Trinidad, Beni, June 4, 2022.- The more than 160 representatives of the indigenous, peasant and civil society organizations of the North and South Amazon, the Chiquitanía and the Chaco of Bolivia who participated in the Pre Social Forum Pan-Amazonian, they issued the Charter of Trinidad, with 10 points that ratify the resistance and defense of their collective rights linked to the Amazon.
The Trinidad Charter brings together the conclusions reached by each of the four houses in which the indigenous and peasant organizations worked in the city of Trinidad, between June 1 and 3, where they presented their cases regarding the use and exploitation of common goods, autonomy and indigenous jurisdiction, the state of the exercise of women’s rights and their participation in the defense of the Amazon and the rights of nature and development alternatives.
The document refers, among others, to the extractivism and subjugation to which territories and protected areas are prey, actions that are detrimental to their rights as indigenous peoples and put before the «looting of natural resources» and the consequent destruction of protected areas.
“We want a development that takes into account our common home, that respects the territories and the rights of indigenous and peasant peoples, human rights and the rights of nature, who subjugate our territories, burn thousands of hectares, pollute the rivers , expand drug trafficking must be severely sanctioned, as well as the authorities and institutions that authorize and allow these violations of life to be consumed”, they express about extractivism and subjugation.
The Trinidad Charter also mentions the right to self-determination of indigenous peoples, as an issue linked to the future of the Amazon. In the points referring to the subject, the indigenous organizations reject the «excessive bureaucratization of the autonomous processes and the attempt by authorities and public officials to stop the materialization of our government systems.»
Regarding mining, the organizations demanded the modification of the Mining Law and the Forestry Law, in addition to the repeal of the Protection and Development Law in the Isiboro Sécure Indigenous Territory and National Park and the Land Use Plan (PLUS ) del Beni, because they allow the dispossession and destruction of the Amazon and indigenous territories.
“We recognize the path traveled in the fight for women’s rights and what still remains to be done to eradicate violence against our bodies and our territories. The cause of the women in resistance in the Amazon must be assumed co-responsibly by our brothers: the fight for non-violence, the demand for sexual education and political participation on equal terms. Women are not objects of reproduction, but subjects with rights that have a particular relationship with the land and territory. From the struggle that begins in our homes, we position ourselves and project our organizations and nationally and internationally in defense of the land, territory and life”, they indicate regarding the participation of indigenous women.
The Charter of Trinidad requires the Government of the Plurinational State of Bolivia to comply with the commitments assumed at the international level and to act with transparency, guaranteeing the participation of indigenous peoples, peasants, women and youth in all policies, plans and projects for the Amazon and the country.
“We are reaching a point of no return in the Amazon due to the loss of (the) ecosystems and forests. If we don’t stop now, tomorrow will be death for this region, which is vital to curb global warming on the planet,» they mention.
The Charter of Trinidad will be taken to the X Pan-Amazonian Social Forum that will take place in Belem do Para, next July, where the participation of the nine countries that share the Amazon basin is expected.
Asamblea Mundial por la Amazonía 