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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IWGIA is proud to have launched The Indigenous World2024 on 16 April at the 23rd session of the United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues in New York. Kathrin Wessendorf, IWGIA Executive Director, started the event by warmly thanking the contributors of the book,
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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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IWGIA is proud to launch the 38th edition ofThe Indigenous World on Tuesday 16 April at 13:15 (NYC
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La población total de Gabón se estima en 2.397.368 habitantes y el porcentaje de pueblos indígenas se supone inferior al 1 %, es decir, entre 18.000 y 20.000 personas[1]. Estas cifras estimadas se concretarán con más precisión cuando se publique el
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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 Green Climate Fund (GCF) is the world’s largest climate fund, mandated to support developing countries achieve their Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) and to raise ambition towards low-emission climate-resilient pathways.[1] The GCF was
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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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The UN Human Rights Council established the Forum on Business and Human Rights[1] in 2011 to serve as a global platform to “discuss trends and challenges in the implementation of the Guiding Principles and promote dialogue and cooperation on issues
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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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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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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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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
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In Canada, the contemporary Indigenous rights and governance framework varies across the country. The Constitution Act of 1982, as well as the Charter of Rights and Freedoms, explicitly recognize Aboriginal and Treaty rights and three groups of Aboriginal Peoples (commonly referred to
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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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Kalaallit Nunaat (Greenland) has been a self-governing country since 1979 within the Kingdom of Denmark (or Danish Realm), which consists of Denmark, the Faroe Islands and Kalaallit Nunaat. The country is a 2 million km2 island in the Arctic whose population is 88.9% Greenlandic
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Sápmi is the Sámi people’s own name for their traditional territory. The Sámi people are the Indigenous people of the northern part of the Scandinavian Peninsula and large parts of the Kola Peninsula and they live in Sweden, Norway, Finland, and Russia. Traditionally, livelihoods such as
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From 22 to 25 November 1973, 40 delegates representing 21 organizations of Indigenous Peoples from Arctic Canada, Greenland, Finland, Norway, and Sweden gathered in Copenhagen for the first Arctic Peoples’ Conference.
This groundbreaking and successful conference “demonstrated mutual
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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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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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Cambodia is home to 22 different Indigenous Peoples speaking at least 19 Indigenous languages.[i],[ii] With an estimated population of 170,000-400,000, they constitute approx. 1.1% of the
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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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South Africa’s total population is around 59 million, of which Indigenous groups are estimated to comprise approximately 1%. Collectively, the various African Indigenous communities in South Africa are known as Khoe-San (also spelled Khoi-San, Khoesan, Khoisan), comprising the San and the
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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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Gabon's total population is estimated at 2,397,368. The percentage of Indigenous Peoples in Gabon is thought to be less than 1% of the national population, or between 18,000 and 20,000 people.[i] This estimate will become clearer when the final
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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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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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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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This year’s edition of The Indigenous World takes a closer look at Indigenous Peoples’ right to lands, territories and resources.
The UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP), adopted in 2007, devotes several of its articles to land rights – especially
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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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On 28 October 2021, the Sabah State Government signed the Nature Conservation Agreement (NCA) with the shell company Hoch Standard Pte Ltd (HSPL)[i]. The NCA was signed in secrecy and the Sabahans did not know of it until the news service Mongabay
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On 29 November, four Maasai Indigenous communities in Loliondo, Tanzania celebrated a rare win on their long road to justice as the Appellate Division of the East African Court of Justice (EACJ) upheld their appeal of a September 2022 case.
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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October 14, 2023
In a powerful display of determination and solidarity, hundreds of Sámi activists, alongside environmental advocates, have converged in Oslo to demand the immediate removal of wind turbines from the Fosen region. The
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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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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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Hundreds of Ogiek celebrated the 6th anniversary of winning a ground-breaking court case at the African Court for Human and Peoples Rights (ACHPR) which ruled in favour of the Ogiek, who were acknowledged as Indigenous and won both compensation from the government of Kenya and
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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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The global activism of Indigenous Peoples and afrodescentents has been pushing for and bringing to public attention the right for self-determination, autonomy, and self-government. This has led to important progress in international law; however, these achievements and their implementation are
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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
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The Indigenous World is the unique result of a collaborative effort between
Tourism projects are often designed and implemented without respect for the rights of Indigenous Peoples, including the right to self-determination; lands, territories and resources; free prior and informed consent; as well as economic, social and cultural rights. Furthermore, the travel
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Stop the construction of Tamakoshi-Kathmandu 220/400 kV Transmission Line Project in Shankharapur-3, Kathmandu
We, the undersigned organizations and individuals, strongly condemn the ongoing repression by Nepal’s police and armed police forces on the Indigenous
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The Indigenous Tamang community in Nepal has been engaged in a protracted struggle against a power transmission line and power station that is being forced onto their land without their Free, Prior and Informed Consent (FPIC). The protest started three years ago and has now
The right to Free, Prior and Informed Consent (FPIC) is a fundamental right for Indigenous Peoples worldwide. However, there are serious global challenges in its implementation, including across the African continent.
On 2 December 1997, the Chittagong Hill Tracts (CHT) Peace Accord was signed, giving hope for lasting peace and development for the Indigenous Peoples of the CHT. However, today, as we mark the 25th anniversary of the peace accord, Indigenous Peoples in the CHT in Bangladesh have
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Last Sunday, with a narrow margin of less than two points, Luiz Inácio "Lula" da Silva beat Jair Bolsonaro and was elected president of Brazil. Bolsonaro leaves office with a dark legacy concerning his policies that have negatively affected, among others, the indigenous issue.
According to reliable information received by IWGIA, all village executive officers of the villages affected by government eviction orders were summoned on 24 June to the District Executive Director’s office, where they were instructed to tell the residents of their villages to move out within
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On 23 June 2022, the African Court on Human and Peoples’ Rights delivered a pioneering reparation judgment concerning the rights of the Ogiek Peoples
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BY RICARDO VERDUM FOR DEBATES INDÍGENAS
The National Indian Foundation is an active agent of a political strategy to expose peoples in voluntary isolation to
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According to reliable information received by IWGIA, the Tanzanian state is currently moving ahead to grab 1,500 km2 of ancestral and legally registered village land belonging to the Maasai Indigenous people in the Loliondo division of Ngorongoro District in northern Tanzania.
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BY JOSÉ CARLOS SOLÓN FOR DEBATES INDÍGENAS
Over the past 10 years, society has had little to no control over the exploitation of
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The Indigenous World 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. For 36 consecutive years IWGIA has published The Indigenous World in
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Submission to the UN Special Rapporteur on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples for his report to the 77th Session of the UN General Assembly:
Indigenous Peoples’ Rights and UNESCO World Heritage Sites
Jointly submitted by:
International Work
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As an instrument for the conservation and protection of natural and cultural heritage sites, which affords sites recognized as “World Heritage sites” an additional level of protection beyond domestic laws and regulations, the World Heritage Convention (“the Convention”) can play, and in some
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The Maasai indigenous pastoralists of the Ngorongoro Conservation Area (NCA) and Ngorongoro District in Northern Tanzania are currently under severe threat of forced eviction. According to reliable information received by IWGIA, the situation is very serious and there is panic among the people
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The Maasai indigenous pastoralists of the Ngorongoro Conservation Area (NCA) and Ngorongoro District in Northern Tanzania are currently under severe threat of forced eviction. According to reliable information received by IWGIA, the situation is very serious and there is panic among the people
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According to reliable information received by Indigenous Peoples Rights International (IPRI) and the International Work Group for Indigenous Affairs (IWGIA), the Government of the United Republic of Tanzania is currently planning the eviction of the Maasai Indigenous people from a 1,500
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According to reliable information received by Indigenous Peoples Rights International (IPRI) and the International Work Group for Indigenous Affairs (IWGIA), the Government of the United Republic of Tanzania is currently planning the eviction of the Maasai Indigenous people from a 1,500
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The hills around Chimbuk are steep. They are part of the ancestral lands that stretch across the Chittagong Hill Tracts (CHT) in Bangladesh, which are, and have been, home to the Indigenous Mro community for centuries. But
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Asia Indigenous Peoples Pact (AIPP) and The International Work Group for Indigenous Affairs (IWGIA), unequivocally condemn the blatant disregard for the human rights of Indigenous Peoples in Nagaland in the recent extrajudicial killings of
BY CARLOS SALAMANCA VILLAMIZAR FOR DEBATES INDÍGENAS.
Marked by trade since colonial times, the Indigenous people of La Guajira live along the
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BY KAREN GIL FOR DEBATES INDÍGENAS.
Over the last few years, mining activities in the Kaka River have intensified and the use of mercury to
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Indigenous women and girls frequently experience violence in Bangladesh.
BY ANTI-DISCRIMINATION CENTRE MEMORIAL (ADC) FOR DEBATES INDÍGENAS
In addition to
BY MARÍA DE LOURDES ALCANTARA FOR DEBATES INDÍGENAS
Encroachment onto Indigenous Lands has increased under Jair Bolsonaro’s government and
BY JAIME CORISEPA NERI FOR DEBATES INDÍGENAS.
By IMMACULATA CASIMERO, TONY JAMES AND JUDY WINTER FOR DEBATES INDÍGENAS
In the name of development gold mining is destroying our environment, affecting
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In a historic judgment by the Kenyan Environment and Land Court in Meru the title deeds of the land on which the Lake Turkana Wind Project (LTWP) sit have been declared “irregular and unlawful”. The case which began in October 2014 and finally ended on 19 October 2021 found that the title deeds
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Shifting to electric vehicles (EV) is seen as an important step towards a greener future. However, the process ofextracting nickel, a crucial component of EV batteries, very often is not environmental-friendly. The world’s largest producer of nickel, Nornickel, has been destroying
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BY DEVASISH ROY FOR DEBATES INDÍGENAS.
With almost 24 years passed since the signing of the Chittagong Hill Tracts Accord, its
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By Gladson Dungdung
Thousands of Adivasis involved in the “Pathalgari Movement” were criminalized for fighting for their collective rights to self-determination and protection of their lands, territories, and natural resources in Jharkhand State of
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BY RICARDO VERDUM FOR DEBATES INDÍGENAS.
In August, ahead of the Federal Supreme Court’s decision regarding the Ibirama - La Klãnõ indigenous
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In this report, we will see that the situation of the land rights of Indigenous Peoples and communities is at extreme risk of setback, especially as a result of a coalition of forces under the coordination of sectors interested in expanding the agricultural frontier over Indigenous
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BY CATALINA RIVADENEIRA CANEDO FOR DEBATES INDÍGENAS
While awaiting a referendum to approve their statute and initiate the new
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IWGIA and AIPP submission on the draft general comment on Land and Economic, Social and Cultural Rights of the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights -
Submitted to CESCR 11-08-2021
IWGIA and AIPP welcome the
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BY ALFREDO VITERY GUALINGA
As an autonomous people from the Ecuadorian Upper Amazon, they organize their community life under the principles of the Sumak Kawsay. At the same time, they are undergoing a renovation and strengthening process in their organization to be able to
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IWGIA and AIPP welcome the opportunity to make comments and inputs to the draft general comment on Land and Economic, Social and Cultural Rights. The right to land is fundamental for the livelihoods, food security, identity and very survival of the world's more than 450 million Indigenous
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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
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