URGENT ACTIONS

Brazil: Guarani-Kaiowá, land conflicts and malnutrition kills indigenous adults and children

CASES

OPEN LETTERS

The deaths of Guarani Kaiowa indigenous children due to malnutrition have been a continuous issue in Mato Grosso do Sul, Brazil. Since 2005, 53 indigenous children below age five died in the region, 12 in 2007. The deaths are concentrated in Dourados, where 11 thousand people are concentrated, and in Amambai. The lack of respect, protection and, especially, the non implementation of the constitutionally defined guarantee to traditional lands, which is a pre-requisite for the realization of the Human Right to Adequate Food, and the right to feed oneself, lead to hunger, malnutrition and violence against the Guaranis. In 2007 alone, 48 Guarani Kaiowas were murdered. Parallel to this, reports point to an increasing criminalization of indigenous leaders, involved in the struggle for land. At the root of this situation is the inadequate access to land, a consequence of the looting and destruction of the traditional indigenous territories due to the failure of Brazil to respect and protect the human rights of the indigenous peoples.

Background:

In the State of Mato Grosso do Sul the Guarani Kaiowá population is of approximately 27.500 people. Traditionally the Guaranis have been an itinerant people whose territory included most of the southern part of Latin America.  For these people, the land where they live – the Tekohá – means “the place where we realize our way of being”, a social political space. In the early 20th century the Guarani-Kaiowás were enclosed in very small demarcated indigenous lands. Until the 70´s they were able to migrate to and find refuge in non occupied lands. But with the progressive occupation of large extensions of the land in the region, including river banks, with the capital intensive production of soy beans, this space was progressively reduced. Since then more and more indigenous families were forced into the limited demarcated land, seriously reducing their capacity to provide for themselves in terms of food, clean water, fuel for food production, medicinal herbs and increasingly worse sanitary conditions. In the 90`s a severe increase in the rate of suicides was observed as well as those of alcoholism.

In 2007, 76 indigenous people were assassinated in Brazil, out of them 48 were Guarani Kaiowas from Mato Grosso do Sul. Since 2005, 53 Guarani Kaiowá children died of malnutrition, and presently there are at least 600 others who present signs of malnutrition. The homicides, suicides, the alcoholism, and the malnutrition deaths are strongly linked to the limited extensions of land presently occupied by the Guaranis in Mato Grosso do Sul, and to their struggle against it. The government has limited itself to provide food and health assistance to the families, among other small scale programs, but has not advanced in the demarcation of the 52 traditional lands demanded by the Guaranis.

Under the human right to food, Brazil is duty-bound to investigate and punish the persons responsible for the murders of the Guaranis, to protect the indigenous people against the practice of undue criminalization, to provide adequate food and access to resources for the Guarani to feed themselves, as such access is currently beyond their control. Brazil should therefore take immediate measures to demarcate the land in question, and also step up social transfer measures and the implementation of needed public policies to prevent further starvation deaths until the Guaranis are resettled on their lands.

FIAN Mandate
As a state party to the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, Brazil is duty-bound under international law to respect, protect and fulfil the Guaraní Kaiowa’s access to land to feed themselves. This indigenous group is threatened by hunger, malnutrition, and land conflict related violence, and international attention is urgently necessary.

Call to Action

Please write letters to the Brazilian President Lula, to the Minister of Social Development Patrus Ananias, to the Minister of Human Rights Paulo Vanucchi and to the Minister of Justice Tarso Genro asking them to take the appropriate measures to guarantee the Guarani Kaiowá´s rights.

URGENT ACTION UBRA0802