Brazil Prosecutor’s Office: Yanomami crisis caused by state omission
The critical health situation of the Yanomami indigenous people was caused by the omission of the Brazilian state to protect indigenous lands, federal prosecutors said.
A public note about this conclusion was released on Monday (Jan. 23) by the Indigenous Populations and Traditional Communities Chamber of the Federal Prosecutor’s Office. The document reveals a historical description of the work done in the Yanomami indigenous land, located in the state of Roraima.
According to the note, despite the efforts made by the body, the measures taken by the government were limited.
"In the understanding of the Federal Prosecutor’s Office, the serious health and food security situation suffered by the Yanomami people, among others, results from the omission of the Brazilian state in ensuring the protection of their lands. In effect, in recent years there has been an alarming increase in the number of miners inside the Yanomami indigenous land, estimated to be more than 20,000 by the Hutukara Yanomami Association," the office declared.
The note also mentions failing in the supply of health services, lack of distribution of medicine, and the presence of miners in the region as factors that contributed to the situation.
"The Federal Prosecutor’s Office also pointed out the firm commitment of the institution to continue acting swiftly and diligently, in all spheres, and in compliance with its constitutional mission to curb illegal mining and other illicit activities on indigenous lands, for the removal of invaders from the Yanomami and other peoples' lands, such as Munduruku and Kayapó, as well as for the strengthening of Brazil’s national indigenous foundation FUNAI and the Special Secretariat of Indigenous Health (Sesai)," the body reported.
In a statement, the Articulation of Brazil’s Indigenous Peoples (APIB) informed that the situation of the Yanomami people had been denounced to the courts at least 21 times. According to the entity, about 100 children died in 2022 from malnutrition.
