A UN expert Wednesday reprimanded Brazil over its adoption of a controversial legal doctrine to limit the land rights of Indigenous peoples.

UN Special Rapporteur on the rights of Indigenous Peoples Albert Kwokwo Barume reported that Brazil’s Senate has approved legislative decree No. 717/2024, which could “revoke the legal foundation for Indigenous land demarcation and annul the demarcation of” two Indigenous territories in Santa Catarina. The decree will suspend fundamental protections for indigenous land rights set out in previously established policy.

The legal basis for the decree is Law 14.701/2023, which sets out the “Marco Temporal Doctrine.” The doctrine “is a legal thesis…that sets a historical cutoff date for recognizing and validating indigenous land claims.” In 2023, the Supreme Federal Court ruled that the legal practice was unconstitutional. However, three months later, Law 14.701/2023 reinstated the doctrine.

Greenpeace activists have castigated the legal method, stating:

By questioning decisions that have already been approved and paving the way for future revocations, Bill 717/2024 threatens the present and future of many communities. It undermines the legal and institutional security of the land demarcation process, a right guaranteed through much struggle, by Article 231 of the Federal Constitution.

Barume said that “this is the fourth time in four years” that the UN expert has “raised public alarm over this issue.” He highlighted that the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights has criticized the Marco Temporal Doctrine for violating International Labour Organization Convention 169 and “contradicts the jurisprudence of the Inter-American Court of Human Rights.” He called on the Brazilian government to “abandon the Marco Temporal once and for all”.

Barume stressed the grave human rights impact that the doctrine has on Brazilian Indigenous populations:

[The Marco Temporal Doctrine]… fuels rural violence and environmental degradation. It threatens Indigenous People’s security, health and cultural practices, contributing to a slow and painful process that could lead to their extermination.

Decree 717 is now before the Chamber of Deputies with final provisions slated for debate by high government officials.