The English-language version of this report was made after the original launch of the Portuguese-language version; thus, we have included herein a few updates in Chapters 3 and 4, in order to accurately reflect last-minute developments and present the facts as fully and precisely as possible. HUMAN RIGHTS VIOLATIONS IN THE AMAZON: CONFLICT AND VIOLENCE IN THE STATE OF PARÁ The records of the Pastoral Land Commission (CPT), the social justice arm of the Brazilian Catholic Church, illustrate a gloomy reality of more than 700 peasants, rural workers, and human rights defenders assassinated in the last 30 years in the state of Pará. The majority of the deaths were registered in the southern and southeastern regions of Pará. Many of these deaths were clearly selective, as the victims were people who performed important functions as labor and religious leaders and human rights defenders. The objective of the assassinations is clear: to weaken the organizations and silence the fight of the rural workers.

Inhalt

INTRODUCTION ……………………………………………………………………………………………. 13
CHAPTER I
LAND OWNERSHIP AND AGRARIAN DYNAMICS IN THE STATE OF PARÁ ………………………………. 23
1. ILLEGAL APPROPRIATION OF LAND AND TERRITORIAL MANAGEMENT ………………………………………………………….. 25
2. CONFLICT AND VIOLENCE IN RURAL AREAS …………………………………………………………………………………………. 33
3. THE PRACTICE OF SLAVE LABOR ……………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 40
4. IMPUNITY IN THE COUNTRYSIDE: ONE OF THE CAUSES OF VIOLENCE …………………………………………………………. 45
CONCLUSION ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… 52
CHAPTER II
GOVERNMENTAL POLICIES FOR THE AMAZON AND THE STATE OF PARÁ …………………………….. 55
1. ECONOMIC AND ECOLOGICAL MACRO-ZONING (MACRO-ZONEAMENTO ECOLÓGICO E ECONÔMICO) …………….. 56
2. THE PARÁ RURAL PROGRAM ………………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 58
3. FEDERAL GOVERNMENT PROJECTS FOR THE AMAZON AND PARÁ …………………………………………………………….. 60
4. THE BR-163 PLAN FOR SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT ………………………………………………………………………….. 61
5. POLICIES FOR CONFRONTING GRILAGEM ………………………………………………………………………………………….. 64
CONCLUSION ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… 70
CHAPTER III
Illegal Confiscation of Land and Violation of Human Rights:
The Case of Rondon do Pará ……………………………………………………………………………….. 73
1. A HISTORY OF TERRITORIAL OCCUPATION ………………………………………………………………………………………… 75
2. ILLEGAL LAND OCCUPATION AND THE ………………………………………………………………………………………………. 76
CONCENTRATION OF LAND IN RONDON DO PARÁ ………………………………………………………………………………….. 76
3. THE STRUGGLE FOR LAND IN RONDON DO PARÁ ……………………………………………………………………………….. 81
4. HUMAN RIGHTS DEFENDERS …………………………………………………………………………………………………………. 84
CONCLUSION ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… 86
CHAPTER IV
ANAPU: PUBLIC FUNDS, THE FALSIFICATION OF LAND PROPERTY
DOCUMENTS AND ALTERNATIVE FORMS OF DEVELOPMENT …………………………………………….. 89
1. A HISTORY OF LAND OCCUPATION ………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 90
2. PUBLIC FUNDS AND AGRARIAN CONFLICT …………………………………………………………………………………………. 92
3. SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT PROJECTS (PDS) …………………………………………………………………………………… 94
4. HUMAN RIGHTS DEFENDERS: AN EMBLEMATIC CASE OF A MURDER FORETOLD ………………………………………… 97
5. HUMAN RIGHTS VIOLATIONS, IMPUNITY AND FEDERALIZATION ……………………………………………………………. 102
6. CRIMINALIZING WORKERS AND ACTIVISTS ………………………………………………………………………………………. 104
CONCLUSION ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………. 108
Table of contents
HUMAN RIGHTS VIOLATIONS IN THE AMAZON: CONFLICT AND VIOLENCE IN THE STATE OF PARÁ
12
CHAPTER V
TERRA DO MEIO: THE FINAL FRONTIER OF FEAR ………………………………………………………. 111
1. LOCATION AND CONTEXT …………………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 111
2. ENVIRONMENTAL DESTRUCTION AND VIOLENCE IN TERRA DO MEIO …………………………………………………….. 114
3. STATE PRESENCE IN THE REGION …………………………………………………………………………………………………… 118
CONCLUSION ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………. 120
CHAPTER VI
SITUATION OF COMPLETE ABANDONMENT: THE CASE OF CASTELO DOS SONHOS ……………… 123
1. HISTORY OF THE REGION’S OCCUPATION ………………………………………………………………………………………… 124
2. ILLEGAL LAND APPROPRIATION AND CONCENTRATION IN CASTELO DOS SONHOS ……………………………………… 125
3. CASTELO DOS SONHOS: ABSENCE, OMISSION, AND COLLUSION OF PUBLIC AUTHORITIES WITH LOCAL ELITES … 128
4. POLICIES TO COMBAT DEFORESTATION …………………………………………………………………………………………… 130
5. THE STRUGGLE FOR LAND: THE BARTOLOMEU MORAIS DA SILVA ENCAMPMENT ………………………………………. 132
6. HUMAN RIGHTS DEFENDERS: THE CONTEXT OF PLANNED AND ANNOUNCED VIOLENCE …………………………… 134
7. AN EXEMPLARY CASE OF HUMAN RIGHTS VIOLATION: THE DEATH OF BRASÍLIA ………………………………………. 138
CHAPTER VII
THE STRUGGLE FOR ENVIRONMENTAL PRESERVATION: THE CASE OF PORTO DE MOZ ………… 141
1. THE LAND OWNERSHIP ISSUE ………………………………………………………………………………………………………. 143
2. LOGGING EXPLOITATION IN THE REGION ………………………………………………………………………………………… 149
3. THE STRUGGLE FOR THE PRESERVATION OF THE ENVIRONMENT……………………………………………………………. 151
4. THE CREATION OF THE “VERDE PARA SEMPRE” EXTRACTIVE RESERVE ……………………………………………………. 154
5. HUMAN RIGHTS DEFENDERS: FIGHTS AND THREATS ………………………………………………………………………….. 156
CONCLUSION ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………. 157
CHAPTER VIII
RECOMMENDATIONS FOR THE STATE OF PARÁ ……………………………………………………………. 159
1. RECOMMENDATIONS TO COMBAT VIOLENCE AND IMPUNITY ……………………………………………………………….. 159
2. RECOMMENDATIONS ON SLAVE LABOR ……………………………………………………………………………………………. 160
3. RECOMMENDATIONS FOR THE PROTECTION OF HUMAN RIGHTS DEFENDERS ………………………………………….. 161
4. RECOMMENDATIONS FOR AGRARIAN REFORM ………………………………………………………………………………….. 162
4.1 RECOMMENDATIONS TO RONDON DO PARÁ, CASTELO DOS SONHOS AND ANAPU ……………………………………………………. 162
5. RECOMMENDATIONS TO COMBAT GRILAGEM …………………………………………………………………………………… 163
5.1 SPECIFIC RECOMMENDATIONS TO ANAPU ……………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 164
5.2 SPECIFIC RECOMMENDATIONS TO RONDON DO PARÁ ………………………………………………………………………………………… 165
6. RECOMMENDATIONS TO TACKLE THE PROBLEM OF DEFORESTATION ……………………………………………………… 165
6.1 RECOMMENDATIONS TO PORTO DE MOZ, CASTELO DOS SONHOS AND ANAPU ……………………………………………………….. 166
6.2 RECOMMENDATIONS TO TERRA DO MEIO ……………………………………………………………………………………………………… 166
7. RECOMMENDATIONS TO COMBAT CORRUPTION IN PUBLIC BODIES ……………………………………………………….. 167
ANNEXES ………………………………………………………………………………………………………. 169
ANNEX I — LEADERS OF SOCIAL MOVEMENTS AND OTHER ORGANIZATIONS
MURDERED IN THE STATE OF PARÁ ……………………………………………………………………………………………………. 171
ANNEX II — PEOPLE THREATENED WITH DEATH IN THE STATE OF PARÁ …………………………………………………… 173
ANNEX III — EMPLOYERS FINED FOR MAKING USE OF SLAVE LABOR
IN THE STATE OF PARÁ (PORTARIA 540, 15 DE OCTOBER 2004) …………………………………………………………………………………………………. 179

Impressum

Coordination: José Batista Gonçalves Afonso, Sandra Carvalho, Darci Frigo, Leandro Gorsdorf and Sérgio Sauer.
Edited and Organized by Sérgio Sauer.

Human Rights Violations in the Amazon: Conflict and Violence in the State of Pará
Coordination: José Batista Gonçalves Afonso, Sandra Carvalho, Darci Frigo, Leandro Gorsdorf and Sérgio Sauer.
Edited and Organized by Sérgio Sauer.
Research team: Antônia Lima dos Santos, Camilla Ribeiro, Darci Frigo, Felipe Prando, Jax Nildo Aragão Pinto,
José Batista Gonçalves Afonso, Julia Figueira-McDonough, Leandro Gorsdorf, Luciana Cristina Furquim Pivato,
Luciana Silva Garcia, Maria Rita Reis, Nadine Monteiro Borges, Renata Verônica Côrtes de Lira, Sandra Carvalho,
Sérgio Sauer, Tarcísio Feitosa da Silva.
Translation team: Phillippa Bennett, Julia Figueira-McDonough, Marsha Michel, Kristen Schlemmer, Elisabeth
Rottach, Carlos Eduardo Gaio and Emily Goldman.
Translation review: Carlos Eduardo Gaio, Emily Goldman and Phillippa Bennett.
Layout by: Sandra Luiz Alves

 

DADOS INTERNACIONAIS PARA CATALOGAÇÃO NA PUBLICAÇÃO (CIP)
S273v
Sauer, Sérgio.
Violação dos direitos humanos na Amazônia : conflito e
violência na fronteira paraense / autor: Sérgio Sauer ; [tradução:
Phillippa Bennett, Julia Figueira-McDonough, Marsha Michel e Kristen Schlemmer].
– Goiânia : CPT ; Rio de Janeiro : Justiça Global ; Curitiba : Terra de Direitos, 2005.
170p. ; 17,5x25cm.
1. Direitos humanos. 2. Conflitos no campo – Amazônia.
3. Posse da terra – Amazônia I. Comissão Pastoral da terra. II.
Justiça Global. III. Terra de Direitos. IV.Título.
CDD- 338.9811