UN rapporteur asks Supreme Court to respect indigenous rights

As reported by journalist Jamil Chade, columnist for UOL, the United Nations (UN) special rapporteur on the rights of indigenous peoples, Francisco Cali Tzay, asked the Brazilian Federal Supreme Court (STF) to discard the “thesis” of the temporal milestone [Marco Temporal] and to recognize the indigenous peoples’ right to land.

“The acceptance of a temporal milestone doctrine would result in a significant denial of justice for many indigenous peoples who seek recognition of their traditional land rights. Under the Constitution, indigenous peoples are entitled to permanent possession of the lands they traditionally occupy,” Tzay said.

The Marco Temporal is an argument proposed by big land owners organizations that proposes restricting the demarcation of lands only to those areas that were under indigenous ocupation by October 5, 1988, the date of the promulgation of the Constitution.

In an unprecedented mention, during an activity of the 47th Session of the Human Rights Council of the United Nations (UN) last month, the UN special advisor for the prevention of genocide, Wairimu Nderitu, expressed concern about the situation of indigenous peoples in Brazil.