Open letter from indigenous peoples declaring an environmental and humanitarian emergency

Given the evident inability and unwillingness of the states of Bolivia and Brazil to protect indigenous peoples and biodiversity from forest fires in the Bolivian Chiquitania in Santa Cruz de la Sierra and the states of Acre, Rondonia, Mato Grosso and Mato Grosso from the south in Brazil.

The Voice of Indigenous Peoples before a Genocide in the Eyes of the World!

What: as a result of the historic process of struggle of Indigenous Peoples worldwide and under the mandate of our own laws and the recognition of our rights recognized in various international instruments such as: ILO Convention 169, the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples and the OAS American Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, the Amazon Cooperation Agreement, the United Nations Framework Convention against Climate Change and the Convention on Biological Diversity, among others.

Furthermore, there is a common interest at the international level to continue to make progress in consolidating an alternative development model in which the protection of biodiversity takes precedence, climate stability and conditions to ensure life for future generations, in which the contributions of traditional and spiritual knowledge systems to the lives of indigenous peoples are fundamental; That for years Indigenous Peoples and Organizations have warned about the need to change the priorities in the Sustainable Development Goals (Sdgs) to focus all social efforts, cultural, political and economic protection of the life and territory of all humanity, which in a harmonious and balanced relationship can guarantee stability.

Despite our struggles the advances are few, while the prevailing economic model continues to use the planet as a resource bank, mainly the indigenous territories, this aggravates the risk that the planet will become uninhabitable, and where a physical and cultural genocide is clearly evident in the light of the eyes of the world.

That even when International Declarations and Conventions have been formulated, governments such as those of Brazil and Bolivia demonstrate their lack of interest, negligence, racism and structural discrimination against the life and integrity of indigenous peoples, and only seek to favor the interests of large economic groups that seek to convert the Amazon into lots for agricultural megaprojects, mining, dams and energy projects; which is why they criminalize and point to our indigenous authorities and organizations.

These facts, and the behaviors of the governments of Evo Morales and Jair Bolsonaro by their action and omission have evicted all environmental and social strategies to strengthen the environmental governance of the Amazon, going against the exercise of government that has been preserved by indigenous ancestral and traditional knowledge for millennia and that would also contradict the objectives set out in the international climate agenda, The lack of capacities of these Governments and their lack of political will are flagrantly responsible for the serious environmental tragedy that has been taking place for weeks and without precedent and is already showing irreparable environmental repercussions for humanity.

That it is necessary for all social actors, public and private in unity, to intervene and put a stop to this threat to life in all its forms, which already have in imminent danger of extinction to more than 506 Indigenous Peoples of the Amazon basin and of the thousands of species of flora and fauna that inhabit them because of the 73,843 fires that have incinerated more than 700,000 hectares forest after almost 18 days of neglect and prevention; and according to preliminary data there are more than 100,000 indigenous people affected.

WE DECLARE

The Indigenous Peoples from our Law of Origin, Major Law and Natural Law we hold responsible the governments of Jair Bolsonaro and Evo Morales for the disappearance and physical genocide, The environmental and cultural aspects of the Amazon, which are becoming more and more serious every day as a result of its actions and omissions, are irreparable losses for humanity. We therefore sanction, condemn and declare these two governments NOT WELCOME for the Amazon Basin.

That the responsibility of these leaders is compounded by their reference to all indigenous and social organizations, by holding them responsible for the damage caused by their economic policies, which, like those of Bolivia and Brazil, favour the indiscriminate extraction of all biodiversity and the lack of knowledge of all human rights Indigenous peoples recognized by international agreements. That before this it becomes necessary the social sanction, cultural, political and economic rights of these governments and the empowerment of civil society for the sovereign exercise of protection of life in all its integrity and to give a turn to the formulation of policies that define the concept of development for the Amazon.

That therefore we call upon all humanity to act immediately against the actions that criminally aggravated the different causes of this unprecedented tragedy, at a time when climate stability is at risk.

We support the consistent position of the organic CIDOB of Bolivia, rejecting and beating the Bolivian government for perpetrating this environmental and social disaster in order to promote an economic agenda that is contrary to reason and disrespectful of indigenous fundamental rights.

We support the position of COIAB of Brazil continue on the hard road of fighting visions and actions, political, economic, administrative and procedural measures of the Brazilian Government that permanently violate indigenous fundamental rights and humanity itself.

We request the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights and the Special Rapporteur on the rights of indigenous peoples to the United Nations to comment on the need for immediate action by the the international community to respond to this emergency and to formulate international measures to prevent it in the future.

We call for the activation of international cooperation and other allies for solidarity and humanitarian purposes so that the basic needs of the peoples affected by this scourge can be met and measures to restoration of affected biodiversity.

We recognize the heroic work of indigenous peoples and of all those civil society allies who are standing up to the fire and doing what is humanly possible to stop the conflagrations.

We call for and call for the unity and solidarity of all the Indigenous Peoples of the Abya Yala and the World to accompany, to denounce and put an end to the genocide and ecocide that the ancient territories of the indigenous peoples of the Amazon Basin are suffering. The balance of Mother Earth depends on the Amazon Basin, allowing its devastation implies the extermination of Humanity.

INDIGENOUS PEOPLES AND ORGANIZATIONS OF THE AMAZON BASIN

Info: Contact cclimaticocoica@gmail.com coica@coica.org.ec #Amazoniahumanidadsegura #S.O.Sporlaamazonia