A group skirmished with security on Tuesday at the UN climate talks in Belem, Brazil, briefly trying to force their way into the main venue before they were pushed back.
Two security workers sustained minor injuries, the UN said.
The confrontation came late in the day as people were filtering out of the venue for COP30, as the talks are known.
Photo: Reuters
“Earlier this evening, a group of protesters breached security barriers at the main entrance to the COP, causing minor injuries to two security staff and minor damage to the venue,” UN Climate Change said in a statement. “Brazilian and UN security personnel took protective actions to secure the venue, following all established security protocols. Brazilian and UN authorities are investigating the incident. The venue is fully secured and COP negotiations continue.”
Agustin Ocana, mobilization coordinator for youth with the Global Youth Coalition, told reporters that he was outside when he saw two groups of people, some with yellow shirts and some in the garb of indigenous communities, walking toward the venue.
Ocana said that at first they were mostly just dancing and chanting, and he followed them because he has some friends in the indigenous group.
He did not see which group first broke through security, but said things escalated when security guards closed the doors and called for more guards.
Ocana said some of the people entering were chanting: “They cannot decide for us without us,” referring to tensions over participation of indigenous people at the conference.
As security and marchers clashed, he said he saw members of both sides hitting each other with small plastic bins used to hold items near secure entrances.
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