In a recent protest against President Jair Bolsonaro, activists hold banners that read: “Genocide—Your Destiny is The Hague Tribunal” and “Impeachment Now!” (Photo by Orlando Brito)
Brazil’s leading association of indigenous peoples has petitioned the International Criminal Court (ICC) at The Hague to investigate the country’s president, Jair Bolsonaro, accusing his government of committing genocide against their communities and ecocide against their lands. The Brazilian Indigenous Peoples’ Liaison (APIB) argued in a complaint it filed with the ICC on Aug. 9 that since Bolsonaro took office in January 2019, he has rolled back crucial environmental protections. This has driven a dramatic surge of illegal activity—including land grabbing, deforestation, mining and logging—in indigenous areas, the APIB alleges. APIB bases its genocide accusation in part on what it and other indigenous advocates deem lax government efforts to contain the spread of Covid-19 in indigenous communities. Officials from two Brazilian human rights groups, the Arns Commission and the Human Rights Lawyers Collective (CADHu), co-signed the APIB complaint. In November 2019, those two groups filed a... [Log in to read more]
