IWGIA is following the situation of indigenous peoples and their rights. Get the latest updates, alerts, stories and up-to-date facts here. Click here for more news.
We are deeply concerned about the ongoing attacks on Indigenous Jummo people in the Chittagong Hill Tracts (CHT) since September 19, 2024. The unrest began following the alleged mob killing of a Bengali settler on September 18. Without any proper investigation, Bengali settler organizations unjustly placed the blame on the Jummo community, despite the Officer-in-Charge of Khagrachari Police station confirming a different narrative[1]. Using this as a pretext, Bengali settlers launched violent attacks on Jummo individuals in Dighinala Upazila, Khagrachari, and set their properties ablaze on the evening of September 19[2].
IWGIA is deeply concerned about the ongoing violent attacks on the Indigenous Jummo peoples in Dighinala Upazila, Khagrachari district, Bangladesh. According to local sources, several people have been injured, and numerous homes and businesses belonging to the Jummo community have been burned to ashes by Bengali settlers on the evening of 19 September 2024. IWGIA has also received photographic evidence showing Bengali settlers looting and setting fire to Jummo properties, with military personnel present, but failing to intervene.
Only five months after taking office, the new anarcho-capitalist government attempted to repeal the Land Law through a decree, announced the dissolution of the National Institute of Indigenous Affairs (INAI) and changed the name of the Indigenous Peoples Hall of the Government House. The main threat in this context is that Javier Milei presents himself as an ally of extractivism and promises to promote the extraction of minerals found in Indigenous people's territories. Although the future of the new government is uncertain, we can infer a deepening of territorial conflicts and the lack of protection of Indigenous people's rights.
Residents of the parish of Chicomuselo in the Diocese of San Cristóbal de las Casas, have been left to their own devices in the face of drug cartels vying for control of the territory. The exploitation of a barite mine has reignited conflict between the Sinaloa Cartel and the Jalisco New Generation Cartel, who are each fighting for control of the region. Inhabitants are used as human shields, and in some communities, their phones are confiscated and they are not permitted to leave. Despite being an emblematic example in the fight for land and nature, the residents of Chicomuselo have received no response from the president or his successor.
After recent weeks of unrest that began in July over protests seeking to abolish a civil service job quota system, leaving more than 757 dead[1], Bangladesh is in a process of rebuilding. Former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina resigned and fled the country to India and criminal cases against her and other minsters have already been filed to take responsibility over the deaths.
Meanwhile, the country is being led by an interim government with Nobel laureate Muhammed Yunus as its head.
For Indigenous Peoples in the country this could open an opportunity to secure more recognition and protection of their rights and to fully exercise their rights, which continued to be seriously violated during Hasina’s 15-year iron-fisted rule. They seek proper Constitutional acknowledgement and at least one legitimate seat at the table as a partner in the new process of state building.
IWGIA - International Work Group for Indigenous Affairs - is a global human rights organisation dedicated to promoting and defending Indigenous Peoples’ rights. Read more.
