The Federal Court determined that those responsible for the proposed construction of the Ferrogrão railway, between Sinop (MT) and Itaituba (PA), do not consult with indigenous peoples who do not follow the protocols published by the communities.
The decision, which accepted requests from the Federal Public Ministry (MPF), records that carrying out consultations is a prior and mandatory condition for the continuation of discussions on the socio-environmental viability of the project.
In the action, the MPF had reported a series of violations of the indigenous people's right to consultation and free, prior and informed consent, provided for in Convention 169 of the International Labor Organization (ILO).
The defendants in the process are the National Indian Foundation (Funai), the National Land Transport Agency (ANTT), the Union – through the Special Secretariat of the Investment Partnership Program (SE-SPPI) – and the consortium of companies Estação de Luz Participações.
Federal judge Marcelo Garcia Vieira highlights, in the decision, the occurrence of four specific violations:
• the lack of consultation with communities that ANTT admitted will be impacted;
• the fact that the federal government considered indigenous leadership to be a person who admittedly did not have the authority or representation to respond on behalf of the indigenous people;
• holding a meeting without any consideration of indigenous culture, in a location outside indigenous territories and without the mediation of cultural translators;
• the supposed compliance with Convention 169 in accordance with the Union's autonomous interpretation, contrary to the jurisprudence of the Inter-American Court of Human Rights (IACHR).
The greatest proof of non-compliance with the rules of Convention 169 is its compliance with the Union's autonomous interpretation, contrary to the IACHR's jurisprudence, highlights federal judge Marcelo Garcia Vieira.
According to the decision, the documents presented by the Union and ANTT in the process “only indicate protocols of intentions and narrative contortions to try to deceive the unwary of the total and complete violation of ILO Convention nº 169, as if the Ferrogrão route project should not be subject to consultation and consent of the affected indigenous peoples or should only be carried out after the decision-making effects of national sovereignty or economic interests, in any case violating the aforementioned international convention”.
In relation to the defendants' allegations that the Court could not have accepted the MPF's urgent requests, the federal judge stressed that it is precisely from the project design phase and in the feasibility studies that fundamental indigenous rights must be complied with.
Compliance with the primary obligations derived from ILO Convention 169 at the beginning of the procedure avoids further damage to public coffers – in case of waiting for the procedural instruction –, considering that the works and the implementation phase will already be much more advanced and the setback or late stoppage would be much more costly to the treasury, points out the court decision.
The full decision can be read at the link below:
Receive the latest agriculture news by email
Receive the latest agriculture news by email
The decision was made following a request for reconsideration, received as an internal appeal; the main basis was the content of ADI 5529
The movement is related to China's difficulty in internalizing the approximately 10 million tons of grain that were normally brought from Ukraine, in addition to the incidence of pests in crops that the Asian country has faced.
