VISIT OF PRESIDENT CARDOSO

Motion Text

That this House notes the visit to Britain this week of President Cardoso of Brazil; expresses its concern that Makuxi Indians in Roraima, Brazil's northern-most state, face losing one fifth of their ancestral land to ranchers and miners following a decision by the Brazilian government to carve up the indigenous area of Raposa/Sierra do Sol; notes that this contravenes the Brazilian constitution which affirms the original rights of Indians to occupy their lands; and calls on the Government to urge President Cardoso to reverse the decision to transfer Indian land rights in Roraima, to recognise Indian land ownership rights generally and to enforce and uphold Indian land title that has been legally recognised.