The institutions and individuals attending the First International Symposium on Isolated Indigenous Peoples of the Amazon and the Gran Chaco region, held in Belém, Pará (Brazil), 8 – 11 November 2005, created the International Alliance for the Protection of Isolated Indigenous Peoples. Through this declaration, the Alliance wishes to alert the governments of those countries in which isolated indigenous peoples, or those in initial contact, subsist:

 CONSIDERING THAT:

1.      Indigenous peoples or groups of such peoples continue to live in the Amazon and Gran Chaco region and in other parts of the world, who, of their own volition or because of various forms of aggression, have decided to maintain themselves isolated from the rest of society.[1]

2.      The isolated indigenous peoples of Amazonia and the Gran Chaco are located in Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Paraguay and Peru[i].

3.      The indigenous peoples of the Americas are the original inhabitants of and precede national States. Isolated indigenous peoples, in particular, are living examples of the original indigenous population, as well as survivors of historical and continuing genocide.

4.      During the past fifty years innumerable peoples in isolation (and their cultures and languages) have disappeared, almost unnoticed by their governments and national societies.

5.      Isolated indigenous peoples constitute a tangible and intangible social and cultural patrimony of humanity.

6.      The interdependence of such peoples with their territories ensures the integrity of the biodiversity of vast areas of the biosphere in a good state of conservation.

7.      Such peoples cannot rapidly develop genetic defenses against alien diseases, and they may suffer from malnutrition, which makes them extremely vulnerable.

8.      Their condition of powerlessness, vulnerability, lack of protection, and disadvantage in the face of national States and societies, all threaten and undermine their rights.

9.      The absence of legal instruments, institutional structures, or coherent, specific and effective public policies in the nations of Amazonia and the Gran Chaco makes it difficult to adopt measures that guarantee the physical, cultural and territorial integrity of isolated indigenous peoples.

10. There are many external threats caused by current development policies (projects or megaprojects of hydrocarbon extraction, mining, gold prospecting, road building, hydroelectric dams, forestry, cattle-ranching and farming, water extraction, privatization of natural resources (such as water, forests or biodiversity), illegal activities (logging, drug trafficking, mineral prospecting, or extraction of endangered fauna and flora), deforestation, colonization, and the presence of external agents (missionaries, tourist or scientific organizations, film crews, adventurers, and others)).

11. Convention 169 of the International Labor Organization, on Indigenous and Tribal Peoples in Independent Countries, has been ratified by all these nations that contain isolated indigenous peoples (Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Paraguay and Peru), and is thus required to be implemented as national law in every one of these countries.[2]

12. The Universal Declaration on Human Rights (1948), The Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide (1948), UNESCO Universal Declaration on Cultural Diversity (2001), The Paris Convention to Safeguard the Intangible Cultural Heritage (2003), The Convention on Biological Diversity (Rio, 1992),  Resolution 3056, on Indigenous Peoples Living in Voluntary Isolation and the Conservation of Nature in the Amazon Region and Chaco (Bangkok, 2004), are all documents to be respected, as are:

13. The recommendation on isolated indigenous peoples adopted in Session IV of the Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues of the United Nations (2005), paragraph 73[3]; the Proposal of the Working Group charged with drafting the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples of the Organization of American States (in its last session, Guatemala, 2005).[4]

14. Some indigenous organizations, NGOs, civil-rights organizations and others do significant work for the adoption and implementation of legal instruments, public polices, territorial management, environmental protection, the execution of programs of protection and defense, and public information campaigns.

15. Isolated indigenous peoples and those in cross-border situations; the Ayeréode in  Paraguay and Bolivia, the Tagaeri, Taromenane and other Huaorani in Ecuador, isolated Awa-Guajá and those of the Pardo River in Brazil, Nanti, Machiguenga, Nahua, Cacataibo, Mascho-Piro, Murunahua and Yora from Peru,  Nukak-Makú of Colombia, and the Yanomami, among others, currently face serious threats. 

WE DEMAND AND REQUIRE:

1.      Official recognition by the governments of the nations of Amazonia and the Gran Chaco of the existence of isolated indigenous peoples in their territories and their responsibility to protect them.

2.      The recognition and protection of their decision to live in isolation, as well as all human, individual, collective and environmental rights that assist the men and women of isolated indigenous peoples.

3.      The lawful recognition of their original or traditional territories, and their inalienable, inviolable, indivisible and non-proscriptive rights over them, as a means of guaranteeing their physical and cultural subsistence.

4.      That national States adopt, apply and effectively implement measures
for the direct protection of the lives and territories of isolated peoples to
prevent the entry or activities of external agents who might violate their
rights.

5.      The effective implementation of Convention 169 on Indigenous
and Tribal Peoples in Independent Nations (ILO) – a legal instrument specifically for the protection of these peoples – and the drafting,
adoption and execution of specific laws, public policies and administrative
measures for the protection of isolated indigenous peoples.

6.      The immediate cessation or modification of all projects that may cause harm by means of deforestation or colonization, and illicit and illegal activities, and other activities currently under way or planned in the territories and surroundings of isolated indigenous peoples.

7.      The immediate suspension of financing by multilateral organisations of projects that threaten the physical, cultural or territorial integrity of isolated indigenous peoples.

8.      That national and international policies for the conservation of biodiversity and for the creation of protected natural areas recognize the precedence and primacy of the rights of isolated indigenous peoples.

9.      National policies that prioritize, administer and implement actions in favor of these peoples.

10. The adoption of urgent public-health measures (including isolation of areas and evaluation of risks – but always respecting the traditions of these peoples) and, when contact is imminent, consideration of the above- mentioned risks, that States apply adequate medical measures via the responsible organs and authorities.

11. That all States, with the participation of appropriate indigenous organizations and NGOs, assume responsibility for drafting, administering and supervising governmental public polices for the protection of such peoples.

12. The governments of Paraguay, Bolivia, Ecuador, Brazil, Peru and
Colombia take immediate and effective action to ensure the survival of
the following isolated indigenous peoples or segments thereof: Ayoreo, Tagaeri, Taromenane and other Huaorani, of the Awa-Guajá, the isolated peoples of the Pardo River, Nanti, Matsiguenka, Nahua, Mashco-Piro, Cacataibo, Murunahua, Yora,  Nukak-Makú, and the Yanomami among others.

13. The promotion of efforts towards mutual understanding and bilateral or multilateral agreements between States to implement policies and measures of protection for isolated indigenous peoples who find themselves in cross-border situations.

14. The inclusion of necessary measures in public policy-making to avoid, prohibit and punish every non-authorized intrusion into the territories of isolated indigenous peoples. 

Approved in plenary session of the First International Symposium on Isolated
Indigenous Peoples of the Amazon Region and the Gran Chaco, Belem do Pará, Brazil, 11 November 2005.