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Darci Frigo
Darci Frigo (Brazil, 2001)

Although the Brazilian Constitution guarantees citizens the right to land, the arable land of Brazil has been unfairly and illegally distributed in favor of large corporations and wealthy citizens. Land reform efforts have often been met with violent resistance. Landless agricultural workers have been exploited by corrupt government officials and wealthy landowners working under horrible conditions. Frequently, these plantations damage the environment through growing genetically engineered cropsthat require agrotoxins and quickly deplete the soil's nutrients and contribute to the elimination of the rainforests. Darci Frigo, 2001 Human Rights Award Laureate and founder of the NGO Terra de Direitos (TDD), fights to give land to the landless, put an end to modern-day slavery, ensure more sustainable stewardship of the land and protect Brazil's biodiversity.

Although a comprehensive land reform initiative is supported by President Lula, the project has been impeded by the government's obligation to utilize their resources to pay back a heavy foreign debt burden. RFK Memorial Center for Human Rights is laying the groundwork with international financial institutions and other major donors by advocating that a "rights-based" approach to land reform should be given at least equal funding to the present ideologically driven "market-based" approach. RFK Center is assisting Frigo and TDD in advocating before President Lula to request additional funding from the international community for Brazil's constitutionally mandated land reform. RFK Center is supporting TDD through research, capacity building, and complimentary advocacy before the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, World Bank, and the Lula Administration.

For more information, please contact Marselha Gonçalves Margerin (202) 463-7575 x224, gmargerin@rfkmemorial.org

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Report: Food & Energy Sovereignty Now: Brazilian Grassroots Position on Agroenergy

Release: RFK Center Urges Appellate Court to Ensure Justice after Previously Convicted Suspect Acquited in Murder of Sister Dorothy (English) (Em Português)

Invite: Roundtable with RFK Laureates Darci Frigo and Martin Macwan on Land Rights in Brazil and India

Release: RFK Center Applauds Conviction of Mastermind of Sister Dorothy Stang's Murder

Miami Herald Op-Ed: Justice must be done in Brazil to honor Dorothy Stang

O Globo Op-Ed: An Appeal for Justice by RFK Center and Sister Stang's siblings

Folha de São Paulo Article: RFK Center Comments on Brazil's Rank on List of Human Trafficking

Press Release: RFK Center Delegation to Observe Sister Dorothy Stang Murder Trial in Brazil

Letter to Brazilian President and Press Release: Anniversary of Murder of Brazilian Landless Workers

Articles and Op-Eds: Commemorating Anniversary of Sister Dorothy Stang's murder

Report by American University: STRUGGLING FOR SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT IN THE BRAZILIAN AMAZONSUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT IN THE BRAZILIAN AMAZON

Report released to IACHR: Rural Violence and Human Rights Violations in Brazil in English

Report released to IACHR: Rural Violence and Human Rights Violations in Brazil in Portuguese

Article by Agencia Brasil: Land conflicts and violence in Pará

Article by Agencia Brasil:Organizations call for federalization of rural crimes

Article by Noriegaville - Panama:Brazil - Human Rights Violations in the Amazon

Article in Brazil Justice Net newsletter: Frigo at the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights Hearing on rural violence

Frigo and CHR work with family of murdered American nun Dorothy Stang to publish Open Letter to President Lula on land reform in O Globo

Brazilian Government responds to Stang's Letter in O Globo

Darci Frigo Profile

May 2003 RFK Journeys for Justice Delegation Travels to Brazil in Support of Mr. Darci Frigo

TDD's Environmental Work in 2003-2004

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