E/CN.4/2006/16/Add.3
page 9
Governor of a life annuity for the families of the victims. However, turning to sanctions,
according to a survey he conducted in 10 police districts, only 4 per cent of the murders
committed are solved, and only for the highest levels of society. The Secretariat assists in the
training of police officers, to make them aware of their racist approach.
Quilombos
23.
Article 68 of the transitory provisions of the Constitution states that the remaining
members of the quilombo communities who occupy their lands have definitive ownership of
those lands and therefore the State will grant them the respective property titles. According to
other provisions, quilombos should also be protected as “Cultural Afro-Brazilian Territory”.
Decree 4887 of November 2003 regulates the process of recognition of the quilombos,
recognizing the principle of self-identification of the populations, who themselves determine
whether they are part of a quilombo, in conformity with the Indigenous and Tribal Peoples
Convention, 1989 (No. 169).
24.
The Palmares Foundation, in charge of identifying quilombos and carrying out their legal
defence, is very concerned about the increased violence towards these communities. The
Government is committed to the process of recognition. Currently 2,250 quilombo communities
have been identified and 270 land transfers have been made benefiting 400 communities, as a
result of the Programa Brasil Quilombola. The Government, however, does not react sufficiently
to the violence surrounding this process, which is perpetuated by landowners who are unwilling
to hand over land to the quilombo communities. Also, the judiciary is often not willing to
recognize the lands because of racial prejudice: the Foundation is carrying out sensitization
activities for the judiciary.
The indigenous communities
25.
In 1910, the Indian Protection Service was established to protect the interests of the
Indians, which is now called Fundação Nacional do Indio or the National Indigenous Foundation
(FUNAI). Its president indicated that FUNAI has five lines of work: (a) Demarcation and
consolidation of Indian land. In this field Brazil has progressed more than any other country of
Latin America: 22 per cent of the Amazon and 12 per cent of the Brazilian territory is
demarcated and registered as Indian land. In some areas problems persist, where Indians have
lost their land and are confined to small tracts of land, and local governments are reluctant to
give the land back. He concluded that 12 per cent of Brazil’s land is enough and no more can be
given to the Indians; (b) Protection of Indian’s health through the Fundação Nacional de Saúde
(FUNASA) (National Health Foundation). The section of the Ministry of Health in charge of
Indian health, which provides health services in Indian villages; (c) Education: the public system
being of a poor level, FUNAI pays the fees of 2,000 Indian students to attend private schools;
(d) The promotion of a sustainable economy fostering the survival of Indian villages: on this
point, legislation would be needed to allow Indians to exploit their mining resources; and (e) The
promotion of the participation of Indians in FUNAI (700 Indians out of 2,000 civil servants) and
in public life: presently, Indians manage only four municipalities. There is no Indian
parliamentarian or Governor, although there was one Indian Federal Deputy from 1983 to 1987
(Cacique Juruna).