Brazil: Four years after the murders of Dom Phillips and Bruno Pereira, RSF calls on the state to honour its commitments on protection and the fight against impunity

Since its creation in 2023, as part of the precautionary measures granted by the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) in relation to this case, the Joint Working Group has brought together various public institutions and civil society organisations. Its objective is to support the implementation of measures concerning protection, accountability, reparations and guarantees of non-repetition in response to the deaths of Dom Phillips and Bruno Pereira. This mechanism, unprecedented in Brazil, has contributed to the development of protection plans for environmental defenders in the Javari Valley, located in the western part of the state of Amazonas. It has also encouraged initiatives related to remembrance and symbolic reparation, as well as improved coordination among public authorities in monitoring criminal investigations.

Nevertheless, significant challenges remain. The protection mechanism responsible for safeguarding journalists in the state of Amazonas, in the north-west of the country, continues to suffer from major shortcomings. Furthermore, although no trial date has yet been set for the accused, greater transparency is needed regarding the ongoing investigations and judicial proceedings.

Tributes to Dom Phillips and Bruno Pereira

Meanwhile, on 11 June, a ceremony was held in Brasília, the country's capital, to honour the winners of the Dom Phillips and Bruno Pereira Journalism and Communication Award for the Defence of the Environment and the Rights of Indigenous Peoples and Traditional Communities. Supported by RSF, the award, launched by the government in 2026, recognised a total of 18 journalistic works across six categories.

Among the winning entries were, for example, the report series "Yanomami Mission - A United Effort to Save Lives", produced by journalists Aline Diniz and Lucas Moraes and published in the newspaper O Tempo; the photo essay "Visual Memory of the Juruá Valley: Acre's Amazon During a Period of Extreme Weather Conditions", by photojournalist Paulo Henrique da Costa Silva; and the podcast series "Two Worlds", published by Folha de S.Paulo and produced by journalist Vinicius Sassine.

A Platform Dedicated to Dom Phillips and Bruno Pereira

As part of initiatives honouring the memory of Dom Phillips and Bruno Pereira, RSF and its partner organisations are launching a digital platform dedicated to preserving their story and legacy. The project is being developed in partnership with the Union of Indigenous Peoples of the Javari Valley (Univaja), the international freedom of expression and right to information organisation ARTICLE 19, the Observatory for the Human Rights of Isolated and Recently Contacted Indigenous Peoples (OPI), and the Dom Phillips Institute. The platform will bring together information about the case and provide the public with access to the latest updates concerning the implementation of protection, justice and memorial measures related to these murders.

Dom Phillips, an experienced journalist who wrote for The Guardian, The New York Times and The Washington Post, was in the Amazon conducting interviews for a book on the region. He was brutally murdered on 5 June 2022. He was accompanied by Bruno Pereira, who had taken leave from FUNAI (the government agency responsible for protecting the rights and interests of Indigenous peoples in Brazil) to work with Univaja, a non-profit organisation that advocates for the interests of Indigenous peoples.