USAID/Brazil supports CONAQ international land titling workshop with Afro-Colombian communities' delegation

Brazilian law defines Quilombos as "an ethnic-racial group, according to criteria of self-attribution, with their own historical trajectory,  endowed with specific territorial relations, with presumption of black ancestry related to resistance to historical oppression."    The Brazilian Constitution states that "remnants of the communities of the quilombos that are occupying their lands, the definitive ownership shall be recognized, and the State shall issue them the respective titles."   Despite these rights, less than 10% of the 6,000 Quilombola communities scattered across Brazil, representing an estimated population of 5.6 million,  have title to their historic community lands.   Competing claims and demands on these lands makes life dangerous for Quilombola human rights activists with 113 land violations and 18 murders of activists in 2017.  

 

On December 13, USAID joined the National Coordination of Quilombola Black Rural Communities (CONAQ), the National Institute of Colonization and Agrarian Reform (INCRA)-- the GOB entity responsible for titling-- and partners ECAM and MMA in welcoming the leading Afro-Colombian communities' associations to Brazil.   The Afro-Colombian communities' associations have made significant strides in community-led programs to secure titile in traditional Afro-Colombian communities.  This workshop was seen as a first key step to build a network among the Afro-American communities of the Amazon region to exchange best practices and build awareness and advocacy for the rights of these important minority populations.   The USAID/ Brazil Director and ECAM representatives presented results from our partnership with Google Earth to introduce IT technology to strengthen the territorial management and planning in Quilombola communities.