In the context of the 22nd Free Land Camp (ATL) 2026, under the slogan “Our future is not for sale: The Answer Is Us!” the Articulation of Indigenous Peoples of Brazil (APIB), together with its seven regional indigenous organizations, held a reception meeting on April 8, 2026, with embassies, international organizations, and representatives of the Brazilian government, reaffirming the importance of international dialogue in the face of the worsening climate crisis, violence, and the ongoing assault on the rights of Indigenous peoples in Brazil.
The meeting was attended by representatives of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR/UN), the European Union Delegation in Brazil, and the embassies of Germany, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Spain, Finland, France, Ireland, Italy, Norway, Poland, Romania, Sweden, Switzerland, the Netherlands, Portugal, Peru, and the United Kingdom, as well as representatives from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MRE) and the Ministry of Indigenous Peoples (MPI).
During the meeting, APIB reaffirmed that indigenous territories remain at the center of a political, economic, and climate struggle. The advancement of the Marco Temporal thesis, the relaxation of environmental licensing, mineral exploitation, the opening of new oil and gas fronts, the expansion of agribusiness, and large-scale projects imposed on Indigenous territories constitute an agenda of violence and death that threatens peoples, biomes, and democracy itself.
Indigenous leaders denounced that, while Brazil seeks to assert international climate leadership, the Brazilian State continues to yield to pressure from economic and corporate interests that deepen territorial exploitation. APIB reiterated its opposition to any financing, investment, or trade agreement that impacts Indigenous peoples and their territories, particularly within the framework of the Mercosur-European Union Agreement, the European Union Deforestation Regulation (EUDR), mining, major infrastructure projects, and the exploitation of fossil fuels.
They also denounced emblematic cases involving the Canadian mining company Belo Sun, Ferrogrão, the Fundão dam collapse (MG), Vale’s impacts on Tupinikim and Guarani territories, and the contamination caused by agribusiness and the intensive use of pesticides on indigenous territories, especially among the Guarani and Kaiowá peoples. The leaders warned of the increase in diseases, water contamination, and the destruction of territories, indigenous cemeteries, and ways of life.
APIB emphasized that there is no legal certainty without the demarcation and full protection of Indigenous Territories. Legal certainty does not mean protection for invaders, imposed projects, or private interests. Security means indigenous territories demarcated, protected and free from invasions. In this regard, APIB reaffirmed its rejection of the “Temporal Framework” thesis and any attempt to undermine the original rights of Indigenous peoples, and emphasized that the right to Free, Prior, and Informed Consultation (FPIC) under Convention 169 of the International Labour Organization (ILO) cannot be treated as a mere formality or a mechanism to legitimize projects in Indigenous territories.
On climate issues, APIB reaffirmed that indigenous territories are central to the protection of biodiversity, combating desertification, preserving the oceans, and ensuring global climate stability. There will be no solution to the climate crisis without the demarcation and protection of indigenous territories. Likewise, there can be no just energy transition while new frontiers for oil, gas, coal, and mining exploration are opened. Any roadmap for the global transition beyond fossil fuels must be based on a commitment to ending the expansion of fossil fuel exploration, the phased elimination of fossil fuel production and consumption, and the rejection of new projects that deepen the destruction of indigenous territories. APIB emphasized that indigenous peoples cannot be made to pay the cost of the energy transition through the repetition of the colonial logic of plunder, exploitation, and violence against their territories.
Indigenous leaders also advocated for strengthening direct financing for indigenous peoples and mechanisms such as the Indigenous Lands Protection Program (PPTI), the Forest and Climate Leaders Partnership (FCLP), the Tropical Forest Forever Fund (TFFF), and indigenous funds. The leaders reiterated that financial resources for strengthening efforts must reflect the cultural, regional, and biome diversity of indigenous peoples, making democratic access to land demarcation, territorial protection, and the strengthening of their grassroots organizations essential.
APIB will continue to engage in dialogue with the representatives present, strengthening its international advocacy agenda regarding the protection of the constitutional and rights of Indigenous peoples. We will continue to build joint alliances with embassies, international organizations, and strategic partners, with special attention to the defense of territorial rights, the rejection of anti-indigenous legislative proposals, the protection of threatened leaders, holding companies accountable for violating the constitutional rights of indigenous peoples, and the strengthening of direct funding.
We will remain mobilized and in resistance, because our rights remain non-negotiable, our territories are not commodities, and our future is not for sale. The Answer Is Us!
Articulation of Indigenous Peoples of Brazil (APIB), April 10, 2026.