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Brazilian and Paraguayan authorities must redouble their efforts to find an indigenous teacher who has been missing since 30 October following a violent eviction of activists on the border between the two nations, said Amnesty International.br /
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Fears for the life of the teacher, Rolindo Vera, have intensified following the discovery of the badly bruised body of his cousin and fellow indigenous teacher, Genivaldo Vera, in a nearby river.br /
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The men were teaching literacy skills in the Aldeia Pirajuiacute; ndash; an extremely poor, 3,000-strong Indigenous community, blighted by poverty and high infant mortality.br /
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They were caught up in the violent land dispute that has seen several attacks on indigenous communities claiming land rights in recent months.br /
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Twenty-five members of the Guarani Kaiowa indigenous people from the Aldeia Pirajuiacute;, reoccupied farmlands they claim as ancestral near the town of Paranhos on the Brazil/Paraguayan border on 28 October.br /
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Two days later, as the Indigenous group began erecting shacks; dozens of armed men arrived in a truck and began firing rubber bullets, leaving women and children fleeing for their lives into the undergrowth.br /
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Community members say that they saw Genivaldo Vera being dragged off by the gunmen and Rolindo Vera fleeing into the bushes. Genivaldo Vera’s body was found in a nearby stream on 7 November, although it was not identified until 10 November.br /
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An official forensic report has not yet been issued, but photos of the body released by the police to the family show that Genivaldorsquo;s head had been shaven, his body had extensive bruising and there were marks around wrists suggesting that he had been bound.br /
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Indigenous villages on the other side of the border have reported suspicious movements in the immediate aftermath of the eviction, suggesting that Rolindo Vera may have been abducted and taken into Paraguay.br /
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Local NGOs are extremely concerned for Rolindo Vera’s safety and have criticized the authorities for their slowness to respond to the community’s pleas for an investigation into his whereabouts.br /
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Amnesty International has called on the authorities to launch an immediate and thorough investigation into the violent eviction from farmlands near the border town of Paranhos and the subsequent death of Genivaldo Vera and to bring those responsible to justice.br /
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The ancestral lands that the community reoccupied should have already been identified with a view to future demarcation, but the farm lobby has repeatedly blocked the anthropological surveys necessary for identification.br /
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Because of the ongoing failure to resolve outstanding land claims, several Guarani Kaiowa communities have ended up reoccupying the lands, which have been followed by a series of violent evictions, often involving armed men. br /
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Irregular security companies, many of whom are effectively acting as illegal militias in the service of landowners or the agro-industry, have been involved in many human rights abuses in rural Brazil and remain a serious threat to both Indigenous peoples and rural workers fighting for their right to land.

img src=http://www.amnesty.org/sites/impact.amnesty.org/files/imagecache/previewsize/sites/impact.amnesty.org/files/PUBLIC/Regions/AMR/paraguay-community-100×100.jpg alt= title= /br/Amnesty International has condemned the use of apparently toxic pesticides to intimidate an indigenous community after they resisted being forcibly evicted from their ancestral lands. br /
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The organization urged the Paraguayan authorities to step up its efforts to provide protection and healthcare to them, and investigate the events of last week.br /
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On Friday 6 November, over 50 men apparently representing Brazilian soya farmers claiming ownership of the land arrived in the Itakyry district of eastern Paraguay to try and remove them by force. The Indigenous Peoples resisted using bows and arrows.br /
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Later that day, an airplane arrived and sprayed directly above their homes with what are believed to be pesticides normally used on soya crops. Over 200 people were affected, reporting sickness and fainting among other symptoms. At least 7 people were taken to hospital.br /
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In a further worring development, The Human Rights Commission of the Paraguayan Senate, the same body that recently thwarted attempts to return traditional land to another indigenous community, the Yakye Axa, was also used by politicians as a platform to promote the eviction. br /
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A worrying precedent had been set earlier in the week when the Human Rights Commission of the Paraguayan Senate, the same body that recently thwarted attempts to return traditional land to another indigenous community, the Yakye Axa, was used as a platform to promote the eviction.br /
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The eviction order was cancelled by a district prosecutor just before it was due to be carried out on Friday 6 November. It is believed that the threats against the community were carried out in retaliation. br /
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ldquo;Indigenous Peoplesacute; lives are being put in jeopardy by those who should protect them,rdquo; said Louise Finer, Paraguay Researcher at Amnesty International. ldquo;The risk faced by the Itakyry communities was predictable. Insufficient action was taken to protect them from the threats they faced from this renewed attempt to evict them from their ancestral lands.rdquo; br /
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ldquo;The Paraguayan authorities – the Executive, Congress and the Judiciary – must work together to address the immediate needs of the communities after this attack, but also to ensure that it does not happen again.quot; said Louise Finer.br /
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Only a small number of local police were present during the attack, despite the threat of intimidation towards the communities.br /
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Despite local authorities promising to send ambulances to assist people suffering complaints such as vomiting and fainting following the spraying, it took several hours for them to receive any health treatment. br /
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Despite the rights of Paraguayacute;s Indigenous Peoples being a key campaign pledge of President Fernando Lugo, the legacy of widespread land misappropriation from the dictatorship-period remains unaddressed. br /
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Promoting large agricultural development is often put before safeguarding the land titles of Indigenous Peoples. The seriousness of the governmentacute;s commitment to addressing their land claims has not been demonstrated in practice.br /
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In May, Amnesty International denounced that deforestation, soya plantations and the use of agro-chemicals continued to affect the livelihoods of Indigenous Peoples. br /
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Recent satellite imagery shows that deforestation in the north of Paraguay continues unabated despite existing government controls, putting at risk Indigenous groups such as the isolated Totobiegosode peoplesbr /
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In October, Amnesty International criticised the Paraguayan Congress for rejecting a draft bill that would have allowed the state to return ancestral lands to the Yakye Axa indigenous community, leaving at least 90 families homeless. br /
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According to international human rights standards, the right to traditional lands is crucial to Indigenous Peoples as it is a vital element of their sense of identity, livelihood and way of life.br /

img src=http://www.amnesty.org/sites/impact.amnesty.org/files/imagecache/previewsize/sites/impact.amnesty.org/files/PUBLIC/Regions/AMR/paraguay-yakye-axa-100×100.jpg alt= title= /br/Amnesty International has criticised the Paraguayan Congress for rejecting a draft bill that would have returned ancestral land to the Yakye Axa indigenous community. Thursday’s decision to reject the bill leaves at least 90 families homeless. br /
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For 10 years, the Yakye Axa Indigenous community has lived alongside a major highway next to their land, 300 kilometres from the capital Asuncion. They lack access to water, regular food supplies, adequate medical care and land to cultivate. br /
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quot;The Paraguayan Congress has sent a very clear message: they do not care about the lives of Indigenous Peoples,quot; said Louise Finer, Paraguay researcher at Amnesty International. br /
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quot;It seems that, once again, powerful interests are standing in the way of protecting the rights of the most marginalized sectors of Paraguayan society,quot; said Louise Finer. quot;These lands belong to the Yakye Axa and should be returned to them immediately, their lives depend on it.quot; br /
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In 2005 the Inter-American Court of Human Rights ruled that the Paraguayan authorities must return the land to the Yakye Axa. br /
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The Court set a deadline of 13 July 2008 for the return of these lands and Paraguay suggested that this could be achieved legally by expropriation. Nearly a year after the President presented this bill to Congress, it was rejected. br /
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According to international human rights standards, the right to traditional lands is crucial to Indigenous Peoples as it is a vital element of their sense of identity, livelihood and way of life. br /
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Official figures say there are around 108,600 Indigenous citizens of Paraguay ndash; 1.7 per cent of the population ndash; although this is likely to be a significant underestimate of the true figure.