UN to put pressure on Brazil over COP26 indigenous threats

Protest during the UN COP26 conference in Glasgow. Photo: Federico Fermeglia/Shutterstock

The Brazilian government will be targeted by United Nations investigators after allegations that indigenous leaders were threatened during COP26, the high-stakes climate summit held by the UN last year in Glasgow. Brazil’s official participation in the event was overshadowed by passionate speeches made by indigenous critics of Jair Bolsonaro.

Per website UOL, a UN report acknowledges that Alessandra Korap Munduruku — an indigenous activist from the southern Amazon — received threats and was verbally attacked by an unidentified man after her involvement in COP26. Intimidation only became worse after she returned to Brazil: her house’s electricity was cut off, then invaded, ransacked, and vandalized.

UN members now want to know if Brazil had any “measures designed to protect Alessandra Munduruku” in place. Federal Police marshals say their own investigation into the case is underway. And this was not an isolated case. After returning from COP26, indigenous activist Txai Suruí reported receiving threats in the state of Rondônia.

She was also targeted by Jair Bolsonaro himself, who said Ms. Suruí only attended the conference to “attack the country.” During COP25, held in 2019 in Madrid, the government was accused of sending intelligence staff to eavesdrop on environmentalists.

Guilherme Mendes

Guilherme Mendes is based in Brasília and covers politics, the Justice system, and environmental issues. He has written for O Estado de S.Paulo, Jota, Agência Infra, and Congresso em Foco.