The role of the Permanent People’s Tribunal in the face of ecogenocide in Cerrado biome, Brazil: subverting definitions of rights, victims and justice

• In Event: Green Criminology #1 - Ecocide and Environmental Governance

Abstract

Cases of genocide, ecocide, massacres, especially when they occur on the margins of global power, have historically been invisible. Courts of opinion have been one of the alternatives to oblivion in cases of serious human rights violations, given the various limitations of international criminal law and courts. This work seeks to understand how the Permanent Peoples' Tribunal, in its structure and organisation, articulates the notions of victim (active), memory (questioning history) and justice (concrete and symbolic) to reflect about the possibilities of such a tribunal in the struggle against ecocide and climate changes. The PPT is a court of opinion with headquarters at the Lelio and Lisli Basso Foundation in Rome, Italy. Its creation was in response to the experience of the International War Crimes Tribunal, also known as the Russell Tribunal. It is an initiative that is not based on the State structure, but on a proposal for qualified and meaningful listening to the voices of those who have been historically silenced when their most fundamental rights are affected. We present and analyze the case number 49, which is also known as the Permanent Peoples' Tribunal in Defence of the Cerrado Territories, conducted in 2021 and 2022 in Brazil. The theoretical framework is based on studies of green criminology, environmental restorative justice, and the crimes of the powerful. We articulate the theoretical tools brought by decolonial and counter-colonial theories to comprehend the role of modernity and coloniality in the denial of the crimes of capitalism and colonialism. The discussion about the roles of victims and the possible effects of this kind of tribunal as a place for building a grassroots and activist justice is addressed. We conclude reflecting on the importance of moving beyond State justice by highlighting the need for pluralism of cosmovision to achieve environmental justice.

Authors

• Marília de Nardin Budó, Federal University of Santa Catarina (Brazil)

• Rafaela Bogado Melchiors, Pontifical Catholic University of Rio Grande do Sul

• Karine Ágatha França, Federal University of Santa Catarina