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

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.