Quilombo of Ilha da Marambaia Community Association – ARQUIMAR (Rio de Janeiro)
Quilombo descendents struggling for the right to land they occupy and the public policies they have a right to
Rio de Janeiro
Objectives and target population:
Limiting the expulsion of quilombo residents from the Ilha da Marambaia (island) while seeking legal recognition of their territory are the principal aims of the supported project. The association hopes to share knowledge about legal and administrative proceedings involving the area with its residents, as a form of mobilizing them in the struggle to guarantee their social, economic, cultural and environmental rights.
The quilombo community on Ilha da Marambaia is composed of 180 families (540 people). Acquiring title to the land would represent a symbolic victory for all remaining quilombo communities in Brazil, especially since the area is in the interest of the government itself, particularly the Ministries of Defense and Agriculture.
Main activities:
– Accompanying the legal and administrative proceedings related to the area;
– Meetings with legal consultants, representatives of the Public Prosecutor’s office and federal, state and municipal authorities, to seek the guarantee of quilombos’ fundamental rights;
– Workshops on human rights and on environmental preservation;
– Elaboration and production of informative materials on the rights of quilombos and environmental preservation.
Context:
The remaining quilombo community of Ilha da Marambaia has limited rights due to the failure of the Brazilian state to grant title to their lands and legal and extra-legal actions promoted by the Brazilian Navy—administrator of the region—represented by the Federal Union, with the objective of removing quilombo residents from the island.
Residents suffer from the prohibition of agriculture, fishing, construction and extension of houses; from the control of the Navy over transport to and from the island; and from the lack of privacy in their correspondence.
The issues cited are the object of a series of lawsuits filed by the Navy as well as representatives of the quilombo community. Among the suits are: a civil action supported by the Federal Public Prosecutor (2002), in which ARQUIMAR joined and requested assistance via the Mariana Criola Popular Center for Legal Counsel; twelve individual suits for land repossession proposed since 1996 by the Federal Union against the quilombos; military court inquiries instigated by the Brazilian Navy against the quilombos; and an administrative proceeding by the Federal Auditor (TCU).
The process of title normalization, pending with INCRA – National Institute of Colonization and Agrarian Reform, is constantly interrupted by political articulations from ministers. The Technical Anthropological Report (2003), necessary to achieve one of the steps of the normalization, was published in 2006, but an order from Incra recommended its “depublication,” paralyzing the proceedings since then.
The setting demonstrates that the conflict over the community’s rights has become increasingly judicial.
About the organization:
ARQUIMAR – Quilombo of Ilha da Marambaia Community Association represents the interests of the community, defending the right to collective title of their territory and their quilombo identity. To accomplish this, it promotes political and cultural activities and accompanies the legal and administrative proceedings underway.
The association monitors and reports to the relevant authorities all human rights violations suffered by the community, and periodically holds meetings with residents.
Partnerships:
ARQUIMAR is networking with other organizations, such as: Mariana Criola Popular Center for Legal Counsel, Koinonia Ecumenical Presence and Service, Global Justice, Fase, ACQUILERJ, the Ford Foundation, CONAQ, the Sepetiba Environmental Forum, CUT, Unacoop, and others.
Funding Line
Urban Development (2012)
Year
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Total Granted
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Duration
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Main Themes
Rights of Maroon and Traditional Populations