On behalf of 340 organisations, on the EU-Mercosur free-trade agreement, and in particular the case of Brazil 

The petition calls for an immediate halt to the negotiations on the EU-Mercosur free trade agreement. The petitioners ask the EU to use its influence to prevent a worsening human rights and environmental situation in Brazil, respect and promotion of human rights being an overarching objective of the Union. The petitioners claim that the Brazil administration continues to threaten the basic democratic functioning of civil society with the Ministry of Agriculture being made responsible for indigenous land demarcation, paving the way for more cattle and soy agribusiness, and by doing so accelerating deforestation. The petition further alerts on increases of indigenous territories under attack from invaders and on activists being targeted, labelling them allegedly as ‘terrorists’. In denial of global warming, departments responsible for climate change have been abolished, with the chances for the Paris Agreement to be implemented being put at serious risk. In that context the petitioners also ask the EU to guarantee that no Brazilian products are sold, in case these products have led to more deforestation, land grabbing of native lands or human rights violations. The petitioners ask also for support to Brazilian civil society and for monitoring of human rights violations, in particular towards indigenous people and environmental defenders.