Human Rights Watch Statement on the Deaths of Two Guajajara Men

Early on September 3, Janildo Oliveira Guajajara, a Guajajara man, was shot dead in Amarante do Maranhão, close to the Araribóia Indigenous land in the state of Maranhão. He was a member of a group of forest guardians who patrol their territory for illegal logging, the Araribóia guardians said. His teenage nephew was injured, but survived. Another Guajajara man, Jael Carlos Miranda, died after he was run over in the town of Arame on the same day. According to media reports, civil police are investigating whether the deaths are related to conflicts with loggers operating illegally in Araribóia.

Maria Laura Canineu, Brazil director at Human Rights Watch, said the following:

“Human Rights Watch is deeply disturbed by the deaths of two Guajajara Indigenous men, including a forest guardian, near the Araribóia Indigenous territory, in the Amazonian state of Maranhão. We call on Brazilian authorities to conduct an immediate and rigorous investigation into their killings. Federal police and prosecutors should participate in the investigation to determine whether the deaths were linked to encroachment of illegal loggers into Indigenous territory. Those responsible should be held accountable. Human Rights Watch has visited Araribóia several times and documented the encroachment by loggers and threats and attacks against Indigenous people for years. In recent years, the scaling back of environmental law enforcement and the regression in the protection of Indigenous lands has left Indigenous people even more vulnerable to attacks from criminal networks driving deforestation in the Amazon. Those defending the forest are particularly at risk. Brazilian authorities should put an end to the lawlessness in the region.”