On November 11th, international and Brazilian human rights organizations filed a formal petition with the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights to stop the construction of Belo Monte Dam on the Xingu River in the Brazilian Amazon. The petition urgently calls on the commission to adopt "precautionary measures" that would put pressure on the Brazilian government to halt plans to build the dam, planned to be the world's third largest.
The petition documents the Brazilian government's violation of international treaties and charges it with ignoring the fundamental rights of Indigenous Peoples from the lower Xingu Basin, including the Arroz Cru, Arara, and Juruna communities. It also highlights major threats posed by the Belo Monte Dam, including forced displacement of communities without insuring their free, prior, and informed consent; threats to food security; and access to drinking water; not to mention the ecological devastation of a biodiverse region.
In addition to calling attention to the human rights violations associated with the Belo Monte Dam, the petition cites an important precedent, pointing out that in 2009 the commission implemented similar precautionary measures in relation the petition that Cultural Survival introduced to stop the Chan 75 hydroelectric dam in Panama due to its forced displacement of Indigenous communities.
Source: Amazon Watch
