Across the Amazon, organized crime is expanding rapidly, driving violence, environmental destruction, and the erosion of Indigenous rights.
Indigenous Peoples are not only on the front lines of this crisis, they are leading the most effective responses. Through territorial monitoring, community governance, and protection systems rooted in their own knowledge and traditions, they are defending the Amazon and sustaining their ways of life.
Tell decision-makers to support Indigenous-led solutions that protect people, forests, and the future.
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To: Dr. Monica Kathina Juma, Executive Director of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime
I am writing to urge you to respond to the growing crisis of organized crime in the Amazon in ways that respect and uphold Indigenous rights.
Across the region, illicit economies such as illegal mining, drug trafficking, and logging are driving violence, environmental destruction, and the erosion of Indigenous territories. Current responses, often focused on militarization, have failed to address the structural causes of this crisis and, in some cases, have worsened conditions for affected communities.
Indigenous Peoples are leading effective responses through territorial governance, monitoring systems, and community-based protection strategies. These approaches must be recognized, supported, and scaled.
I urge you to:
- Support Indigenous territorial governance and autonomy
- Protect Indigenous leaders and environmental defenders
- Invest in sustainable, community-led economic alternatives
- Create a formal dialogue mechanism between indigenous organizations and the UNTOC, to ensure Indigenous Peoples have a central role in decision-making processes
A rights-based, Indigenous-led approach is essential to protecting the Amazon and addressing the root causes of organized crime.
Sincerely,
[Your Name]
