More than 40 institutions have joined the reparation forum for indigenous victims of the military dictatorship
The initiative is coordinated by the MPF, APIB, IPR and Obind-UNB, institutions that work in defense of the Indigenous Peoples rights. After the launch of the Indigenous Peoples Forum: Memory, Truth and Justice, in September of this year, at the Attorney General's Office (PGR) in Brasília, more than 40 institutions joined the initiative, most of them are civil society organizations, but there also are government agencies, academic entities, international organizations and some invited experts on the subject.
The National Foundation for Indigenous Peoples (Funai), the Ministry for Indigenous Peoples (MPI), the Public Defender's Office of the Union (DPU), the National Council for Human Rights (CNDH), the Amnesty Commission of the Ministry of Human Rights and Citizenship (MDHC), the Indigenous Missionary Council (CIMI), the Socio-Environmental Institute (ISA), the Arns Commission, the United Nation High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), are some of the entities that compose the forum, in addition to the Articulation of Indigenous Peoples of Brazil (APIB) and the regional organizations that constitute its political base.
Full membership list
“Since this is a voluntary membership, we are very happy to see that so many people are focused on this issue and are interested in discussing the violations suffered by indigenous peoples during such an obscure period in our society and, furthermore, are concerned on finding ways to prevent that those violences persist in contemporary times,” stated Federal Prosecutor Marlon Weichert, member of the Work Group on the Prevention of Atrocities against Indigenous Peoples and Forms of Reparation, linked to the Chamber of Indigenous Populations and Traditional Communities (6CCR) of the MPF.
The forum can be joined by any institution that can prove effective experience, national and/or international, in defending the fundamental rights of indigenous peoples in Brazil. Members must also commit to the process of memory, truth, justice, reparation and guarantees of non-repetition of these atrocities against indigenous peoples. Membership is voluntary and open to entities that agree with the terms established in the Charter of Principles. Applications for membership will be reviewed by the initiative coordinators and can be submitted by email to: secretaria@forumjtpi.org.br.
Coordinated by the Federal Public Ministry (MPF), the Articulation of Indigenous Peoples of Brazil (Apib), the Observatory of Indigenous Rights and Policies of the University of Brasília (Obind-UNB) and the Institute of Relational Policies (IPR), the forum's main goal is to promote and expand the debate, with the Brazilian and international society, in favor of a process of truth, memory, full reparation, non-repetition and justice for indigenous peoples who were victims of violations committed by the military dictatorship, which presupposes structural changes in the State which guarantee effective justice for these peoples, the recognition and full respect of their fundamental, territorial, cultural and sociopolitical rights.
The group will also support, encourage and disseminate initiatives by many originary peoples, already in progress, in favor of memory, truth, justice, reparation and guarantees of non-repetition, the experiences exchange with peoples from other countries who work on these issues and foment international articulations.
Finally, after a period of accumulated and systematized analyses and debates on the issue in question, the Forum intends to propose to the Brazilian government the creation of a National Indigenous Truth Commission to officially continue with the research and materialization of the objectives sought by the collective.
To join the Forum, the bodies, organizations, public entities, entities of the civil society and academia, and other members must agree with the Charter of Principles.
Email for membership: secretaria@forumjtpi.org.br