World
Indigenous Amazon groups urge the UN to curb organized crime, not militarize territories
✦ AI Brief
Indigenous organizations from across the Amazon are sending a letter to U.N. member states warning that organized crime, including drug trafficking and gold mining, is driving violence and accelerating environmental destruction in rainforest communities. They urge governments to avoid heavily militarized responses in Indigenous territories, citing the expansion of organized crime as a threat to communities, ecosystems, and local governance.