United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime

Brasilia, 3 May 2024 – UNODC Brazil received the President of the National Foundation of Indigenous Peoples (Funai), Ms. Joenia Wapichana, the Director of Territorial Protection, Ms. Maria Janete, as well as over 15 managers and technicians from the institution. The meeting was convened with the objective of deliberating on proactive strategies to counter environmental crimes associated with illicit mining within indigenous territories, while also exploring collaborative possibilities for collaboration and cooperation.

The discussion was based on a technical report prepared by UNODC in 2023, which brings findings and recommendations on the subject divided into four axes: intelligence and inter-institutional cooperation; strengthening of control bodies; regulation of the gold chain; and enticement and coercion of indigenous people by organized crime.

At the opening of the meeting, the Director of UNODC Brazil, Ms. Elena Abbati, provided an overview of the Office's engagement in responding to environmental crimes. The Director further highlighted UNODC’s intention to strengthen the partnership with Funai. "We believe that this collaboration will be fundamental to prevent and combat organized crime, illicit trafficking, and threats related to the use of alcohol and drugs that affect indigenous territories, especially in the northern region of Brazil," she explained.

The president of Funai, Ms. Joenia Wapichana, drew attention to the struggle faced by the indigenous communities that are affected by severe repercussions of mercury contamination stemming from the encroachment of illegal mining activities. She further highlighted the importance of partnerships and research to support the planning of the actions taken by Funai. "We don't do anything alone. It is necessary to have collective action, for a responsibility that is also collective, which is the life of indigenous peoples," she argued.

After the presentation of the technical report produced by UNODC in Brazil, the participants were able to discuss and complement its recommendations. As a follow-up, UNODC and Funai will continue to meet in order to advance the discussion on possibilities for technical assistance and collaborative work focused on strengthening the capacities of Funai.

Yanomami Emergency

The document presented during the meeting was prepared within the framework of the United Nations emergency effort in Brazil in the face of the health crisis in the Yanomami territory. Declared in January 2023, the state of emergency led the government to request the cooperation of the international community, resulting in the appointment of 12 UN bodies to act in response to the health crisis.

In this context, UNODC carried out a joint field mission with the Ministry of Indigenous Peoples (MPI) in the vicinity of the Kayapó indigenous land in Pará – one of the most affected by illegal mining – to collect data and conduct interviews with indigenous people, civil society organizations and national authorities active in responding to environmental crimes, in order to identify demands and build preliminary recommendations.

These initial findings were presented and discussed during the Technical meeting held in August 2023, in Brasilia, with the participation of indigenous leaders, representatives of the federal government and the United Nations, civil society, security forces, and environmental enforcement. The points raised during the meeting were consolidated and systematized, resulting in the document presented to Funai last Friday (3).

Environmental Crimes in Indigenous Territories

In Brazil, UNODC has offices in Brasilia-DF, Santarém-PA and Manaus-AM, working in partnership with federal and state institutions and providing technical assistance to strengthen the response to wildlife crime, forest crime, illegal mining and fisheries crime. UNODC's approach also takes into account the convergence of these practices with transnational organized crime and other associated crimes, such as corruption, money laundering and trafficking in persons.

From this perspective, the Environmental Crime Prevention Unit implements the ECOS projects, on transnational conservation crimes in the Amazon region; CRIMFLO, aimed at strengthening the response to forest crimes in Pará and Amazonas; SAR-TI, which supports the strengthening of early warning systems for environmental and other crimes in indigenous territories; and LEAP, focused on combating illegal deforestation in ports.

The Office also has the Tapajós project, which promotes alternative development initiatives for the prevention of crimes related to gold mining in the Tapajós River basin, in Pará, and the Center for Studies on Drugs and Community Social Development (Cdesc), which seeks to foster the sustainable development of communities affected by drug trafficking.  including indigenous territories.