The Association of Social Anthropologists of Aotearoa/New Zealand supports the Associação Brasileira de Antropologia (ABA) and their statement regarding the disappearance of Bruno Araújo Pereira and Dom Phillips.
With the ABA, we call on the Brazilian government and associated organisations to urgently investigate these disappearances. We further condemn all forms of violence against the indigenous Amazonian people and their lands, and specifically, those forms of state-sanctioned violence described by the ABA. As a supporter of the UN Declaration of the Rights of Indigenous People’s, it is incumbent upon the Brazilian government to actively protect the lands, lives, and sovereignty of the Amazonian people – even, or especially, where this conflicts with commercial interests.
Finally, we recognise the dedication of the environmental and indigenous defenders who Bruno and Dom were working with, and express our solidarity with them.