Dozens of Indigenous protesters clashed with security guards on Tuesday at the COP30 climate summit in Belem, Brazil, leaving two security officers with minor injuries in a rare outbreak of violence at the UN conference.
According to a spokesperson for United Nations Climate Change, the incident also caused minor damage to the venue. “Brazilian and UN security personnel took protective actions to secure the venue, following all established security protocols,” the spokesperson said.
The confrontation occurred in the evening when demonstrators and their supporters broke through security barriers at the main entrance of the conference hall and scuffled with guards.
Calm was later restored as security staff barricaded the entrance to the restricted “blue zone” using tables and chairs. Journalists reported seeing a police officer evacuated in a wheelchair.
Security within the COP30 site is managed by the UN, while local authorities oversee the surrounding areas. After the incident, UN officers instructed participants still inside the venue to evacuate.
“The Indigenous movement wanted to present its demands inside the blue zone but were not allowed in,” said Joao Santiago, a professor at the Federal University of Para.
Maria Clara, a protester with the Rede Sustentabilidade Bahia association, told AFP she joined the demonstration to highlight the struggles of Indigenous communities. “These voices are ignored,” she said. “They entered the COP30 venue to protest the fact that the COP will end but the destruction continues.”
The March for Health and Climate, the group that organized the demonstration, distanced itself from the confrontation. “The march, which concluded before the COP30 venue, was a legitimate, peaceful, and organized expression of popular mobilisation, built through dialogue, responsibility, and collective commitment,” it said in a statement.
The UN confirmed that “the venue is fully secured, and COP negotiations continue,” while Brazilian and UN authorities investigate the incident.
Last week, Brazil’s Minister for Indigenous Peoples, Sonia Guajajara, had described COP30 as “the best COP in terms of Indigenous participation.”