Background Information on Brazilian Land Dispute Violence

Henri de Rosiers, defender of land rights, threatened in Southern Pará State

Brother Henri de Rosiers (known as Frei Henri), a lawyer and human rights defender in the southern Pará state, has received death threats for a number of years in connection with his work to protect land rights. His name is allegedly on a "death list" believed to have been drawn up by local landowners. In October 2007, three men were hired to kill Frei Henri for the alleged sum of R$50,000 (US$25,000). Frei Henri has worked for many years as a lawyer for the non-governmental organization Comissão Pastoral da Terra (Pastoral Land Commission, CPT) in Xinguara. The CPT defends land activists, rural workers and the landless, in a state notorious for violence and impunity.

The southern part of Pará state is one of the most violent regions in Brazil. According to the non-governmental organization Comissão Pastoral da Terra (Pastoral Land Commission, CPT), 814 people were murdered between 1971 and 2006 in connection to disputes over land, and over 118 land activists have received death threats in 2006 alone. Many of these murders and threats are at the hands of private security companies who are hired to kill land activists and human rights defenders. Most of these cases remain uninvestigated, and according to the CPT, of the 814 people were murdered between 1971 and 2006, 568 cases remain unsolved. Ninety-two criminal cases resulted in just one imprisonment.

Frei Henri has been receiving 24-hour protection from military police officers since 2005, when Sister Dorothy Stang, an environmental activist who had been the target of many death threats, was murdered by gunmen acting on behalf of local landowners. However, the authorities have apparently not attempted to investigate the latest threat to the life of Frei Henri; nor have they made serious efforts to investigate previous threats or the existence of the death list or take steps to disarm local militias.

» Read the full Urgent Action here.

Guarani Kaiowá community of Nhanderu Marangatu threatened and intimidated

The Guarani Kaiowá community of Nhanderu Marangatu in the Antonio João municipality, Mato Grosso do Sul state, have lived in fear since they were evicted from their land in 2005. Around 30 private security guards working for local landowners have repeatedly threatened the community by firing shots in the air near indigenous homes and groups of children. The security guards have also been accused of raping three indigenous women so far this year. The indigenous group claim that reports to Federal Public Prosecutor's Office, (Ministério Publico Federal) and the Federal Police have been ignored.

The 9,316 hectare Ñanderu Marangatu lands were officially ratified by President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva on 23 March 2005. After a judicial challenge at state level, the then President of the Federal Supreme Court (Supremo Tribunal Federal, STF) Nelson Jobim, suspended the President's ruling, pending the resolution of the appeal. On 15 December 2005, 150 Military Police officers enforced an eviction order (see UA 178/05, 16 August 2005), using helicopters and heavy arms, driving the community into an encampment of makeshift shacks by the side of the highway. Soon after, on 24 December, community leader Dorvalino Rocha was shot dead by security guards hired by the landowners.

After seven months by the side of the highway, the community was moved back into 100 hectares of farmlands, with the agreement of local landowners, to allow for the asphalting of the road. Since the move the owners of the land have maintained a heavy presence of private security guards. In their last Guarani community meeting which took place from 26 to 28 October in the Sombrerito village, Marangatu leaders complained that the security guards were making it impossible to live there. The ruling on the landowners' appeal remains stalled in the Federal Supreme Court, exposing the Guarani to continued violence and severe economic deprivation.

» Read the full Urgent Action here.

Urge the Brazilian Embassy to do everything in its power to end the long record of impunity in both of these states and to ensure the immediate protection and the long-term security of the communities and the land rights defenders throughout Brazil.
» Take action now.