Tech & Sci
10:02, 26-Apr-2018
UNEP concerned over spate of environmental activists murder in Brazil
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The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) has expressed concern over rising crime against environmental and land rights activists in Brazil.
Comissao Pastoral da Terra (CPT), the country’s violence watchdog, revealed 70 such killings last year. “The murder of indigenous people living on the frontlines of environmental protection is unacceptable,” Erik Solheim, head of the UNEP said.
The UNEP has demanded a full, impartial and transparent investigation into the murder of Nazildo dos Santos Brito and of the two leaders of the Association of Caboclos Indígenas e Quilombolas da Amazônia killed since December.
Nazildo dos Santos Brito, a leader of a community formed by runaway slaves, was murdered last week in Tome-Açu in the northern Pará state.
Brito’s killing was the third in four weeks. He was shot in the head, and his belongings lay around his dead body. The slain leader had sought judicial protection after receiving dire threats from palm oil plantation companies.
The murder of Nazildo dos Santos and two other environmental activists in the state of Pará is indicative of a worrying pattern of retaliation against those protecting their human and ecological rights, the UNEP added.
The palm oil company Biopalma da Amazonia SA had accused Briti of causing disturbances, threats and similar crimes. The company had filed a case against the activist in 2015.
[Top Image: Relatives of victims who were killed when police arrived at the Santa Lucia farm in the municipality of Pau D'Arco, attend their burial in Redencao, Para state, Brazil, May 26, 2017. /Reuters Photo]