Brazilian indigenous leaders have accused President Jair Bolsonaro of crimes against humanity and filed a lawsuit with the International Criminal Court (ICC). This is reported by the France 24 TV channel.
The chief of the Kayapo tribe Raoni Metuktire and the leader of the paiter-surui tribe Almir Narayamoga Surui filed a lawsuit on January 22.
Tribal leaders indicated that since the election of Bolsonaro to the post of head of state, the deforestation of Amazonian forests has increased dramatically, and the number of murders of indigenous leaders has reached a peak, breaking records of the past 11 years. In addition, they noted that environmental agencies were powerless and faced threats.
Metuktire and Surui emphasized that forced displacement and persecution are “crimes against humanity”.
France 24 notes that the Bolsonaro government had previously proposed legislation to ease restrictions on commercial mining, gas and oil production, and large-scale agriculture in the Amazon region.
The Guardian, citing a report from the non-governmental organization Climate Observatory, clarifies that since Bolsonaro took office, significant tracts of rainforest have been destroyed, and traditional communities have been threatened. In two years, deforestation has jumped nearly 50 percent, reaching its highest level since 2008. In 2019, incursions into indigenous land increased 135 percent, with at least 18 people killed in land conflicts last year.