Parliament Delegation to Brazil and Green negotiator for the resolution, comments the expected result:

„The murders of Dom Phillips and Bruno Pereira are horrific and unfortunately not an isolated case. It is a strong sign that the European Parliament clearly condemns the increasingly frequent murders of indigenous people and environmental defenders in Brazil and clearly identifies the responsibility of the Bolsonaro government in the increasing violence against indigenous people, as well as the growing deforestation rates associated with it. 

The increasing violence since the beginning of Bolsonaro’s term in office is no coincidence. The European Parliament condemns that he has cut funding from key agencies, continued to weaken environmental legislation, and verbally attacked indigenous people and environmental defenders on several occasions.

Extractivist activities such as agro-industry and mining put particular pressure on indigenous protected areas. As one of the main importers of Brazilian agricultural products, the European Union also bears responsibility for the ongoing deforestation of the Amazon and other ecosystems in Brazil. The European Parliament calls for more due diligence in the supply chains of European companies and the inclusion of indigenous rights in the currently debated legislation for deforestation-free supply chains.“

Background information:

·         The full text of the resolution can be found here: https://www.europarl.europa.eu/doceo/document/RC-9-2022-0348_EN.html

·         The Vote will be tomorrow at 12:00 pm CEST.

·         Today at 20:30 pm CEST there will be a debate in the Plenary of the European Parliament on the resolution which you can find here: https://www.europarl.europa.eu/plenary/en/home.html

Please send press inquiries to:  anna.cavazzini@europarl.europa.eu. 

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