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Parliamentary question - E-000333/2019Parliamentary question
E-000333/2019

VP/HR — Update on the situation of the Yanomami tribe

Question for written answer E-000333-19
to the Commission (Vice-President/High Representative)
Rule 130
Jonathan Arnott (EFDD)

Following the recent change of government in Brazil, and the appointment over the last week of General Franklimberg Ribeiro de Freitas as the head of Brazil’s indigenous rights agency, can the High Representative please provide an update as regards the situation of the Yanomami people?

Survival International has reported that thousands of illegal gold-miners are working illegally on Yanomami land. This, amongst other problems, raises concerns over the introduction of new diseases (including measles) to populations which will not have built up natural immunity over generations. These can often prove fatal. Furthermore, these mining techniques lead to the contamination of water supplies with mercury.

I note that Brazil is a signatory to the 1989 Indigenous and Tribal Peoples Convention, Article 15 of which states that: ‘The rights of the peoples concerned to the natural resources pertaining to their lands shall be specially safeguarded. These rights include the right of these peoples to participate in the use, management and conservation of these resources’. What action is the High Representative currently taking to safeguard the welfare of the Yanomami people, and what more can be done to apply appropriate diplomatic pressure?

Last updated: 11 February 2019
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