The humanitarian crisis of the Yanomami in the Amazon
13.3.2023
Question for written answer E-000851/2023
to the Vice-President of the Commission / High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy
Rule 138
Jordi Solé (Verts/ALE), Anna Cavazzini (Verts/ALE), Michèle Rivasi (Verts/ALE), Claude Gruffat (Verts/ALE), Yannick Jadot (Verts/ALE), Diana Riba i Giner (Verts/ALE)
Hundreds of Yanomami children have died in the Amazon rainforest as a result of illegal mining, an emergency the Brazilian government, headed by Da Silva, has described as a genocide[1].
The Yanomami are the most numerous indigenous people in the Amazon. The arrival of thousands of illegal gold miners – the number rose by 46% in 2021 according to a report entitled ‘Yanomami under attack[2]’ – has spread diseases such as malaria and pneumonia, against which the native people have no antibodies. But the biggest contributor to infant mortality has been severe malnutrition caused by pollution of rivers with mercury used to extract the gold. The arrival of illegal miners has also led to an increase in, among other things, attacks and sexual violence.
- 1.What EU cooperation programmes in Brazil could be used to combat illicit mines?
- 2.What has the Commission done to ensure that raw materials illicitly extracted in these mines are not sold on the European market?
Submitted: 13.3.2023
- [1] https://www.france24.com/es/am%C3%A9rica-latina/20230124-brasil-investiga-el-genocidio-de-los-ind%C3%ADgenas-yanomami.
- [2] ‘Yanomami Under Attack: Illegal Mining On Yanomami Indigenous Land And Proposals To Combat It’ https://acervo.socioambiental.org/sites/default/files/documents/yal00067_en.pdf.