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Sao Paulo Human Rights Watch (HRW) on Friday called on Brazilian lawmakers to reject a proposed law to relax regulations on the use of pesticides as it published a report blaming powerful landowners for the poisoning of rural residents.
"Rather than weakening its law further, Brazil urgently needs a plan to reduce its use of highly hazardous pesticides,"Richard Pearhouse, the report's author, told AFP.
HRW's investigation examined cases of acute poisoning from pesticide drift in seven sites across Brazil.
It found that people in many exposed communities fear reprisals from wealthy and politically powerful landowners who operate in relative impunity.
"Across rural Brazil, pesticides sprayed on large plantations are poisoning villagers in their backyards and children in their classrooms,"said Pearhouse. (AFP)
