17 January 2025 Ι The CHT Commission strongly condemns the brutal and violent attack on Indigenous students and their supporters on January 15, 2025, in Dhaka1. Furthermore, when a group under the banner “Aggrieved Student-Masses” organized a march on
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1 January 2025 Ι The International CHT Commission is deeply alarmed and outraged by the recent arson attack on the Tripura community in Notun Tongjhiri Tripura Para of Sarai Union, Lama upazila, Bandarban district. According to media reports
Indigenous Peoples have endured centuries of violence, exploitation, and displacement - facing murder, enslavement and forced relocation, while their lands have been militarized and criminalized. Despite this, their rights are
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The compilation you have in your hands is the unique result of a collaborative effort between Indigenous and non-indigenous activists and scholars who voluntarily document and report on the situation of Indigenous Peoples’ rights. We thank them and celebrate the bonds and sense of community
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Left to right: IWGIA Climate Advisor, Stefan Thorsell; UCRT Executive Director, Paine Mako; Maasai Elder, Metui Ole Shaudo; and PINGO's Forum Climate Manager, Gideon Sanago
In the lead up to COP 29, and indeed throughout the conference in Baku,
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Across the world, Indigenous Peoples’ Human Rights Defenders (IPHRDs) face threats and reprisals for standing up for their rights, protesting violations, protecting their territories, communities, and the environment. In doing so they are far too often victims of violence, harassment, arbitrary
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We are deeply concerned about the ongoing violence and attacks on the Indigenous Peoples of the Chittagong Hill Tracts (CHT). Recent deadly attacks by Bengali settlers in the presence of state forces, in Khagrachari and Dighinala on 19 September, and in Rangamati on 20 September...
BY PABLO ORTÍZ-T. FOR DEBATES INDÍGENAS
In recent months, Daniel Noboa’s government has carried out two offensives that put human rights at risk.
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POR TORA JENSEN Y MIGUEL VARGAS DELGADO PARA DEBATES INDÍGENAS
Bolivia superó la superficie quemada registrada en 2019,
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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
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On 14 August, Indigenous Peoples and rights activists came to find out that the Tanzanian government decided to exclude people from 11 wards composed of 25 villages and 96 sub-villages in Ngorongoro from voter registration, effectively denying more than 100,000 Maasai from their guaranteed
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The Honourable Chief Adviser,
The Chittagong Hill Tracts Commission (hereinafter, the Commission)1 warmly welcomes you and your newly formed interim government as you embark on rebuilding a new Bangladesh. As your interim government undertakes significant reforms to the state
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26 June 2024 |Tŝilhqot’in Nation |Today marks 10 years since the historic declaration of Aboriginal Title to 1900 km² of Indigenous lands here in Canada. This watershed moment was the result of decades of work by the Tŝilhqot’in Nation and the bravery of our Elders who stood
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This submission by the International Work Group for Indigenous Affairs (IWGIA) covers major issues affecting the human rights of Indigenous Peoples in India and provides recommendations to the UN Human Rights Committee for its 141st Session (1-23 July 2024) to ensure the protection of
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The CHT Commission is deeply saddened and dismayed by the recent ruling issued by the Chief Judicial Magistrate Court, Rangamati on Tuesday, April 23, 2024, regarding the disappearance of indigenous rights activist Kalpana Chakma. Under the supervision of Rangamati Senior Judicial Magistrate
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Dear Brothers and Sisters,
The International Work Group for Indigenous Affairs (IWGIA) extends our warmest greetings of solidarity to all the participants of the 40th Peoples' Cordillera Day celebrations. Peoples' Cordillera Day is truly a remarkable event. It is a
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The International Chittagong Hill Tracts Commission (CHTC) is deeply concerned about the escalating tensions in Bandarban and their potential impact on regional peace in the Chittagong Hill Tracts (CHT). The Commission emphatically calls for the protection of civilians and urges immediate
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IWGIA is proud to launch the 38th edition ofThe Indigenous World on Tuesday 16 April at 13:15 (NYC
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The UN Special Rapporteur on the rights of Indigenous Peoples is one of the 60 “special procedures” of the UN Human Rights Council. The special procedures are independent human rights experts with mandates to report and advise on human rights from a thematic or country-specific perspective. The
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Indigenous Peoples have been engaging in relevant processes on sustainable development since the Earth Summit (Rio Conference) in 1992. The main advocacy agenda issues for Indigenous Peoples in these processes are the respect, protection and fulfilment of the rights of Indigenous Peoples as
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The Indigenous Navigator (IN) is an online portal providing access to a set of tools developed for and by Indigenous Peoples. By using the IN, Indigenous organizations and communities, duty bearers, NGOs and journalists can access free tools and resources based on updated community-generated
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The Indigenous Peoples’ Forum at the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) was established in 2011 as a permanent process of consultation and dialogue between representatives of Indigenous Peoples’ institutions and organizations, IFAD and governments. The global meeting of the
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The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) is a Specialized Agency of the UN that leads international efforts to defeat hunger and malnutrition. FAO was founded in 1945, and its primary goal is to achieve food security for all by making sure that people have regular access to enough
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The European Union (EU) is a political and economic union of 27 Member States. Its legislative and executive powers are divided between the main EU institutions: the European Parliament (co-legislative authority), the Council of the European Union (co-legislative and executive authority) and
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The strategy adopted by the Indigenous women's movement to confront the structural inequalities they face in all countries of the world has been to walk together, collectively influencing strategic spaces from the local to the global level, both socially and politically. Practically, this means
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With disability rates on the rise, the global Indigenous community is confronted with profound challenges. An estimated 54 million Indigenous individuals face disabilities, of whom 28 million are Indigenous women. Within the Asia Pacific region alone, 45 million Indigenous persons with
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The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) was established on 8 August 1967 with the signing of the ASEAN Declaration (Bangkok Declaration) by its founding fathers, five of the now 10 Member States: Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, and Thailand. The other five Member States
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The African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights (ACHPR) was established in accordance with Article 30 of the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights with a mandate to promote and protect human and peoples’ rights on the African continent. It was officially inaugurated on 2 November
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The Kingdom of Tahiti became a protectorate under the French colonial project in 1842. Mā'ohi Nui (French Polynesia) has been an Overseas Collectivity of the French Republic since 2004. It enjoys relative political autonomy within the French Republic through its own local institutions: the
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Papua New Guinea (PNG) is a country in Oceania that covers an area of 462,840 km2 and the eastern half of the Island of New Guinea and nearby islands. According to the National Statistics Office, it has a population of approximately 11.78 million across 22 provinces as of
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Māori, the Indigenous people of Aotearoa, represent 16.5% of the 5 million population. The gap between Māori and non-Māori is pervasive: Māori life expectancy is 7 to 7.4 years less than non-Māori; the median income for Māori is 71% that of Pākehā (New Zealand Europeans); 25.5% of Māori leave
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Indigenous Peoples are not recognized by the Russian legislation as such; however, Article 67 of the current constitution guarantees the rights of “Indigenous Small-Numbered Peoples”. The 1999 Federal Act “On Guarantees of the Rights of the Indigenous Small-Numbered Peoples of the Russian
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Of Venezuela’s total population of 27,227,930, some 724,592 are Indigenous (2.8%), belonging to 51 different peoples and mostly concentrated (85%) in Zulia state and the Amazon region.
In 1999, the constitutional process ensured that the fundamental rights of Indigenous Peoples and
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The Indigenous people of Suriname number approximately 20,344 people, or 3.8% of the total population of 541,638[1] (census 2012). The four most numerous Indigenous Peoples are the Kaliña (Carib), Lokono (Arawak), Trio (Tirio, Tareno) and Wayana. In
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According to the preliminary results of the National Population and Housing Census conducted in 2022, the Indigenous population comprises some 140,206 people who state that they belong to one of 19 Indigenous Peoples. This represents 2.29% of Paraguay’s total population....
Guatemala’s projected population was 17.6 million for 2023,[1] of which 43.75% belong to the Mayan (Achi', Akateco, Awakateco, Chalchiteco, Ch'orti', Chuj, Itza', Ixil, Jacalteco, Kaqchikel, K'iche', Mam, Mopan, Poqomam, Poqomchi', Q'anjob'al,
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According to the National Institute of Statistics and Census (INEC, February 2024), Ecuador's current population stands at 17,895,131 inhabitants. There are 14 Indigenous nationalities in the country, totalling 1,301,887 people, and they are organized into local, regional and national
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Colombia is home to some 115 Indigenous Peoples of diverse origins and linguistic and cultural traditions. They live spread throughout the whole country: on the Caribbean and Pacific coasts, in the Amazon, the Orinoco savannahs and the Andean region. In the latest 2018 national census, the
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According to data from the 2022 demographic census, Brazil is home to 266 Indigenous Peoples with a population of 1,693,535 people, or approximately 0.83% of the total Brazilian population. These peoples communicate in 275 different languages. The northern region of Brazil holds almost 45% of
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Argentina is a federal country made up of 23 provinces and an autonomous city (Buenos Aires, the capital), with a total population of 45,892,285 million people, according to the 2022 census data. This last census does not provide specific information on the number of people in the country who
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As a multi-ethnic country, Vietnam has 54 recognized ethnic groups, 53 of which are ethnic minorities. These groups comprise 14%[1] of the country’s total population of around 100 million.[2] Each ethnic
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The officially recognized Indigenous population of Taiwan numbers 589,038 people, or 2.51% of the total population.[1]
Sixteen distinct Indigenous Peoples are officially recognized: Amis (also Pangcah), Atayal (also Tayal), Bunun, Kavalan,
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There is no accurate information on the number of Indigenous Peoples in Myanmar, partly due to a lack of understanding in the country of the internationally-recognized concept of Indigenous Peoples. The government claims that all citizens of Myanmar are “Indigenous” (taing-yin-tha)
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Israel’s Arab Bedouin citizens are Indigenous to the Negev (Naqab, in Arabic) desert, where they have lived for centuries as a semi-nomadic people, long before the establishment of the State of Israel in 1948. Members of the Bedouin community are an integral part of the Arab Palestinian
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The two Indigenous Peoples of Japan, the Ainu and the Ryūkyūans (or Okinawans), live on the northernmost and southernmost islands of the country’s archipelago. The Ainu territory stretches from Sakhalin and the Kuril Islands (now both Russian territories) to the northern part of present-day
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In India, some 705 ethnic groups are listed as Scheduled Tribes. In central India, the Scheduled Tribes are usually referred to as Adivasis, which literally means original inhabitants, Indigenous Peoples.[i] With an estimated population
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The People’s Republic of China (PRC or China) officially proclaims itself to be a unified country with a diverse ethnic make-up and all nationalities equal in the Constitution. Besides the Han Chinese majority, the government recognizes 55 minority nationalities within its borders.
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Bangladesh is a country of cultural and ethnic diversity, with over 54 Indigenous Peoples speaking at least 35 languages, along with the majority Bengali population. According to the 2022 census, the country’s Indigenous population numbers approximately 1,650,478...
The Republic of Zimbabwe celebrated its 43rd year of Independence in 2023. While the Government of Zimbabwe does not recognize any specific groups as Indigenous to the country, two peoples self-identify as such: the Tshwa (Tjwa, Cua) San found in western Zimbabwe, and the Doma
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Indigenous Peoples in Uganda include former hunter-gatherer communities such as the Benet and the Batwa. They also include minority groups such as the Ik, the Karamojong and Basongora pastoralists, who are not recognized specifically as Indigenous Peoples by the government.
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As elsewhere in North Africa, the Indigenous population of Tunisia is formed of the Amazighs. There are no official statistics on their number in the country but Amazigh associations estimate there to be around 1 million Tamazight speakers, accounting for some 10% of the total population.
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Tanzania is estimated to have a total of 125 – 130 ethnic groups, falling mainly into the four categories of Bantu, Cushite, Nilo-Hamite and San. While there may be more ethnic groups that identify themselves as Indigenous Peoples, four groups have been organizing themselves and their struggles
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The Amazigh (Berber) peoples are the Indigenous Peoples of North Africa. The last census in Morocco (2016) estimated the number of Tamazight speakers at 28% of the population. However, Amazigh associations strongly contest this and instead claim a rate of 85%. This means that the
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The Amazighs form the Indigenous population of Libya and are estimated to number some one million people, or more than 16% of the country’s total population.
They live in various areas of Libya in the north, east and south of the country albeit without any geographical continuity. To
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The Republic of Namibia celebrated its 33rd year of independence in March 2023. The Indigenous Peoples of Namibia include the San, the Ovatue, Ovahimba and Ovatjimba and, potentially, a number of other peoples including the Ovazemba, Damara, Nama, and Topnaars. Taken together, the
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The peoples who identify with the Indigenous movement in Kenya are mainly pastoralists and hunter-gatherers, as well as some fisher peoples and small farming communities. Pastoralists are estimated to comprise 25% of the national population, while the largest individual community of
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The Indigenous Peoples of Ethiopia make up a significant proportion of the country’s estimated population of 120 million. Around 12% are pastoralists who live across the country, particularly in the Ethiopian lowlands, which constitute some 60% of the country’s total landmass. There are also
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Eritrea borders the southern Red Sea in the Horn of Africa. It emerged as an Italian colonial construct in the late 19th century, superimposed over Indigenous populations. Eritrea’s current population is between 4.4 and 5.9 million inhabitants....
The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) is inhabited by four major ethnic groups: the Bantu, the Nilotic, the Sudanese and the Pygmy. The concept of “Indigenous Pygmy people” is accepted and approved by the government and civil society organizations (CSOs) in the DRC and the term refers to the
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Among Cameroon’s more than 20 million inhabitants, some communities self-identify as Indigenous. These include the hunter/gatherers (Pygmies), the Mbororo pastoralists and the Kirdi.
The Constitution of the Republic of Cameroon uses the terms Indigenous and minorities in its preamble;
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Botswana is a country of 2,417,596 inhabitants, having celebrated its 57th year of independence in 2023. Its government does not recognize any specific ethnic groups as Indigenous, maintaining instead that all citizens of the country are Indigenous. However, 3.2% of the population
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The Amazighs are the Indigenous people of Algeria and other countries of North Africa. However, the Algerian government does not recognize the Indigenous status of the Amazighs and refuses to publish statistics on their population. Because of this, there is no official data on the number of
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Amazigh – eller imazighen i flertal – er det selvnavngivne demonym for de oprindelige folk bosat i en lang række nordafrikanske lande såsom Libyen, Niger, Algeriet og Marokko.
On 22 May 2023, Indigenous Peoples had a victory in the Lake Turkana Wind Project (LTWP) case when Kenyan Environment and Land Court in Meru declined the Review Application filed by the LTWP. Essentially, this means that the land titles in question are cancelled because the time extension
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Manipur is a state in the Northeastern part of India, which is rich in forests, minerals, rivers and other natural resources that have largely been untapped by corporate houses and the state due to its remoteness, underdeveloped infrastructure, strong resistance from the peoples’ movement and
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Declaration made during the Regional Seminar: A Shared Sea on the Rights to Self-Determination of Indigenous and Afrodescendant Peoples, held in November.
IWGIA has just learned that four Indigenous leaders were killed in Khagrachhari District in the Chittagong Hill Tracts (CHT) in Bangladesh on Monday 11 December. According to our sources, the leaders were allegedly killed by a masked vigilante group. A further three leaders were abducted and
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The International Chittagong Hill Tracts Commission (CHTC) expresses deep shock at the tragic news of the killing of four Jumma activists reportedly by vigilante groups with alleged support from security forces.
Despite the Ogiek obtaining interim court orders in both the Narok and Nakuru Law Courts, on 9 and 23 November respectively, for the Government of Kenya to stop its evictions of the Ogiek in the Mau Forest, authorities are continuing their illegal activities and increasing their violent
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It’s been one week since Kenyan authorities forcibly evicted more than 700 Ogiek children, women and men, including the elderly, from their homes and land in Sasimwani village, Narok County, and they are not stopping.
Beginning on 2 November, Kenya Forest Services and Kenya Wildlife
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IWGIA has just received news that authorities from Kenya Forest Services and Kenya Wildlife Service rangers are currently destroying and setting fire to dozens of homes in Sasimwani village, Narok County. 700 Ogiek women, children and men have now been forcibly evicted and made
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Local authorities have informed the Ogiek community residing in the Maasai Mau Forest in southwestern Kenya that eviction orders have been processed for those in the Sasinwani and Nkareta regions, the Ogiek Peoples’ Development Programme (OPDP) reported on 26 October.
The orders have
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This is a joint submission to the UPR working group of the Human Rights Council by the “Coalition of Indigenous Peoples Organizations on UPR”, formed in June 2012 by 30 Indigenous Peoples Organisations (IPOs) working on the human rights of Indigenous Peoples in Bangladesh.
Kan sociale bevægelser udfordre de globale magtmonopoler og skabe en mere ligeværdig verden med respekt for menneskerettigheder? Dette søgte Copenhagen People Power Conference at besvare den 28/9 2023. Den malaysiske aktivist for oprindelige folk,
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The International Chittagong Hill Tracts Commission (CHTC) expresses deep concern over the ongoing lawsuits against the Chittagong Hill Tracts Regulation, 1900, and calls for its defense. CHTC joins hands with civil society leaders in the CHT who have tirelessly advocated for the preservation
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I februar i år var FNs Specialrapportør for oprindelige folks rettigheder på officielt besøg i Danmark og Kalaallit Nunaat for at vurdere menneskerettighedssituationen for inuit i begge lande. Nu er rapporten færdig og er blevet gjort tilgængelig
The Anti-Terrorism Council (ATC) of the Philippines has arbitrarily designated Indigenous Peoples’ human rights defenders Windel Bolinget, Jennifer Awingan, Sarah Abellon-Alikes and Steve Tauli – all leaders of the Cordillera Peoples Alliance (CPA) – as “terrorist individuals” in
Over the past several decades, the Indigenous Afar people have been subjected to widespread discrimination, forced incarceration, disappearance and violence, and information from the notoriously closed country is sparce and sometimes unreliable. However, in 2023, some recent information on the
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Tourism is one of the biggest global industries today. In 2021, travel and tourism direct contribution to GDP worldwide was approximately 5.8 billion US dollars. Promoted by most countries in the world, tourism is perceived as
a direct source of foreign currency and generator of
The purpose of this report is to produce data and insights about the way in which Brazil is applying the international rules included in the International Labour Organization Indigenous and Tribal PeoplesConvention, 1989 (No. 169); United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples,
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Folkemødet på Bornholm nærmer sig og også i år er IWGIA repræsenteret ved en række arrangementer. Tilmed har vi i år udvidet folkemødeholdet betydeligt. Vi har nemlig fået et nyt hold frivillige, som har arrangeret ikke mindre end fire events. Herudover deltager vi i fire andre events.
The sunbeams piercing through banana leaves fall upon Bankariya huts in Musedhap, Makawanpur. As the morning comes to life, the community starts its daily routine. Amid the disorderly clucking and snorting, Kamala Bankariya is seated in the front yard — peeling strands from a stack of khareto
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02.06.2023 (EUROPE) -- A Maasai delegation concluded a two-week tour in Europe, where they engaged with government and European Union (EU) representatives, faith-based and civil society groups across Germany, Austria, Italy and Belgium. The delegation aimed to secure international support
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Indigenous Peoples have a deep connection with aquatic ecosystems and resources. For fishing-dependent indigenous communities, fishing is not just an occupation and fish is not just a commodity. Fisheries are the basis for – and an integral element of - their cultures, spiritual beliefs,
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The first Special Rapporteur on Environmental Defenders under the Aarhus Convention, Michel Forst, visited Denmark from 8-10 May as part of his European information tour explaining the new mandate. He met with various Danish government officials and civil society organisations, including
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The International Work Group for Indigenous Affairs (IWGIA) and Asia Indigenous Peoples’ Pact (AIPP) are deeply concerned about the violent response to peaceful protests by the Indigenous Peoples Movement in Nepal causing at least 45 people injured and 1 life claimed in the clashes.
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The International Chittagong Hill Tracts Commission (CHTC) is deeply concerned about the ongoing unrest in Bandarban and demands that civilians are protected. According to media reports1, on 8 May 2023, 3 Bawm men were allegedly killed at Paingkhong Para of Rwangchari Upazila by the
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22.05.2023, A high-profile delegation of Maasai representatives starts a tour in several European countries this May, seeking international support to halt the ongoing forced evictions and human rights abuses against the Maasai people in Tanzania.
The compilation you have in your hands is the unique result of a collaborative effort between Indigenous and non-indigenous activists and scholars who voluntarily document and report on the situation of Indigenous Peoples’ rights. We thank them and celebrate the bonds and sense of community
...
The Indigenous World is the unique result of a collaborative effort between
Press Statement
12 April 2023
The International Chittagong Hill Tracts Commission is shocked at the death of eight indigenous Bawm men and expresses deep concern at continued human rights violations in the CHT
The number of Indigenous people in the United States of America is estimated at between 3.1 and 8.7 million,1 of which around 20% live in American Indian areas or Alaska Native villages.
Indigenous Peoples in the United States are more commonly referred to
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Indigenous Peoples in Canada are collectively referred to as “Aboriginal Peoples”. The Constitution Act of 1982 recognizes three groups of Aboriginal Peoples: Indians, Inuit and Métis. According to the 2021 Canadian Census, there were 1.8 million Indigenous people in Canada, accounting for 5%
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This year’s edition of The Indigenous World takes a closer look at Indigenous Peoples’ rights in conservation efforts. In times of a global climate and biodiversity crisis, focusing on the protection of nature is crucial and, increasingly, studies show that Indigenous Peoples are among
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Israel’s Arab Bedouin citizens are indigenous to the Negev (Naqab, in Arabic) desert, where they have lived for centuries as a semi-nomadic people, long before the establishment of the State of Israel in 1948. Members of the Bedouin community are an integral part of the Arab Palestinian
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Following Israel’s declaration of independence in 1948, the Jahalin Bedouin, together with four other tribes from the Negev Desert (al-Kaabneh, al-Azazmeh, al-Ramadin and al-Rshaida), took refuge in the West Bank, then under Jordanian rule. These tribes are traditionally semi-nomadic
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As of 30 June 2021, there were 984,000 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, representing 3.8% of the total Australian population.[1] The most recent available data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics indicates that, among Indigenous
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The Kingdom of Tahiti became a protectorate under the French colonial project in 1842 and French Polynesia has been an Overseas Collectivity since 2004. It enjoys relative political autonomy within the French Republic through its own local institutions: the Government and Assembly of French
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The African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights (ACHPR) was established in accordance with Article 30 of the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights, with a mandate to promote and protect human and peoples’ rights on the continent. It was officially inaugurated on 2 November 1987 and
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El Grupo Internacional de Trabajo sobre Asuntos Indígenas (IWGIA) es una organización global de derechos humanos dedicada a promover y defender los derechos de los pueblos indígenas. Conócenos
Por consultas de prensa, haga clic aquí
Nuestro anuario, El Mundo Indígena, ofrece un informe actualizado de la situación de los pueblos indígenas en todo el mundo. Descargar El Mundo Indígena
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