Project work in Russia

Aims / objectives

• to incorporate and engage indigenous peoples in the legal development process,
  
• to enhance the respect of their human rights,
  
• to strengthen their participation in the democratic processes towards fair and constructive agreements with the nation state, and 
  
• to support regional capacity building for indigenous institutions and organisations.

IWGIA' s support includes support to the indigenous umbrella organisation the Russian Association of the Indigenous Peoples of the North (RAIPON) in their lobby work in the Russian Federation parliament and in their legal capacity building projects. The component seeks to promote the rights and protection of indigenous peoples through federal legislation by means of consultation and lobbying of political decision-makers.

IWGIA' s project activities

Democratic participation & constructive agreements
IWGIA is engaged in activities that strengthen indigenous peoples' democratic participation and legal rights, primarily through the promotion of an 'Indigenous Peoples' Parliament' . These project activities build upon the ideas and aspirations of RAIPON concerning the establishment of an Indigenous Peoples' Parliament in Russia, which resemble similar initiatives on self-government and indigenous peoples' parliaments elsewhere in the Circumpolar North, e.g. the Saami Parliaments.

Seminars and conferences
- a room for exchange of experiences and knowledge
One form of capacity building is through the facilitation of seminars and conferences. Considering the developments in Russia and the different interest groups who are competing for the exploitation and extraction of resources, the intention is to put a strong emphasis on the involvement of indigenous peoples to be able to protect their rights against powerful companies and to influence environmental policies and economic interests.

The knowledge of the existing laws that deal with these matters and the development of mechanisms and capacity to implement them are therefore crucial. Through seminars on legal rights and in the regional and federal legislation and on the use of these rights, indigenous people have the possibility to gain knowledge and experiences to engage in a dialogue with the Russian authorities and to develop strategies for future co-operations.

Sub-projects: capacity building on a regional and local level

IWGIA also gives support to regional organisations through a Sub-projects facility. The Sub-project facility enables indigenous organisations to implement small projects with a view to build capacity regionally and locally. The Sub-projects deal with issues and activities such as the establishment of information centres, the collection of data material about indigenous peoples' use of their traditional territories, legal assistance to communities, etc.


Background

IWGIA supports projects in the following regions of Russia:

• Russian North
• Siberia
• Far East

At the moment we have project partnerships in
          Magadan Oblast
          Khabarovsky Kray
          Primorsky Kray
          Kamchatka
          Tomskaya Oblast
          Buryatia