
AMAZON INDIGENOUS LEADERS TAKE ILLEGAL MINING, DEFORESTATION AND DRUG TRAFFICKING DEMANDS TO UNITED NATIONS CONFERENCE IN VIENNA
Indigenous leaders from Brazil, Peru, Colombia and Ecuador are participating in discussions surrounding the United Nations COP13 organised-crime conference in Vienna, where they are demanding stronger international action against illegal mining, drug trafficking, deforestation and the financial networks supporting environmental crime in the Amazon. The representatives want Indigenous territorial guards recognised and protected, stronger land rights and a formal role for Indigenous peoples if governments begin negotiating a new international protocol covering crimes that affect the environment. The conference runs from October 19 to October 23, 2026.