Brazilian indigenous leaders and human rights groups are calling on an international tribunal to prosecute the country’s president for crimes against humanity for removing environmental guarantees in the Amazon rainforest.
William Bourdon, a Paris-based lawyer, filed a request for a preliminary investigation by Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro on Friday at the International Criminal Court in The Hague, according to reports.
“It’s a matter of great urgency,” Bourdon told The Guardian. “We’re running against the clock, considering the devastation of the Amazon.”
Since Bolsonaro took office in 2019, deforestation has increased by almost 50% in the Amazon region, which covers a large strip of Brazil, and invasions of native territories by miners and wild cat farmers have increased a 135%, according to a Brazilian environmental report. report.
Bourdon wants to see Bolsonaro tried for “ecocide,” which refers to causing long-term damage to the environment and indigenous peoples. The lawyer filed the 68-page complaint on behalf of native leaders Almir Surui and Raoni Metuktire.