The Mapuche of Chile are one of South America’s most prominent indigenous peoples, not only in terms of their numbers, which fluctuate around the one million mark, but also because of their long anti-colonial and post-colonial struggle and, more recently, because of their resistance to the neoliberal policies imposed by the Pinochet dictatorship and implemented by democratic governments sin...

This issue of Indigenous Affairs focuses on the situation of the millions of indigenous peoples who are nomadic pastoralists. Nomadic pastoralists have unique cultures and make unique and produc-tive use of harsh environments. Nomadic pastoral-ists the world over are, however, the subject of an unusually large number of myths and misconcep-tions that have led to inadequate, often hostile de-v...

On the Botswana High Court made a historical ruling on the rights of the San/Bushmen people to live in the Central Kalahari Game Reserve. Since the founding of the Bushman organisation, the First Peoples of the Kalahari, in the early 1990s the Bushmen have defended this right and in the end they brought the legality of the eviction from the Game Reserve to the Court. The recent ruling by the High ...

Gabon covers an area of approximately 26.7 million hectares and maintains some of the largest remaining rainforest in West Africa. Although the actual extent of forest cover is unknown, experts estimate between 17-22 million hectares, or 85% of the total land mass (Christy et al 2003). Indigenous hunter-gatherer communities (known variously as the Baka, Bakoya, Bagama, Babongo, Akoa, etc.) are loc...

The Mau forest complex measures approximately 400,000 hectares. It is the largest block of forest cover in Kenya. Located in the central parts of the Rift Valley province, Mau is a key water catchment area and the source of 14 out of 15 major rivers found in the western side of the larger Rift Valley, which runs almost across Africa. The forest feeds 5 major lakes, three of which are cross-boundar...

In 1999, the Tl’azt’en Nation, a First Nation in central British Columbia in Canada, and the University of Northern British Columbia (UNBC) together founded the John Prince Research Forest (JPRF). The Tl’azt’en Nation numbers approximately 1,500 persons, about half of whom live in four villages within the group’s traditional territory. They speak an Athapaskan-family language, Dakelh (al...

Until 1997, Indonesia’s forestry policy was highly centralized and all logging permits were issued in the national capital, very often to people well connected to the government. During this period (1980s-1999) the estimated rate of deforestation was 1.6 million hectares annually. After the downfall of President Soeharto, a whole range of political reforms occurred in a very short time, includin...

In December 2010, after years of negotiations, an agreement on REDD was finally reached at the 16th Conference of Parties (COP 16) of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change in Cancun, Mexico. The agreement includes references to indigenous peoples and their rights, and in paragraph 72 of the agreement, country Parties are requested to ensure “the full and effective participati...

La Commission africaine des droits de l’homme et des peuples a établi un Groupe de travail sur les populations/communautés autochtones qui a effectué une mission en République du Rwanda en décembre 2008, et ceci est le rapport de la visite. Le rapport donne un aperçu des réunions tenues avec les autorités gouvernementales, les organisations de la société civile, les communautés autoch...

The African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights' Working Group on Indigenous Populations/Communities undertook a visit to the Republic of Rwanda in December 2008. The country visit was designed to update the Working Group on the human rights situation of the Batwa population of Rwanda. It also sought to identify the challenges faced by the community and by the government and other stakeholde...

The Annual Report 2009 is a status report that describes the activities of IWGIA in 2009. You can order a copy through: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. document.getElementById('cloakd1575ba5e49cb7a6318c113265536952').innerHTML = ''; var prefix = 'ma' + 'il' + 'to'; var path = 'hr' + 'ef' + '='; var addyd157...

La Déclaration des Nations Unies sur les droits des peuples autochtones (Déclaration) marque une étape importante dans la lutte des peuples autochtones dans le monde entier, incluant en Afrique. La Déclaration est l’instrument international des droits de l’homme le plus complet abordant la question des droits des peuples autochtones. Lors de sa 41ième session ordinaire tenue en mai 2001 ...

The United Nations Declaration on the rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP) constitutes a landmark in the struggle of indigenous peoples worldwide, including Africa. It is the most comprehensive international human rights instrument to explicitly address the rights of indigenous peoples. At its 41st Ordinary Session held in May 2001, In Accra, Ghana, the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ ...

As in many other parts of the world, the indigenous peoples of Africa are increasingly being dispossessed of their ancestral lands. It started during colonial times where many of them lost their land to European settlers. It continues today where conservation interests, commercial plantations, mineral exploitations, and other economic activities are leading to encroachments, expropriations and for...

The African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights' Working Group on Indigenous Populations/Communities undertook a research and information visit to the Republic of Gabon in September 2007. This report gives an account of meetings held with government authorities, civil society organizations, indigenous communities and other stakeholders, it describes the situation of the indigenous population...

This yearbook contains a comprehensive update on the current situation of indigenous peoples and their human rights and provides an overview of the most important developments in international and regional processes during 2009. 72 indigenous and non-indigenous scholars and activists provide their insight and knowledge to the book with: - Region and country reports covering most of the indigenous ...

This issue of Indigenous Affairs focuses on the situation of the millions of indigenous peoples who are nomadic pastoralists. Nomadic pastoralists have unique cultures and make unique and productive use of harsh environments. Nomadic pastoralists the world over are, however, the subject of an unusually large number of myths and misconceptions that have led to inadequate, often hostile development ...

La Commission africaine des droits de l’homme et des peuples a établi un Groupe de travail sur les populations/communautés autochtones qui a effectué une visite de recherche et d’information en République du Gabon en septembre 2007, et ceci est le rapport de la visite. Le rapport donne un aperçu des réunions tenues avec les autorités gouvernementales, les organisations de la société c...

L’avvincente e sofferta Lotta di resistenza dei Mapuche, indigeni sudamericani oggetto di una politica segregazionista e repressiva da parte dei governi cileni e argentini. II ‘popolo della terra” traduzione letterale di Mapuche) è stato deportato in riserve, ridotto alta fame e alla marginalitá sociale dalle logiche statali e dall’aviditá dei proprietari terrieri e delle multinazionali...

Red Spotted Ox is the fascinating autobiography of an East African pastoralist, as told to Pat Robbins in the early 1970s. Domonguria lived near the Kenya - Uganda border during a time of rapid cultural change. In this book, he describes Pokot traditions and history, while also recounting his fights with lions and enemies, initiation rites, raids, scandals, romances, sorcery and celebrations. Thr...

The African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights has established a Working Group on Indigenous Populations / Communities that undertook a research and information visit to Libya in August 2005. The report of the mission was adopted by the African Commission on Human and People's Rights at its 40th Ordinary Session, 15-29 November, 2006. The report gives an account of the meetings held with go...

Making the Declaration Work tells the inside story of making the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples detailing its history, negotiations, and content and reflects about its broader significance and the future challenges of making it work. Contributions come from around the world ranging from indigenous activists to members of the Human Rights Council and its various working groups a...

La Commission africaine des droits de l’homme et des peuples a pris note de ce rapport lors de sa 40ème session ordinaire, 15-29 novembre 2006. La Commission africaine des droits de l’homme et des peuples a établi un Groupe de travail sur les populations/communautés autochtones qui a effectué une visite de recherche et d’information en Libye en août 2005, et ceci est le rapport de la v...

IWGIA was one of the very first organisations to be established in support of indigenous peoples. It was founded in 1968 by anthropologists concerned at the atrocities being committed against Indians in South America. Within a few years, a small group of dedicated scholars working on a voluntary basis had managed to establish a documentation centre that became well-known to concerned people the wo...

The visit was designed to update the Working Group on the human rights situation of the Batwa Pygmies of Western Uganda as well as that of the pastoralists in the north and north-eastern parts of the country. It also sought to identify the challenges faced by these communities and by the government and other stakeholders in addressing the human rights situations of indigenous communities. The repo...

The African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights has established a Working Group on Indigenous Populations/Communities that undertook a research and information visit to the Central African Republic in January 2007. The report was adopted by the African Commission on Human and People's Rights at its 43rd Ordinary Session, 7-22 May 2008. The report gives an account of meetings held with govern...