Search Results for: rainforest

The Brazil Federal Senate approved a constitutional amendment Wednesday that restricts the Supreme Federal Court’s (STF) ability to preliminarily rule on cases without at least six of the 11 members on the court, deepening a growing conflict between the country’s legislative and judicial branches. Changes also include a six-month deadline for the court to decide [...]

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The New York State Senate Tuesday passed the Tropical Deforestation-Free Procurement Act, a bill aimed at protecting tropical rainforests and human rights in other countries through state government relations with contractors. The bill will require state contractors who work with commodities derived from rainforests to certify that their products are not contributing to deforestation or [...]

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Thousands of indigenous people from across Brazil Tuesday marched in downtown Brasilia, the country’s capital, to demand government protection of their land and rights against invaders. The march is part of the 19th Free Land Camp, an annual demonstration by indigenous peoples that lasts days and includes individuals from all over the country who travel [...]

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Brazil’s Minister of Justice and Public Security Flavio Dino Monday said he would open an investigation with the Federal Police into the alleged genocide perpetrated against the Indigenous Yanomami people of the Amazon. The investigation stems from allegations that the right-wing government of former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro perpetrated the genocide. This month, shocking reports [...]

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“You seem to consider the judges as the ultimate arbiters of all constitutional questions; a very dangerous doctrine indeed, and one which would place us under the despotism of an oligarchy.” ― Thomas Jefferson A recent series of radically partisan judicial decisions by the United States Supreme Court heralds the first rollback of fundamental human rights [...]

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The UK Serious Fraud Office (SFO) Wednesday announced Southwark Crown Court’s sentencing of two company directors to 11 years’ imprisonment on charges of conspiracy to defraud and misconduct in a green investment scheme. Andrew Skeene and Omari Bowers, former directors of Global Forestry Investments, encouraged investors to invest in three Brazilian teak tree plantations. They falsely [...]

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Austrian environmental group AllRise announced that it filed an official complaint with the International Criminal Court (ICC) on Tuesday accusing Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro of “crimes against humanity” for his role in the destruction of Brazil’s Amazon rainforest. The group also launched its “The Planet Vs Bolsanaro” campaign across social media following the filing of [...]

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The United Nations Human Rights Council deemed Thursday the detention of environmental lawyer and the United States national Steven Donzinger was illegal. In February 2011, a court in Ecuador found Chevron Corporation liable for causing severe environmental and health damage to the Amazon rainforest by deliberately discharging billions of gallons of oil waste onto indigenous ancestral lands [...]

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Steven Donziger, a former attorney who has spent decades battling Chevron Corp. over pollution in the Ecuadorian rainforest, was sentenced on Friday to six months in prison for criminal contempt of court. The initial dispute originated in 2011 after an Ecuadorian court rendered a $9.5 billion judgment against Chevron for allegedly dumping contaminated waste into the [...]

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The beginning of Bolsonaro’s Presidential term has seen an escalation in violence and murder, and even the President has been accused of committing crimes against humanity among indigenous tribes. Bolsonaro policy decisions do not just affect Brazil, some have a bearing on the welfare of the entire planet. Brazil is home to the Amazon rainforest, [...]

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