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Article

22 Dec 2020

Author:
Association of Brazil's Indigenous Peoples and Amazon Watch

Letter from the Association of Brazil's Indigenous Peoples and Amazon Watch to Anglo American

With the presence of 200 participants from 47 villages, the assembly produced a powerful declaration that demands recognition of the Munduruku's rights to life and territory. Both illegal "wildcat" and industrial mining were among the principal threats identified by the Munduruku.

... In its response to the Business and Human Rights Resource Center... Anglo American stated that it had given up all requests for mineral exploration in areas located on Indigenous lands in Brazil... However, a recent report from InfoAmazônia news agency revealed that Brazil's National Mining Agency (ANM) granted 27 permits for Anglo American to prospect copper within Indigenous lands in the states of Mato Grosso and Pará, with emphasis on the Munduruku's Sawré Muybu Indigenous territory in Pará state.

... Anglo American also stated in its response that it has no plans to carry out any activities related to mining on Indigenous lands in Brazil and that all of their mining activities follow the internationally recognized principle of Free, Prior, and Informed Consent (FPIC) with affected communities, regardless of the provisions of local legislation. While the commitment reaffirmed by Anglo American regarding prior consent from affected communities is important, it is essential to stress that there is still no legal basis for mining on Brazilian Indigenous lands.

... [W]e invite Anglo American to go further and make a public commitment to refrain from carrying out any mining activities on Indigenous lands in Brazil, regardless of changes in Brazilian legislation, in line with its human rights and biodiversity protection commitments, in particular the Declaration of ICMM's position on Mining and Protected Areas.

Part of the following timelines

Brazil: NGO report alleges that international financial institutions are enabling violations of Indigenous Peoples' rights in the Amazon

Brazil: APIB and Amazon Watch call on Anglo American to refrain from mining activities on Indigenous lands; incl. company response