The success of the Post-2015 sustainable development goals (SDGs) will depend on the adoption of indicators that allow measuring progress towards targets and provide helpful information to policymakers. In preparation for the March 3-6, 2015 discussions at the UN in New York, the UN Statistical Commission compiled recommendations from the UN system. We applaud the inclusion of land rights indic...

Indigenous peoples play a crucial role in defending and protecting their forest land rights. The passing of the Scheduled Tribes and Other Traditional Forest Dwellers(Recognition of Forest Rights) Act of 2006 is a positive step towards the recognition of indigenous forest dwellers’ land rights and their role in forest protection. In line with the new legislation, IWGIA has developed a community-...

In early 2015, Maasai and Datoga citizens living in the Morogoro region of Tanzania were victims of deadly, ethnic violence. According to reports from local media, the assaults were instigated by public figures interested in acquiring land, and state authorities have not intervened to protect Maasai citizens. Police protection has instead been given to others who are illegally cultivating official...

The book addresses cases from each of these continents, examining the experiences of indigenous peoples with access to remedy when their human rights are affected by corporate activities. By drawing from these experiences it seeks to inform the actions of corporate and State actors in relation their business and human rights obligation to ensure that indigenous peoples have access to effective rem...

The present study aims to assess the poverty levels of the various indigenous groups in Nepal. It was developed to address the lack of existing disaggregated data and statistics on the socio-economic status of Nepal’s many indigenous groups. By presenting data on a broad set of socio-economic indicators for the many indigenous groups in Nepal and comparing this with data on other major caste and...

This diverse collection of essays and articles emerged from a workshop held in Oslo in March 2012, hosted by the Norwegian Center for Human Rights and the University of Oslo. The purpose of the workshop was to gather memories of how the international community had decided to examine the situation of Indigenous peoples, to explore, explain and celebrate their pioneering work within the United Natio...

This technical briefing authored by a number of international organizations working on food security, natural resources management and poverty eradication and endorsed by many local civil society organisations around the world strongly encourage governments to keep the profile of land and natural resources high in the document on sustainable development goals to be endorsed in September 2015. ...

This handbook provides comprehensive step-by-step instructions on how to document human rights violations, particularly indigenous peoples’ collective rights, and use the data gathered for advocacy.

Indigenous peoples perspectives and recommendations to the subsidiary body for scientific and technological advice (SBSTA). AIPP Submission on Methodological Issues Related to Non-Carbon Benefits Resulting from the Implementation of REDD+ Activities. March 26, 2014

AIPP Submission to the Subsidiary Body for Scientific and Technological Advice (SBSTA) on Safeguards Information System.

This book includes 20 case studies of World Heritage sites from around the world and relevant background articles. The case studies explore and document, from a human rights perspective, indigenous peoples’ experiences with World Heritage sites and with the processes of the World Heritage Convention. They also identify recurring concerns and systemic shortcomings in the implementation of the Con...

Women – both indigenous and non-indigenous – have actively engaged in international and national REDD+ processes to raise their concerns regarding the potential negative impact of REDD+ on women, and to assert their right to equally participate in negotiations, planning and implementation of REDD+. Indigenous women share many of the basic concerns and needs with their non-indigenous sister...

In this research report anthropologist Steeve Daviau examines how well the international aid community in Lao has done in ensuring that their workplaces are diverse and representative of the many ethnic groups in the country. The overall goal of the research is to assist aid organizations in Laos to critically assess and improve their stated values, attitudes and actual progress in becoming inc...

This report examines the human rights situation of the 41 indigenous peoples living in the Northern and Asian territories of the Russian Federation. While their historical homelands account for two-thirds of the territory of contemporary Russia, these people number a little over 250,000 individuals in total. This is the equivalent of a medium-sized city stretched out over the better part of th...

This briefing note presents the findings of seven case studies conducted from May to June 2014. The studies were conducted in Bangladesh, Cambodia, India, Indonesia, Laos, Nepal and Thailand and looked into the livelihood and food security among indigenous shifting cultivation communities in South and Southeast Asia. The briefing note provides a summary of the main findings of the case studies and...

Indigenous peoples constitute 5 % of the world’s population but 15 % of the world’s poor. They make up around 1/3 of the world’s extremely poor rural population. Many lack access to, control over and suffer pollution of their water resources, severely damaging their health, livelihood and cultural survival. The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) offer a unique opportunity to address th...

The universal Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the post-2015 development agenda are crucial for indigenous peoples as they will determine the direction of global sustainability and development efforts over the coming decade. Indigenous peoples make up more than 370 million people worldwide and 15% of the world’s poorest individuals. They represent more than 5,000 distinct ethnic grou...

Many of the areas of highest biological diversity on the planet are inhabited by indigenous peo¬ples. The current and accelerating climatic and environmental changes threaten indigenous peo¬ples’ basis for existence around the world. The post-2015 development agenda offers a unique opportunity to address indigenous peoples’ key concerns and possible solutions for environmental sustainabi...

: Recommendations for the Full Respect of their Human Rights Prepared by the Rapporteurship on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples of the Inter-America Commission on Human Rights The western hemisphere is home to the largest number of indigenous peoples living in voluntary isolation and initial contact in the world. They are the last peoples who were not colonized and who do not have permanen...

IWGIA's Annual Report presents the results of IWGIA's activities in 2013 and highlights examples of projects and processes implemented or supported by IWGIA throughout the year

This report is the result of a monitoring visit to assess IWGIA’s support to promoting and defending indigenous peoples’ rights in the new constitution and beyond. Indigenous peoples in Nepal, known as adivasi janajati, have for centuries experienced systematic discrimination and marginalisation both socially, culturally, politically and economically. The chance to right the historical wron...

In June 2011, the UN Human Rights Council unanimously endorsed the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights (UNGP). These principles form the first globally-agreed framework for preventing and addressing adverse human rights impacts linked to business activities. While the UNGP do not introduce new human rights obligations, they do specify how human rights standards and state obligations...

This case study from Peru illustrates the importance of Non-Carbon Benefits (NCBs) to REDD+, and particularly the effects of land demarcation and titling of indigenous communities, its impact on governance and democracy, on social structures and livelihoods, and on environment and forest cover. The case shows that NCBs are both land tenure rights as well as subsistence and coffee production, illus...

There is increasing and widespread recognition that, in order to make greenhouse gas emissions reductions/removals possible and enduring in the forest sector, REDD+ must broaden its scope from a highly carbon-focused to a more holistic approach. Hence, initiatives to achieve Non-Carbon Benefits (NCBs), in association with a robust safeguards regime, are as important as carbon-related measures and ...

This discussion paper traces the evolution of the concept of indigenous peoples in the UN system and aims at giving a better understanding of why the concept of indigenous peoples is relevant in an Asian context. Due to the lack of a definition of ‘indigenous peoples’ and the fact that the concept is often interpreted into a context of Western settler colonialism the concept remains contes...

This report examines selected cases of violence against women and girls in the Chittagong Hill Tracts (CHT) in 2011 and 2012. It also discusses relevant legal contexts and, based on four key principles, provides recommendations to the government and civil society to address violence against women and girls in the region. The report emphasises that militarisation and transmigration programs ille...