The Indigenous World 2023: Venezuela
Of a total population of 27,227,930, 724,592 are Indigenous (2.8%) and belong to 51 different peoples, mostly concentrated (85%) in the state of Zulia and the Amazon region.
In 1999, the constitutional process ensured that the fundamental rights of Indigenous Peoples and communities were guaranteed in the Constitution and that a set of legal and regulatory provisions were established to broadly protect them.
These include the Law Approving ILO Convention 169, the Organic Law on Indigenous Peoples and Communities, the Law on the Cultural Heritage of Indigenous Peoples and Communities, and the Law on Indigenous Languages.
These successes of the legal framework for the protection of nature and Indigenous Peoples are not in line with some of the more recent public policies, however, which have opted to promote an extractive development model to alleviate the country's difficult economic situation. Mining is detrimental to the physical and cultural survival of Indigenous Peoples and contradicts established guidelines and land-use planning.
In addition to their own struggles for autonomy and the defence of their territories and ways of life, many Indigenous Venezuelans face the same problems as the rest of the population: high levels of poverty, poor services, insecurity, and so on. A lack of adequate services, especially in health and education, often results in migration to the cities and urban areas. In many cases, this does not solve the problem but, in contrast, only makes it worse as they become distanced from their traditional ways of life.
The situation of Indigenous rights in Venezuela needs to be understood as a result of policies that favour mining expansion, violations of Indigenous Peoples’ rights, the development and implementation of State policies, plans and projects expressly aimed at facilitating the conditions of Indigenous Peoples, and the activism of both Indigenous representatives and civil organizations in defence of their peoples’ rights and heritage.
Official information on these issues is scarce. It generally circulates through the media and non-governmental organizations, and therefore lacks the necessary systematization and dissemination. This situation reveals the State’s weakness in preventing and addressing the problems of these peoples and shows the difficulty in following up on complaints. In this regard, what is reported below has been largely compiled from the media and from materials produced by civil society organizations and from meetings with spokespersons of grassroots Indigenous organizations. It provides a general overview but lacks statistical precision.
Extractive policies have far-reaching consequences for the peoples of Amazonia
The exponential increase in mining in or near Indigenous territories is significantly related to the consolidation of the Strategic National Development Zone (ZEDN) of the Orinoco Mining Arc (AMO)[1] as a strategic development zone. This year, mining was identified in 14 Indigenous territories, with the largest net expansion in Pemón territory but with concerning impacts on the territories of the Kari'ña, Ye'kwana, Uwottüja, Kurripaco, Jotï and Yanomami. In addition to the known environmental consequences,[2] this has generated a myriad of problems for the Indigenous Peoples affected.
Some of these effects were laid out in the UN Human Rights Council Independent International Fact-Finding Mission on the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela report published on 20 September 2022, a focus of which was items to be investigated were irregularities related to or derived from the ZDEN-AMO.[3] The report includes human rights abuses and violations in the region perpetrated by armed groups in the area (many of them related to Colombian guerrillas and national pranatos or gangs) as well as by some actors linked to State bodies. Crimes, violations and abuses against villagers include arbitrary arrests, disappearances, extortion, corporal punishment, and sexual and gender-based violence. In this context, it is imperative to follow up on these allegations and further investigate the events that occurred in the states of Amazonas and Delta Amacuro, as members of the mission were unable to carry out in-depth investigations for lack of time and resources.
The ZEDN-AMO has also led to people being displaced from other areas, many from adjacent Indigenous communities, seeking to improve their precarious living conditions. It is estimated that at least half of those who are working in these mines do so under conditions of semi-slavery, are Indigenous and, in addition, are often minors.
Mining has an impact not only on those who, out of necessity, have moved to the camps but also on the people who remain in the communities, where the absence of those who have left leaves its mark on community dynamics. Family plots (conucos) are abandoned, the trade in traditional products declines, traditional family structures are fragmented and many communities end up divided into those who defend mining and those who do not. These changes have diminished the communities' capacities to withstand pressure from external groups on their productivity and, therefore, their possibilities for autonomy and self-government. In addition, there are effects on human health, biodiversity and multiple ecosystem functions that should not be overlooked.
The mission's allegations are in line with others made by Indigenous organizations.[4] For example, Horonami, the Yanomami organization, reported that members of their people have been forced to work as slaves by garimpeiros (gold miners), who have also raped and prostituted women and murdered community members. Part of their strategy to control the territory starts by bringing food, weapons, shotguns and machetes into the communities. The severity of the situation is compounded by the fact that these deaths have not been officially investigated by the State.
The head of the community of Puerto Cabello del Caura, Arcadio Rondón, also reported the murder of 12 people working at the El Silencio mine in Sucre municipality, Bolívar State in April. The authorities were able to find only four bodies, one Creole and three Indigenous Jivi from the communities of La Felicidad and Urbana. The culprits are yet to be found.[5]
To counteract these crimes caused by illegal mining and the presence of armed Colombian drug-trafficking terrorists (TANCOL), the Bolivarian National Armed Forces (FANB) undertook eight military operations during 2022, including Operation Roraima 2022 and Operation Autana I-2022, which included air, land and river patrols in the Transboundary Area. The miners, mainly Venezuelan and many of them Indigenous, reported violations of their human rights, the burning of camps registered with the Venezuelan Mining Corporation, supplies for the La Iguana Indigenous community clinic being stolen and other abuses. The FANB argues that these complaints respond to the fact that TANCOL groups are forcing them to perpetrate them.[6]
Some notorious cases of impunity and justice
In March, there was a dispute between military personnel from the Parima B base[7] and members of the community, who were demanding access to the Internet service. The altercation resulted in the deaths of four Yanomami and some personnel from the base injured. The incident reflects the lack of an intercultural policy that could facilitate coexistence, in addition to other tensions and problems that urgently need addressing. Almost a year after the event, Parima B community’s demands for justice have still not been answered: no charges have been brought, despite multiple complaints and Yanomami representatives having met with the vice-presidency.
This fact, together with the murder of Virgilio Trujillo Arana,[8] a young Uwottüja leader who was coordinating the Territorial Guards, protectors of nature and the ancestral territory of their people, shows the impunity that exists in the Amazon. No charges have been brought in this case either and the Indigenous leaders of grassroots organizations that publicized the murder have been threatened. The implications this has for their lives has affected the way in which these organizations are able to work.
Both cases contrast with the sentence in favour of Amina Días and Celis Chipiaje, two young Jivi women who were abused by Bolivarian National Navy frigate lieutenant Roger Bracho Gaucha.[9] In April, he was convicted of aggravated sexual assault and sentenced to 13 years in prison. The ruling sets an important precedent for the role of Indigenous organizations and community members in demanding justice.
Activism and contributions of Indigenous organizations to the peoples’ causes
2022 was a year of broad participation in local, regional and international events, demonstrating a consolidation of the Indigenous organizations.
The Regional Organization of Indigenous Peoples of the Amazon (ORPIA) promoted and participated in events at different levels aimed at addressing issues related to the protection and management of their ancestral territories, health, education and special Indigenous jurisdictions, as well as fundamental agreements on biodiversity.[10] These included the participation of Eligio DaCosta in putting together COICA’s (Coordinating Body of Indigenous Organizations of the Amazon Basin) Amazon for Life Initiative, which was later approved as a motion by the Congress of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN); and that of Amelia Conde, the Uwottüja leader and vice-coordinator of ORPIA, in the context of the UN Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues. Amelia also participated in the event organized by GTI PIACI-Wataniba on “Autonomous Protocols for Free, Prior and Informed Consent: An Alternative Tool for Regulating Indigenous Communities”[11] to speak about her people’s protocol. Together with ORPIA's General Coordinator, Eligio DaCosta, she also represented the Venezuelan Indigenous Peoples at the V Amazon Summit / XI COICA Congress, where they participated in the presentation of the Amazonia 80 x 2025 action plan to protect the rainforest.[12] ORPIA also attended the II Binational Forum for the Integration of the Border Peoples of Colombia and Venezuela.[13]
In turn, representatives of the Uwottüja and Wataniba peoples took part in the II Regional Meeting of Indigenous Peoples of the Amazon[14] in Leticia, Colombia where, through intercultural dialogue and an exchange of experiences, they sought to reach a regional consensus on the strategies to be used to maintain the integrity of the forests, based on a consolidation of the peoples' governance.
For its part, the Venezuelan government organized the Congress of the New Era,[15] in which representatives of more than 50 of the country’s Indigenous Peoples participated to discuss the territorial, social and economic issues that concern them.
Policies that have an impact on Indigenous Peoples
In the context of the Decade of Indigenous Languages (2022-2032) being promoted by UNESCO, the National Institute of Indigenous Languages of Venezuela (INIDI) has begun to implement a plan to strengthen the teaching of Indigenous languages in the country. With support from UNICEF, the Ministry of Popular Power for Education, the Ministry of Popular Power for Indigenous Peoples, grassroots Indigenous organizations and ORPIA, meetings were held with elders from the Ye'kwana, Baré, Baniva, Warekena, Ñegantú and Yeral Indigenous communities to gather information.
In addition, the Legislative Council of the Indigenous State of Amazonas (CLEIA) approved the Governor’s “New Amazonas” Development Plan aimed at strengthening the Amazonian identity.[16] Its areas of action include improving the system of care and social assistance for the vulnerable and promoting the State's economic growth. A further objective is to discuss the environmental problem created by mining in order to adapt the legal instruments regulating this activity. This plan opens up the possibility of legalizing mining in this State so we must be very attentive to the consequences it may have on the communities.
Report prepared by the team of the Wataniba Amazon Socio-environmental Group. Wataniba is a civil society organization that promotes sustainable territorial management processes in the Venezuelan Amazon, supports Indigenous grassroots organizations by providing them with technical training to defend and exercise their rights and offers them support for their socio-productive enterprises and actions in favour of their identity and culture.
This article is part of the 37th edition of The Indigenous World, a yearly overview produced by IWGIA that serves to document and report on the developments Indigenous Peoples have experienced. The photo above is of an Indigenous person in Tanzania. This photo was taken by Geneviève Rose, and is the cover of the Indigenous World 2023 where this article is featured. Find the Indigenous World 2023 in full here.
Notes and references
[1] The ZEDN Orinoco Mining Arc covers an area of 111,843.70 km², more than one-tenth of the national territory. This area, rich in gold, copper, diamonds, coltan, iron, bauxite and other minerals, has been illegally exploited since 2016 when the government started to encourage mining in this region. This situation has resulted in increased mining, especially gold mining, throughout the rest of the Venezuelan Amazon.
[2] In the Policy Brief on mining in the Venezuelan Amazon prepared by Wataniba-Raisg, the land area directly affected by this activity is given as reaching approximately 1,337 km² by 2021, so it can be assumed that the figures will be even higher now. And, according to Mapbiomas, the extraction of mineral resources from this Venezuelan region has advanced at a rate of 1,249% over the last 37 years, both inside and outside protected areas. Although mining is prohibited across the entire state of Amazonas (Decree 269, 1989) and in many areas of the states of Bolívar and Delta Amacuro, this activity has been increasing in the Yapacana, Canaima and Caura National Parks, as well as the Macizo Cuao-Sipapo and Cerro Moriche natural monuments, which correspond to Indigenous territories.
[3] This report was published on 20 September 2022. With resolution 42/25, the Human Rights Council established an Independent International Fact-Finding Mission on the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela on 27 September 2019, which was extended to September 2022 by resolution 45/20. Among the items to be investigated were irregularities related to or derived from the establishment of the ZDEN-AMO as a strategic development zone. Although the mission was not able to fully investigate in Amazonas and Delta Amacuro states due to lack of time and resources it was able to outline certain patterns in the nature of the abuses and violations in AMO and the surrounding areas. For more information see: United Nations. “Venezuela: La Misión internacional independiente observa responsabilidades por crímenes de lesa humanidad”. United Nations, 20 September 2022. Available at: https://news.un.org/es/story/2022/09/1514771
[4] See Wataniba Amazon Socio-environmental Working Group. “El derecho a la integridad personal y seguridad del territorio desde la mirada de un 'hornán' Yanomami”. Wataniba Amazon Socio-environmental Working Group, 14 January 2022. Available at: https://watanibasocioambiental.org/el-derecho-a-la-integridad-personal-y-seguridad-del-territorio-desde-la-mirada-de-un-hornan-yanomami/ and Minerva Vitti, María de los Ángeles Ramírez and Joseph Poliszuk. “La veda a la minería se levanta en ‘La Nueva Amazonas’”. Armando Info, 16 February 2022. Available at: https://armando.info/especial-corredor-furtivo/la-veda-a-la-mineria-se-levanta-en-la-nueva-amazonas.html
[5] This is not the first time something like this has happened, there are precedents. See for example the following links: https://runrun.es/noticias/363694/cuatro-indigenas-de-la-comunidad-gavilan-fallecieron-en-mina-de-amazonas/;
https://es.mongabay.com/2022/11/la-mina-de-oro-en-la-que-trabajan-de-la-mano-eln-disidencias-de-colombia-y-la-guardia-venezolana/ y https://talcualdigital.com/operativo-militar-en-yacapana-recrudece-violencia-y-mineria-ilegal-en-amazonas/
[6] For more information, please see: http://www.ejercito.mil.ve/?p=8590; https://www.lapatilla.com/2022/08/16/operacion-autana-en-bolivar-mineros-denuncian/ ; https://www.defensa.com/venezuela/venezuela-lanza-simultaneamente-operaciones-roraima-2022-autana y https://twitter.com/PableOstos/status/1559566332793917440
[7] Wataniba Amazon Socio-environmental Working Group. “El derecho a la integridad personal y seguridad del territorio desde la mirada de un 'hornán' Yanomami”. Wataniba Amazon Socio-environmental Working Group, 14 January 2022. Available at: https://watanibasocioambiental.org/el-derecho-a-la-integridad-personal-y-seguridad-del-territorio-desde-la-mirada-de-un-hornan-yanomami/ and “La veda a la minería se levanta en ‘La Nueva Amazonas’”. Armando Info, 16 February 2022.Available at:
https://armando.info/especial-corredor-furtivo/la-veda-a-la-mineria-se-levanta-en-la-nueva-amazonas.html
[8] Wataniba. “Virgilio Trujillo Arana”. Instagram, 1 July 2022. Available at: https://www.instagram.com/p/CfexwwnuhDN/
[9] Wataniba Amazon Socio-environmental Working Group. “A veces la tenacidad y la valentía demuestran que no todo tiene que ser inaceptablemente igual: 13 años de prisión a teniente que abusó sexualmente de dos mujeres indígenas jivi en Amazonas”. Wataniba Amazon Socio-environmental Working Group, 30 April 2022. Available at: https://watanibasocioambiental.org/13-anos-de-prision-a-teniente-que-abuso-sexualmente-de-dos-mujeres-indigenas-jivi-en-amazonas/
[10] Regional Organization Of Indigenous Peoples Of Amazonas - ORPIA. “#Conversatorio”. Facebook, 23 November 2022. Available at: https://www.facebook.com/orpiavenezuela/posts/pfbid02PBgTDvnapbgKoqMT9AdB2KmVgL3MrYR2dnb17ggWzY7NqCUthPSPR93E5791ezFsl
[11] Wataniba Amazon Socio-environmental Working Group. “Protocolos Autonómicos de Consentimiento Libre, Previo e Informado: Una Herramienta Alternativa hacia la Regulación de las Comunidades Indígenas.” Facebook, 25 April 2022. Available at: https://www.facebook.com/WatanibaSocioambiental/photos/a.715843531899791/2207796352704494?type=3
[12] See Regional Organization Of Indigenous Peoples Of Amazonas - ORPIA. “#Hoy en el XI Congreso de la Coica (...)”. Facebook, 9 September 2022. Available at: https://www.facebook.com/orpiavenezuela/posts/pfbid033LPQEBUJWqXYEoDBj7k4zLRNoJxUDNBwUEzSofrHYTbRYTMv1bZrjEtkZr87cngvl COICA. “La Cumbre Amazónica ha sido el escenario de propuestas lideradas por los pueblos indígenas para proteger la Amazonía”. COICA, 8 September 2022. Available at: https://coicamazonia.org/la-cumbre-amazonica-ha-sido-el-escenario-de-propuestas-lideradas-por-los-pueblos-indigenas-para-proteger-la-amazonia%EF%BF%BC/
[13] Regional Organization Of Indigenous Peoples Of Amazonas - ORPIA. “#SomosCOICA| Rumbo al Congreso Extraordinario de COICA.. Facebook, 8 November 2022. Available at: https://www.facebook.com/page/366168910174461/search/?q=septiembre
[14] Wataniba Amazon Socio-environmental Working Group. “Conversaciones de la Amazonía: muchos pueblos, una Amazonía, una voz”. Wataniba Amazon Socio-environmental Working Group, 20 October 2022. Available at: https://watanibasocioambiental.org/conversaciones-de-la-amazonia/
[15] ORPIA Venezuela. “#Rostros #congresonuevaépoca #indígenas #amazonas”. Twitter, 6 December 2022. Available at: https://twitter.com/OrpiaAmazonasVE/status/1600122795479875584
[16] See Miguel L. Rodriguez. “El proyecto de ley estadal (...)”. Twitter, 18 November 2022. Available at https://twitter.com/GOB_MiguelR/status/1593706221906845698; Minerva Vitti Rodríguez. “La veda a la minería se levanta en ‘La Nueva Amazonas’”. Revista SIC, 21 May 2022. Available at: https://revistasic.org/la-veda-a-la-mineria-se-levanta-en-la-nueva-amazonas/; Draft State Law on the Economic and Social Development Plan for the State of Amazonas - New Amazonas 2021-2025). Venezuela. Available at: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1cb8q6k7cYbtD4tccGIdMuRbFrAjYuJ3j/view
Tags: Global governance, Human rights, Protest
