Brazilian organizations lodge appeal at the UN against the bill on the Timeframe Thesis
An urgent appeal raising issues concerning this legislative proposal, approved by the National Congress, has been sent to special rapporteurs on indigenous rights and on human rights defenders
Manifestação indígena contra o Marco Temporal. Foto: Gabriel Guerra/ Conectas
On Tuesday [3], Brazilian civil society organizations sent an urgent appeal to the UN, opposing legislative bill 2903/2023, known as the PL do Marco Temporal (Timeframe Thesis Bill). Eleven organizations, among them Conectas, signed the request, addressed to the special rapporteur on the rights of indigenous people, José Francisco Cali Tzay and the special rapporteur on the situation of human rights defenders, Mary Lawlor.
In the text, the organizations outline eight points concerning the Bill´s incompatibility with international human rights standards, for example: the end of the policy of non-contact with indigenous people in isolation and permission to grow soy beans and to raise cattle on indigenous land.
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On 27 September, the Senate passed the Timeframe Thesis Bill with 43 votes to 21, as such the bill will now be submitted to President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva for analysis. He will have 15 days to either partially or wholly, sanction or veto the Bill. Should the president veto Bill 2903/2023 partially or wholly, it will be submitted to the National Congress for analysis and they could overrule Lula´s veto.
The organizations that signed the urgent appeal, also called on the Brazilian government, in particular the Justice Ministry, the Ministry for Indigenous People, the Ministry for the Environment and Climate Change and the Office of the Chief of Staff to acknowledge the ´constitutional flaws´ and ´social regression´ in the Bill, on the grounds of which they are requesting its full veto.
