Strengthening the security of Indigenous Peoples Human Rights Defenders in Asia during the COVID-19 pandemic

Written on 07 January 2021.

Human rights violations have escalated in Asia during the COVID-19 pandemic. Indigenous Peoples are disproportionately affected, putting the structural inequalities and discrimination that Indigenous Peoples face into sharper focus as they are met by multiple threats simultaneously. 

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Press-release: World on path to 3-degree temperature rise – Indigenous Peoples are on the frontline

Written on 11 December 2020.

Press release 

11 December 2020

• The UNEP Global Emissions Report 2020, published on 9 December, shows that despite the global COVID-19 pandemic, humanity is on pace to suffer a minimum 3-degree temperature rise by the end of the century
• International Work Group for Indigenous Affairs (IWGIA) expresses deep concern. Such a rise will be devastating for all humanity, but standing at the forefront of this coming devastation are Indigenous Peoples
• Indigenous Peoples are stewards of nature and have been ringing the alarm of climate change for decades. They need to be listened to in global climate action.

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Fear of Indigenous constituents in Chile

Written on 22 December 2020.

The protests in Chile left in evidence that its political-economic system, which for years was considered the successful model to follow, but excludes most of the population, mainly indigenous people. Photo:Leandro Crovetto.

The political caste and economic power have focused their attention on avoiding the presence of Indigenous representatives in the process of Chile's new political constitution. The reason for their opposition is simple: the participation of 24 indigenous people would mean too much power and the Indigenous would be able to influence decision-making. However today, after centuries of exclusion, the time has come for Chile's native peoples to decide.

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From fighting for their land to fighting for their freedom: Mapuche political prison as a counterinsurgency mechanism

Written on 11 December 2020.

Movilización en Angol en apoyo a los presos políticos Mapuche en huelga de hambre durante julio de 2019. Foto: Julio Parra.

Mapuche political prisoners use their own bodies and resort to a solid and liquid food hunger strike as resistance tools against the Chilean state, police repression and the harassment by landowners and multinational corporations. Treated as “terrorists” and branded as the “internal enemy” by the holders of economic power, the strikers give away their newen (strength) while trying to obtain freedom for their people.

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