Across the world, Indigenous Peoples’ Human Rights Defenders (IPHRDs) face threats and reprisals for standing up for their rights, protesting violations, protecting their territories, communities, and the environment. In doing so they are far too often victims of violence, harassment, arbitrary
The International Chittagong Hill Tracts Commission (CHTC) is deeply concerned about the escalating tensions in Bandarban and their potential impact on regional peace in the Chittagong Hill Tracts (CHT). The Commission emphatically calls for the protection of civilians and urges immediate
The Indigenous World is the unique result of a collaborative effort between Indigenous and non-indigenous activists and scholars who voluntarily document and report on the situation of Indigenous Peoples’ rights.
The UN Human Rights Council established the Forum on Business and Human Rights[1] in 2011 to serve as a global platform to “discuss trends and challenges in the implementation of the Guiding Principles and promote dialogue and cooperation on issues
The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) was established on 8 August 1967 with the signing of the ASEAN Declaration (Bangkok Declaration) by its founding fathers, five of the now 10 Member States: Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, and Thailand. The other five Member States
In Canada, the contemporary Indigenous rights and governance framework varies across the country. The Constitution Act of 1982, as well as the Charter of Rights and Freedoms, explicitly recognize Aboriginal and Treaty rights and three groups of Aboriginal Peoples (commonly referred to
The Peruvian State recognizes 47 Indigenous languages spoken by 55 different peoples in the country. In the 2017 National Population Census, almost six million people (5,972,603) self-identified as belonging to an Indigenous or native people, representing slightly more than a quarter of the
Colombia is home to some 115 Indigenous Peoples of diverse origins and linguistic and cultural traditions. They live spread throughout the whole country: on the Caribbean and Pacific coasts, in the Amazon, the Orinoco savannahs and the Andean region. In the latest 2018 national census, the
According to data from the 2022 demographic census, Brazil is home to 266 Indigenous Peoples with a population of 1,693,535 people, or approximately 0.83% of the total Brazilian population. These peoples communicate in 275 different languages. The northern region of Brazil holds almost 45% of
As a multi-ethnic country, Vietnam has 54 recognized ethnic groups, 53 of which are ethnic minorities. These groups comprise 14%[1] of the country’s total population of around 100 million.[2] Each ethnic
The country’s Indigenous population continues to be estimated at between 10% and 20% of the national population of 109,035,343, based on the 2020 population census.
The Indigenous groups in the northern mountains of Luzon (Cordillera) are collectively known as Igorot while the groups on
Israel’s Arab Bedouin citizens are Indigenous to the Negev (Naqab, in Arabic) desert, where they have lived for centuries as a semi-nomadic people, long before the establishment of the State of Israel in 1948. Members of the Bedouin community are an integral part of the Arab Palestinian
Indigenous Peoples in Uganda include former hunter-gatherer communities such as the Benet and the Batwa. They also include minority groups such as the Ik, the Karamojong and Basongora pastoralists, who are not recognized specifically as Indigenous Peoples by the government.
The Amazighs form the Indigenous population of Libya and are estimated to number some one million people, or more than 16% of the country’s total population.
They live in various areas of Libya in the north, east and south of the country albeit without any geographical continuity. To
The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) is inhabited by four major ethnic groups: the Bantu, the Nilotic, the Sudanese and the Pygmy. The concept of “Indigenous Pygmy people” is accepted and approved by the government and civil society organizations (CSOs) in the DRC and the term refers to the
The Amazighs are the Indigenous people of Algeria and other countries of North Africa. However, the Algerian government does not recognize the Indigenous status of the Amazighs and refuses to publish statistics on their population. Because of this, there is no official data on the number of
IWGIA has just learned that four Indigenous leaders were killed in Khagrachhari District in the Chittagong Hill Tracts (CHT) in Bangladesh on Monday 11 December. According to our sources, the leaders were allegedly killed by a masked vigilante group. A further three leaders were abducted and
The International Chittagong Hill Tracts Commission (CHTC) expresses deep shock at the tragic news of the killing of four Jumma activists reportedly by vigilante groups with alleged support from security forces.
This year’s edition of The Indigenous World takes a closer look at Indigenous Peoples’ rights in conservation efforts. In times of a global climate and biodiversity crisis, focusing on the protection of nature is crucial and, increasingly, studies show that Indigenous Peoples are among
Throughout 2022, an increasing number of Indigenous Human Rights Defenders who engaged with the United Nations have experienced intimidation, harassment, threats, derogatory media campaigns, travel bans, arbitrary arrests and detention,
IWGIA has learned that Indigenous Peoples human rights defender Kamira Nait Sid remains in pre-trial detention in Koléa prison near Algiers and has not yet been brought before a judge, which is against the law.
It is with deep sadness that IWGIA received the news that Mr. Zéphyrin Kalimba passed away on the 2nd of January in a hospital in Kigali, Rwanda at the age of 62.
On 24 August 2021, Indigenous Peoples human rights defender Kamira Nait Sid was abducted in the town of Draa-Ben-Khedda in northern Algeria by unidentified men and detained in an unknown location for seven days. After several days of her family, friends and colleagues not being able to contact
Joint briefing produced by ALLIED Data Working Group (DWG) - International Land Coalition, Business & Human Rights Resource Centre, Front Line Defenders, ANGOC, CINEP, Green Advocates, Indigenous Peoples Rights International, IWGIA, ISHR, Natural Justice, Tecnicas Rudas & other
Thousands of Adivasis involved in the “Pathalgari Movement” were criminalized for fighting for their collective rights to self-determination and protection of their lands, territories, and natural resources in Jharkhand State of
An ongoing armed conflict in West Papua between the Indonesian military and the separatist movement finds ordinary Indigenous Peoples caught in the middle, resulting in deaths and violations of their rights.
Bangladesh is a country of cultural and ethnic diversity, with over 54 Indigenous Peoples speaking at least 35 languages, along with the majority Bengali population. According to the 2011 census, the country’s Indigenous population numbers approximately 1,586,1411 which represents
There is no accurate information about the number of Indigenous Peoples in Myanmar, partly due to a lack of understanding of the internationally recognised concept of Indigenous Peoples. The government claims that all citizens of Myanmar are “Indigenous” (taing-yin-tha), and on that
The population census conducted in the Philippines in 2010 for the first time included an ethnicity variable but no official figure for Indigenous Peoples has been released yet. The country’s Indigenous population thus continues to be estimated at between 10% and 20% of the national population
According to figures from the 2018 census, Guatemala has a population of 14.9 million inhabitants, 6.5 million (43.75%) of which self-identify as Indigenous, from the Maya, Garífuna and Xinca Indigenous Peoples, or Creole (Afrodescendants). The Maya can be further divided into 24 groups: the
There are 68 different Indigenous Peoples that inhabit Mexican territory, each of which speaks a native language of their own. These languages form 11 linguistic families, comprised by 364 dialectal variants. According to the National Institute of Statistics and Geography (INEGI), 25.7 million
There are seven Indigenous Peoples in Nicaragua: the Chorotega (221,000), Cacaopera or Matagalpa (97,500), Ocanxiu or Sutiaba (49,000) and Nahoa or Náhuatl (20,000) who live in the centre and north of the Pacific region, and the Mískitu (150,000), Sumu or Mayangna (27,000) and Rama (2,000) who
Cada año informamos sobre la situación de los pueblos indígenas en todo el mundo. Nuestro anuario, El Mundo Indígena, documenta el estado de los derechos de los pueblos indígenas en países de todos los continentes, con informes exhaustivos elaborados por expertos,
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About IWGIA
IWGIA - International Work Group for Indigenous Affairs - is a global human rights organisation dedicated to promoting and defending Indigenous Peoples’ rights. Read more.