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Chile’s Supreme Court Upholds Indigenous Water Use Rights
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2 December 2009
Chile’s Supreme Court last week handed down a landmark ruling on indigenous water rights in a case that pitted Region I Aymara communities against Agua Mineral Chusmiza, a company seeking the rights to bottle and sell freshwater from a source used historically by Aymara indigenous residents. The Court’s unanimous decision invokes ILO Convention 169 and could have far reaching consequences for Chile’s mining industry.
 Read more (The Santiago Times) |
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Bolivia: Women Clamour for Right to Land
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1 December 2009
Despite major advances in land distribution in Bolivia, single, widowed and undocumented women in this South American country have little chances of owning rural lands due to the patriarchal traditions and customary practices of indigenous peoples, in violation of international instruments and conventions protecting women’s rights.
Read more (InterPress Service) |
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Peru: Government launches massive attacks on IP organisations
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16 November 2009
The Peruvian government's unprecedented attempt to destroy the country's Amazon indigenous movement has been condemned by indigenous leaders around the world. The wave of condemnation comes after it was revealed that the government plans to disband Peru's national organization for Amazonian indigenous peoples, the Inter-ethnic Association for the Development of the Peruvian Rainforest ( AIDESEP).
"If you target AIDESEP you're targeting all indigenous people—not just those in the Amazon or Peru but all over the world," said a statement from the Andean Coordinator of Indigenous Organizations (CAOI), an alliance representing indigenous peoples in Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador and Peru. CAOI called the attempt to disband AIDESEP "absurd" and further evidence of the government's "racist" policies.
Read pronouncement by Pronouncement by the Andean and
Amazonian Peoples (Peru en Movimiento)
"World indigenous leaders condemn Peru's Amazon
repression" (World War 4 Report)
"Peru's government retires its petition of annulment of
AIDESEP" (Living in Peru Blog) |
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Indigenous teacher missing in Brazil after violence over ancestral lands
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15 November 2009
Brazilian and Paraguayan authorities must redouble their efforts to find an indigenous teacher who has been missing since 30 October following a violent eviction of activists on the border between the two nations, said Amnesty International.
Fears for the life of the teacher, Rolindo Vera, have intensified following the discovery of the badly bruised body of his cousin and fellow indigenous teacher, Genivaldo Vera, in a nearby river.
Read more (Amnesty International) |
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| Rainforest Foundation Norway publishes book on indigenous education in the Amazon |
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14 October 2009
The Rainforest Foundation Norway has recently published the English edition of a book on small education projects in the Amazon. The book Schools in the rainforest is available for free download in PDF format.
In 1992, the Rainforest Foundation Norway started to engage in education projects for indigenous peoples in Brazil because many indigenous communities felt a need to handle the interaction with and the pressures from the outside world in a better way. They set out to develop an educational system which would combine respect for knowledge, culture, language and social values of each indigenous group with the provision of new skills and knowledge necessary for dealing with those new challenges. The approach would have to culturally sensitive, bilingual and definitely innovative, states Lars Lřvold, Director of RFN in the introduction to the book. The book is based on four evaluations: among the Yanomami, in Rio Negro, in Xingu and in Acre. It is written by Eva Marion Johannessen, a Norwegian consultant, researcher, writer with and educational psychologist
Download the publication (Rainforest Foundation Norway) |
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UN Permanent Forum publishes reports, calls for action to stop forced labour in Bolivia
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31 August 2009
Following a recent mission to Bolivia and Paraguay, the United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues released two reports today expressing grave concern over forced labour suffered by indigenous peoples in the Chaco regions of those two countries.
“Effective action is required to put an end to forced labour practices, as well as other human rights abuses, experienced by indigenous peoples in the Chaco,” said Permanent Forum Chairperson Victoria Tauli-Corpuz. “During our visits to Bolivia and Paraguay we found that the forced labour of Guaraní and other indigenous peoples -– which has been long documented -– continues to exist. In addition, the indigenous peoples of the Chaco face severe poverty, lack food and water security and are confronted with a series of human rights abuses related to land rights, child labour, freedom of association and discrimination. In some areas, those seeking to defend their rights were the target of systematic violence and threats.”
Read the full press release (un.org)
Read report on Paraguay (PDF)
Read report on Bolivia (PDF)
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Rights Group Says 61 Missing in Violence in Peruvian Amazon
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23 July 2009
LIMA – Peru’s Aprodeh human rights organization said that 61 people remain missing in the northern Amazon region following clashes between Indian protesters and security forces earlier this month that, according to the official death toll, left 24 police officers and nine civilians dead.
Read more (Latin American Tribune) |
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The Special Rapporteur on the situation of the human rights and fundamental freedoms of indigenous people visited Peru
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21 July 2009
UN Special Rapporteur on Rights and Fundamental Freedoms of Indigenous Peoples James Anaya has published his observations about the situation of the indigenous peoples in the Amazon region and the events of 5 June and the following days in the provinces of Bagua and Utcumbamba during which 34 people died.
Anaya's report, which consists of 50 observations in 15 pages stresses his "concern" over the insistence on pressing criminal charges against some indigenous leaders "which clearly compromises the process of dialogue initiated between the Government and indigenous movements,” he remarks. According to Anaya, "there is still much uncertainty about the events of Bagua, which have been officialmente explained with differing versions and lack of coherence." Furthermore, Anaya states that he has heard “numerous stories that describe in detail serious abuses by police, including excessive use of force." Sources: IWGIA, Livinginperu.com
Read the report in Spanish (PDF) |
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Peru: An Attempt to divide AIDESEP
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17 Juli 2009
Interview with the national leader, Renfigio Henderson, from the Achuar people.
Last Thursday, 16 July, the Peruvian press announced a new Board of Directors for the Amazonian national organisation, AIDESEP, headed by Alexander Teets Wishu. There was some surprise at this news given that no-one was aware that a National Assembly had been held, as required by the organisation’s statutes. In an attempt to clarify this situation, we contacted Aidesep's national offices in Lima and spoke to the national leader, Renfigio Henderson, from the Achuar people.
Read the full interview
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Honduras: Indigenous leaders call for President Zelaya’s return
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13 July 2009
The largest indigenous organizations in Honduras are calling for the immediate return of deposed President Manuel Zelaya, and they assert that the new administration is trying to hide the real reason for the coup, which was that the opposition feared a new constitution that could provide more rights and protections to indigenous and other Hondurans.
Read more (Indian Country Today) |
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An important victory for the Indigenous of Peru
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24 June 2009
The indigenous population of Peru has won an important victory in their ongoing struggle to retain control over their resource-rich ancestral land. After weeks of militant protests, Peru’s congress was forced to revoke two land laws enacted in 2008 by President Alan Garcia as part of a free-trade agreement with the United States. The two laws stated that the government would decide how the land would be used and who could use it. Protesters exposed the deal for what it truly was—an open door for foreign companies to exploit the land and steal the oil, gas and other natural resources that belong to the people of Peru. Indigenous groups organized roadblocks, demonstrations and strikes, which Garcia ordered the police to break up. The Peruvian government, however, was unable to squelch the resistance, despite the fact that the police killed over 30 people and injuring many more.
Read more (PSLweb) |
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Paraguay: New law favors toxic agrochemicals
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19 June 2009
More than 24 million liters of toxic agrochemicals are employed in Paraguay every year, causing deformations, health problems — even death — and environmental damage. But Paraguayan lawmakers ignored this fact when they approved a farming chemical regulation law on May 22, which will still allow these toxic chemicals to be used.
Read more (latinamerican press)
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IWGIA's video about the massacre in Peru
“Los sucesos de Bagua”
Currently the video is only available in Spanish
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"The video is in Spanish, but I believe that the images shown in the video speak for themselves."
Lola García-Alix
Executive Director
IWGIA |
Background information
The indigenous communities' protests started some months ago in response to a series of government decrees promoting the opening up of their lands to oil and gas companies. In recent years more than 70% of Peru´s Amazon has been auctioned off to oil and gas companies without indigenous communities being consulted.
Frustrated by the refusal of the authorities to negotiate with them, AIDESEP (National Organization of the Amazon Indigenous Peoples of Peru) called for a series of peaceful protests. Indigenous communities throughout central and northern Peru blockaded rivers and roads in successful attempt to halt the oil industry traffic.
The violent response used by the police, firing automatic weapons at indigenous persons who were protesting, resulted in many deaths on both sides. More than 20 police officers have been reported dead and at least 30 indigenous persons are thought to have been killed, but indigenous organizations believe the real figure is significantly higher, and have accused the police of throwing large numbers of bodies into the Marañon river.
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Murder in Peru: Indigenous Rights and Corporate Interests
12 June 2009
Alan Garcia is no friend of the indigenous, thus his close relationship with the former Bush Administration should come as no surprise. Garcia’s sponsorship of regularizing the opening up of the Amazon to exploitation for oil exploration and logging was no accident, and the mess into which he has plunged his government could be viewed as predictive of things to come. This will not only be in Peru, but in Colombia as well, if the U.S. Congress proceeds to ratify a free trade agreement between Washington and Bogotá. Just as Peru has found itself in the predicament of being unable to fulfill obligations it has agreed to with both its indigenous population and foreign investors, the same fate could easily befall its neighbors.
Read more (coha.org) |
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Peru: Blood in the jungle
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11 June 2009
OIL AND LAND RIGHTS IN PERU - Alan García's high-handed government faces a violent protest. For seven weeks tens of thousands of Amazonian Indians blocked roads and rivers across eastern Peru. They seized hydroelectric plants and pumping stations on oil and gas pipelines to try to force the repeal of decrees facilitating oil exploration, commercial farming and logging in parts of the jungle. Petroperu, the state oil company, had to shut a pipeline that carries 40,000 barrels of oil each day. Amid threats of energy rationing in eastern towns, the government of President Alan García this month ordered armed police to clear a stretch of road and retake a pumping station near Bagua, in Peru’s northern jungle.
Read more (economist.com) |
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New video out: Huellas en la tierra
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Video in Spanish
Between the last days of November and first days of December 2007, the UN Special Rapporteur of indigenous peoples, Rodolfo Stavenhagen, visited different organizations from Bolivia to evaluate the situation of the natives in the country. A couple of months ealier, Bolivia had become the first country in the world to turn into law of the republic the UN Declaration on the rights of indigenous peoples.
Read more and order (in Spanish) |
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Special Rapporteur appeal to avoid further violence in Peru
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10 June 2009
Special Rapporteur on indigenous people urges Government of Peru to dialogue with indigenous peoples of the Amazon. “I urgently appeal to all concerned to avoid further violence and urge State authorities to implement measures already in place, as well as adopt all additional measures necessary, in accordance with international human rights norms, to protect the human rights and fundamental freedoms of the affected indigenous peoples,” said James Anaya.
Read the full statement of the UN Special Rapporteur on Peru (doc) |
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Peru: Police Open Fire on Indigenous Blockade
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6 June 2009
Bagua, Peru – In the early morning hours on Friday, Peruvian Special Forces staged a violent raid on a group of indigenous people at a peaceful blockade on a road outside of Bagua in a remote area of the northern Peruvian Amazon resulting in 25 civilians confirmed dead and more than 150 injured. Over 600 police attacked several thousand unarmed Awajun and Wambis indigenous peoples including many women and children and forcibly dispersed them using tear gas and live ammunition.
Read more (amazonwatch.org)
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New book out: Tierras duras
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February 2009
Tierras duras (hard land) is about the fight for the land, the organization of indigenous towns and the role of the state. The book crosses twenty years of resistance of the indigenous organization Lhaka Honhat (Our Earth, in wichí language), conformed by 45 communities and 6000 people in the northeast of Salta. Far from being a theoretical narration, it is the chronicle of a punished town, that persists in claiming recognition of its territorial rights.
Read more in Spanish |
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Tierras duras
by Morita Carrusco |
New book: El eco de las voces olvidadas
March 2009
"The echo of the forgotten voices" is a detailed ethnografic and historical study, a personal and collective story, and an ethnic autobiography of the Cavineños. The Cavineños are a particularly unknown indigenous society who speak the Tacana language and reside in the northwest of the Bolivian Amazon.
Read more in Spanish |
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El eco de las voces olvidadas |
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