Indigenous Adivasi Youth-Led Peacebuilding Amidst Escalating State-Corporate Developmental Violence in India

By InSAF India & Indian Alliance Paris for Indigenous Debates

As part of Indigenous Peoples worldwide, the many Adivasi communities of central-eastern India continue to draw on their traditional knowledge and cultural heritage to protect their lands, livelihoods and environment – jal, jangal, jameen (water, forest, land). Their stewardship is instrumental in maintaining the delicate balance of the region’s extensive biodiverse forests, even as they rely on this ecosystem for survival and subsistence.

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Peace as a living system: Indigenous perspectives from the voice of Leonor Zalabata Torres

BY LAURA GALVIS SANTACRUZ FOR INDIGENOUS DEBATES

Leonor Zalabata Torres is a Colombian Indigenous leader of the Arhuaco people from the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta. She participated in the 1991 constitutional process and is currently Colombia's permanent representative to the United Nations. She is the first Indigenous woman to hold this position and represent the country on the Security Council. Talking about conflict and peace with Leonor Zalabata means thinking outside of the usual boxes. In her opinion, peace is not a legal armistice or a pact between “parties” but a deeper condition: the stability of life.

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Indigenous Peoples Send Open Letter to Russian President Putin to Release Daria Egereva

09 February 2026

President Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin
The Kremlin, Moscow, Russian Federation

Dear Mr. President,

We address you on behalf of Indigenous Peoples from the seven United Nations socio-cultural regions, as well as the organizations and institutions that, over many years, have engaged in sustained partnership with Ms. Daria Egereva within the United Nations’ international processes.

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Joint Statement by CHTC and IWGIA on the Appointment of the Minister of Chittagong Hill Tracts Affairs and Call for Full Implementation of the Chittagong Hill Tracts Accord

The International Chittagong Hill Tracts Commission (CHTC) and International Work Group for Indigenous Affairs (IWGIA) congratulate the newly elected government of Bangladesh and members of its cabinet. In this important political transition period in Bangladesh, we expect that the new government will work towards advancing inclusive governance, strengthening democratic institutions, and upholding the rights of all communities, including Indigenous Peoples.

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Danske investeringer i Afrika risikerer at bryde oprindelige folks rettigheder

Af: Cille Aspelund Arnecke

Danmark har ambitioner om investeringer i Afrika, og de må rigtigt gerne være grønne. Grøn omstilling og bæredygtig udvikling er to begreber som nemt sidestilles, men når økonomiske interesser omsættes til konkrete projekter, er det ikke sikkert at projekterne rent faktisk er med til at sikre bæredygtig udvikling hos de mennesker, der lever i de områder, hvor investeringerne finder sted. Et projekt kan for eksempel have til formål at beskytte et naturområde, men samtidig medføre, at oprindelige folk mister adgang til land og naturressourcer, som har været grundlaget for deres levevis i generationer – noget som ofte sker uden reel inddragelse af de oprindelige folk i beslutningsprocessen. Over de seneste år er det gentagne gange set, at også grønne energiprojekter har ført til fratagelse af landområder og begrænset adgang til naturressourcer for oprindelige folk, uden at de er blevet hørt. I 2014 blev der blandt andet opført vindmøller i Kenya på landområder tilhørende folkene turkana, el molo, rendille og samburu. Vindmølleprojektet skulle levere grøn energi til hele Kenya, men de berørte samfund blev ikke inddraget i overdragelsen af jorden, og anlæggelsen fandt sted på områder med forfædres grave. Samtidig fik befolkningen i området ingen adgang til den producerede elektricitet. Senest er investeringer i safariturisme i Tanzania, foretaget af Bestseller-milliardæren Anders Holch Povlsen, kommet i søgelyset. Det er i dette spændingsfelt mellem udenrigspolitik, erhvervsinteresser og menneskers livsgrundlag, at FN’s Erklæring om Oprindelige Folks Rettigheder (UNDRIP) og FN’s Retningslinjer for Menneskerettigheder og Erhverv (UNGP) bliver afgørende. Retningslinjerne tydeliggør staters og virksomheders ansvar og rejser det centrale spørgsmål: Afspejler det voksende engagement i Afrika også Danmarks ambitioner om at beskytte oprindelige folks rettigheder i praksis?

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