Brazilian Indigenous Protestors Break Through UN Security to Storm COP30 in Belém, Brazil
BELÉM, BRAZIL (November 12, 2025) - This morning, the entrance for delegates to COP30 (the 30th Conference of the Parties of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change) in Belém, Brazil, appeared nearly normal, with an evident increased presence of Brazilian security forces. However, last night, just after 7:00 PM local time, protesters, including Indigenous leaders from the Tapajós River in Pará, Brazil, pushed through the UN and private security at the main entrance of the venue. They demanded that their voices be heard in the negotiations and that solutions affecting them not be presented without their participation.
“Their river is already completely contaminated by mercury from illegal gold mining. Their river is being privatized, and agreements in Carbon Markets, such as the Tropical Forest Forever Facility (TFFF), are being made without their free, prior, and informed consent. They feel that the Brazilian government is not hearing their demands and not including their voices, even though they call this the “Indigenous COP.””
Taily Terena, IITC delegate from the Terena Nation in Brazil, spoke with some of the protesters after they were forcibly expelled from the venue by security. She reported that they told her about the outrage, frustration, and desperation that led them to take this unprecedented action: “Their river is already completely contaminated by mercury from illegal gold mining. Their river is being privatized, and agreements in Carbon Markets, such as the Tropical Forest Forever Facility (TFFF), are being made without their free, prior, and informed consent. They feel that the Brazilian government is not hearing their demands and not including their voices, even though they call this the “Indigenous COP.” They also expressed Brazil's hypocrisy in hosting the largest annual global event on climate change while simultaneously approving fossil fuel exploration at the headwaters of the Amazon River.”
Of the over 3,000 Indigenous representatives who came to Belém for COP30, mainly from the Amazon region, only a small fraction has credentials to enter the COP30 “Blue Zone,” where the UN negotiations are being carried out. Nevertheless, having credentials to enter the venue does not guarantee that the voices and views of Indigenous delegates from Brazil will be heard, as most state contact or negotiating sessions are conducted in English with no translation into Portuguese or other languages.
Saul Vicente Vázquez, a Zapoteca Indigenous representative from Oaxaca, Mexico, is a member of the IITC Board of Directors. He is participating in the IITC COP30 delegation, which focuses on issues related to the impact of climate change on Indigenous Peoples’ food systems. This includes false solutions, such as so-called “transition mineral mining,” which is carried out without the consent of Indigenous Peoples and on their lands. Vázquez will present sustainable alternatives based on Indigenous Peoples’ knowledge and practices. He confirmed IITC's solidarity with Indigenous Peoples, including those in Brazil, who are facing life-or-death situations in their homelands but are not being heard or included in these UN- and country-driven negotiations. “IITC affirms that Indigenous Peoples must be allowed to speak for and represent themselves in United Nations bodies, sharing their own lived experiences and contributing to real solutions. This includes the UNFCCC.”
IITC will remain at COP30 until its conclusion on November 21 to defend the rights of Indigenous Peoples, promote a just transition, and propose solutions based on respect for our knowledge, lands, and territories; our internationally recognized collective rights; and our ways of life.
For more information contact Andrea Carmen, IITC Executive Director and head of the IITC delegation in Belem, andrea@treatycouncil.org
The International Indian Treaty Council (IITC) is an organization of Indigenous Peoples from North, Central, South America, the Arctic, Caribbean and Pacific working for the sovereignty and self-determination of Indigenous Peoples and the recognition and protection of Indigenous rights, Treaties, traditional cultures and sacred lands.
