The event promoted debates on strategies to confront violence and the criminalization of defenders of the territories.
The Indigenous Council of Roraima (CIR), represented by the indigenous lawyer and coordinator of the Legal Department, Júnior Nicácio, participated in the 1st Regional Meeting of Defenders of Latin America and the Caribbean, held between September 29 and October 1, in the city of Puyo, Ecuador. The event brought together representatives of 25 organizations from Latin America.
The scenario currently experienced by the communities has made it necessary to discuss ways to confront violence and criminalization, often related to the advance of illegal mining in Indigenous Lands and other violations that threaten leaders who work in defense of their territories. In this context, the meeting sought to strengthen the articulation between organizations and unify strategies for the protection of traditional peoples and communities.
The CIR contributed to the discussion by listening to and sharing experiences of protecting indigenous territories in Roraima from the organization's legal work, such as the Training Program for Indigenous Rights Operators, created in 2001 by the CIR with the purpose of training leaders to work in the territories and strengthen the autonomy of communities, breaking the dependence on professionals from outside the region. The program was awarded, in 2024, by the Innovare Institute as one of the innovative initiatives of the Brazilian Justice.
The lawyer also highlighted the elaboration of the Security and Protection Protocol for Indigenous Leaders of Roraima. The document was built collectively with the leaders during September 21 and 22.
As part of the program, on September 29, the participants visited the Tari Pei community, in the Waorani Indigenous Land. During the activity, community leaders reported threats of invasion of the territory and presented monitoring strategies developed from the articulation between technologies and ancestral knowledge, used to strengthen territorial protection.
The reality presented by the communities in Ecuador has similarities with that experienced by the indigenous peoples in Roraima, as Júnior Nicácio points out.
"The experience shared by the Waorani Nation has many similarities with the reality faced by indigenous peoples in Roraima, especially in relation to the threats caused by the presence of miners and territorial invasions. The monitoring and protection initiatives presented during the visit also have similarities with the actions that have been developed in Roraima."
The Regional Meeting was organized by the Coordination of Indigenous Organizations of the Amazon Basin (COICA), the Global Alliance of Territorial Communities, Indigenous Peoples Rights International (IPRI) and TINTA (The Invisible Thread).