June Climate Meetings in Bonn provide important opportunity for Indigenous Peoples

Written on 01 June 2026.

In partnership with the Indigenous Peoples’ constituency, IWGIA will participate and engage in advocacy at the UNFCCC June Climate Meetings (SB 64) in Bonn, Germany, 8-18 June 2026.

SB 64 constitutes an important opportunity for Indigenous Peoples to build on the momentum from last year's UNFCCC COP 30 in Belém, Brazil. For Indigenous Peoples, the most significant advancement of COP 30 was contained in the Just Transition Work Programme decision.

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Cultural Barriers in Indigenous Pastoralist Women and Girls’ Access to Justice in Tanzania

Written on 21 May 2026.

By Maanda Ngoitiko Sinyati for Indigenous Debates

Male-dominated decision-making structures and traditional governance systems reinforce gender hierarchies in disputes over land, inheritance, and marriage. For pastoralist women, justice entails being respected, heard, and recognized, regardless of gender, ethnicity, or literacy. It also means protection from violence, secure access to land and livestock, and meaningful participation in decision-making processes that shape community life. The gap between international commitments and lived realities remains profound.

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Access to Justice for Indigenous Women and Girls in Northeast India

Written on 21 May 2026.

By Samir Talati for Indigenous Debates

In Northeast India, Indigenous women and girls encounter multiple and intersecting barriers to justice arising from historical marginalisation, dispossession of land and resources, and power relations. While constitutional safeguards and protective legislation exist formally, the lived reality of Indigenous women reveals a profound contradiction between legal equality and social inequality. This contradiction is particularly stark where customary laws govern everyday life but are subordinated to a formal legal system rooted in colonialism, private property and state intervention. The question of access to justice for women must therefore be framed in close relation to identity, Indigeneity, and sustenance.

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Statement by the UN Special Rapporteur on the rights of Indigenous Peoples

Written on 18 May 2026.

In the context of the 25th session of the United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues, the current Special Rapporteur, Albert Barume, warned of failures to comply with international standards and urged States to recognise Indigenous self-determination. Dr Albert K. Barume also reaffirmed the need to strengthen multilateralism and the sustained advocacy of Indigenous Peoples: “Rights are never granted on a silver platter; they are secured through the efforts of defenders and victims who stand up to violations”.

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