IWGIA’s reaction to the outcome of COP26
IWGIA’s reaction to the outcome of COP26
COP26 was attended by more lobbyists from the fossil fuel industry than representatives of Indigenous
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Press Release: Statement on the outcome of COP26
IWGIA press statement on the outcome of COP26
13 November 2021
Indigenous Peoples call for Climate Action at COP 26
COP26 – the two-week UN Climate Change Conference – begins next week in Glasgow.
As in previous years, IWGIA will be there in partnership and alongside Indigenous Peoples to support their engagement, messages and mission to influence the outcomes of this key climate conference,
...Russia’s Indigenous Peoples call for international support to save the Arctic
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
...PRESS RELEASE: Civil society calls on world leaders to put human rights at the centre of environmental policy
Over 150 civil society organisations and academics sign open letter calling on world leaders to integrate human rights into global and national environmental policy and practice
In the lead-up to historic agreements on climate and nature being made in the next month, more than
...New guide: Indigenous Peoples and Climate Technologies from UNEP-DTU
Indigenous Peoples' knowledge on climate solutions can play a critical part in climate action. A new guide shows ways to integrate and strengthen Indigenous tech in national Technology Needs Assessments.
Indigenous Peoples’ knowledge of adapting to climatic change and their
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Oil drilling damage, prior consultation and environmental conservation in Peru
BY PUINAMUDT FOR DEBATES INDÍGENAS
Oil exploitation in the region of Loreto has affected the environment, the roles of the ecosystems, health,
...New alarming UN climate change report coincides with the World Indigenous Peoples Day
Press release - New alarming UN climate change report coincides with the World Indigenous Peoples Day
9 August 2021
- The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC)
Indigenous Peoples stand up to oil companies in Peru
In 2020, the Government of Peru allocated 260 million Peruvian Soles (PEN) (approximately USD 72 million) of public funds to remediate tropical forest sites damaged by oil exploitation on Indigenous territory in the Pastaza, Corrientes, Tigre and Marañon river basins. With this, the government
...The cost of fighting for Indigenous people and environmental rights in Russia
Coal mining is destroying the forests of Siberia. Contamination of the taiga and rivers is harming the Shor people, who live from hunting, gathering and fishing. Anyone who stands up to the government and companies in defence of the right to nature suffers threats and harassment.
The Indigenous World 2021
This compilation 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 that result from the
...The Indigenous World 2021: UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC)
The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) is an international treaty adopted at the Earth Summit in Rio in 1992 to tackle climate change. In 2015, the UNFCCC adopted the Paris Agreement, a universal agreement to reduce global greenhouse gas emissions. The goal of the
...Strong Roots: Understanding the Importance of Myanmar’s Indigenous Women as Leaders in Developing Climate Change Solutions
This book contains a series of essays predominantly written by Indigenous women from Myanmar. The essays show Indigenous women to be at the crux of climate change in Myanmar.
Renewable energies in Colombia: All that glitters is not gold
The struggle against climate change can be neutralized by the circumstances and conditions under which the clean energy transition is carried out. The behaviour of wind-energy companies in La Guajira, the territory of the Wayuu indigenous people, serves as an illustrative example.
Indigenous Peoples and land rights in Myanmar
Community, part of the Karen people. Photo: Alejandro Parellada
After resisting the policy of forced assimilation enforced during the decades of military rule, today Indigenous peoples of Myanmar are subjected to land dispossession in the name of
...Indigenous Peoples and land rights in Myanmar
Community, part of the Karen people. Photo: Alejandro Parellada
After resisting the policy of forced assimilation enforced during the decades of military rule, today Indigenous peoples of Myanmar are subjected to land dispossession in the name of
...Indigenous Activism in Russia: What's next?
Image of the Kazas community of the Indigenous Shor people in Kemerovo Oblast, which was displaced by the expansion of coal mines. Photo: Nelli Slupachik
Image of the Kazas community of the Indigenous Shor people in Kemerovo Oblast, which was displaced by the expansion of coal mines. Photo: Nelli Slupachik
The most widespread and intractable forest fires ever recorded in Bolivia ravaged the lowland regions of Santa Cruz, Beni, La Paz and Cochabamba last year, making 2019 a particularly dark period for the country and for Indigenous Peoples as many of the affected areas were on Indigenous
Indigenous Activism in Russia: What's next?
Monitoring forest fires expose devastation of Indigenous Peoples’ territories and unique biodiversity in Bolivian lowlands
Monitoring forest fires expose devastation of Indigenous Peoples’ territories and unique biodiversity in Bolivian lowlands
The most widespread and intractable forest fires ever recorded in Bolivia ravaged the lowland regions of Santa Cruz, Beni, La Paz and Cochabamba last year, making 2019 a particularly dark period for the country and for Indigenous Peoples as many of the affected areas were on Indigenous
...Indigenous Peoples call for climate action amidst global pandemic
In September 2020 the Asia Indigenous Peoples’ Pact (AIPP) and International Work Group for Indigenous Affairs (IWGIA) presented a joint submission to the UNFCCC calling for the full consideration and engagement of Indigenous Peoples’ in climate action.
Indigenous Peoples are
...Los Pueblos Indígenas reclaman medidas contra el cambio climático en medio de la pandemia mundial
El Pacto de los Pueblos Indígenas de Asia (AIPP) y el Grupo Internacional de Trabajo sobre Asuntos Indígenas (IWGIA) han presentado una aportación conjunta a la CMNUCC, en septiembre de 2020, reclamando la plena consideración y participación de los Pueblos Indígenas en las acciones para
...Indigenous World 2020: UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC)
The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) is an international treaty adopted at the Earth Summit in Rio in 1992 to tackle the growing problem of global warming and the related harmful effects of a changing climate. The UNFCCC entered into force on 21 March 1994, and has
...The Indigenous World 2020
The compilation 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 that result from the close
...Water Management in the Trans-Himalaya Rain Shadow of Lo-menthang: The Kghyamba System Steers Irrigation Practice for Lhoba People
This case study unravels the example of how a customary institution is embedded in the social and physical uniqueness of a community of indigenous peoples. It demonstrates the value of recognizing and safeguarding the customary institutions and knowledge of indigenous peoples. This case study
...Impact of renewable energy projects on Indigenous communities in Kenya
The transition from the use of traditional energy sources to renewable energy solutions is rapidly becoming a necessity if humanity is to address the climate emergency we face. However, this pursuit cannot happen at the expense of human rights, including the loss of land, livelihoods and rights
...Indigenous Women and Climate Change
Against all the odds, and despite the challenges that climate change represents for Latin America, women are demonstrating day in, day out that they have the ideas and the unique and essential skills to propose a radical change in the matrix of civilisation at this crucial point in
Peru: Deforestation in Times of Climate Change
This book comprises a total of 14 articles addressing the issue of deforestation in the Peruvian Amazon and its impacts, not only on the Amazonian environment and wildlife but particularly on the communities inhabiting the area. These impacts are being facilitated by informal dynamics for which
...The impact of renewable energy projects on Indigenous communities in Kenya
IWGIA’s latest human rights report examines the sociocultural impacts two particular projects – the Lake Turkana Wind Power project and Olkaria Geothermal Power plants – are having in several Indigenous communities in Kenya.
Siberian fires having catastrophic effects on indigenous peoples and livelihoods
While much of the world has focused on the fires raging in the Amazon, the world’s largest forest–the Siberian Taiga in Russia–has been on fire for most of 2019.
Since January this year, more than 130,000 square kilometres of land and forest—an area the size of Greece—has been burned in
...Fires in Indigenous Territories and Protected Areas in Bolivia
Since early August 2019, the most widespread and enduring fires in Bolivia’s history have been recorded in the country’s lowlands (Tierras Bajas). Widespread due to the large area burned and enduring because climatic conditions, along with the negligence of the authorities and even of those
...Indigenous peoples commit to climate action at UNSG Climate Action Summit
At the UNSG Climate Action Summit, indigenous peoples gave a statement on their commitments to climate action. IWGIA supports the statement and proposed climate actions, and we call for the international community to support indigenous peoples and their pledges by taking a rights-based approach
...Indigenous peoples raise concerns at UN Climate Meeting in Abu Dhabi
Despite being a small group of only eight people among the more than 1,000 participants at the UN Climate Meeting in Abu Dhabi in June, indigenous peoples were able to have their voices heard and put indigenous peoples’ rights on the agenda.
The Necessity: Collaboration for Coherence in Myanmar. Climate Change Response
Climate change is the great global challenge of the 21st century. Because of climate change, undesirable disasters became intense and has caused loss of many lives and billions of dollars’ worth of properties. To respond to climate change, the United Nations founded the body called United
...Forest Management, Women's Rights and REDD+ in Myanmar
In Myanmar, women manage forests and depend on them for their livelihoods, but their tenure over these forests is insecure. Women often have distinct roles in managing forests as compared to men, and therefore also have expert knowledge about forests and different priorities for how forests are
...Indigenous World 2019: UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC)
The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) is an international treaty adopted at the Earth Summit in Rio in 1992 to tackle the growing problem of global warming and the related harmful effects of a changing climate. The UNFCCC entered into force on 21 March 1994, and has
...The Indigenous World 2019
Rising tensions between states and indigenous peoples are reaching a tipping point, and with an ever-shrinking civic space worldwide, the topics of criminalisation of Indigenous Rights Defenders’ activities and their organisations; land rights issues; and access to justice are more important
...Los pueblos indígenas tienen la clave para salvar el bosque restante de Myanmar?
Myanmar tiene algunas de las áreas forestales más grandes que quedan en Asia, pero también algunas de las tasas de deforestación más altas del mundo. Un mayor enfoque en el papel de los derechos de los pueblos indígenas y el uso de su conocimiento a través de iniciativas como REDD + es esencial
...Mujeres Indígenas frente al Cambio Climático
En contra de todas las probabilidades y retos que ha implicado para América Latina el cambio climático y sus vínculos con el nuevo orden global en el que solo cumplimos el papel de espacios de extracción —incluso de conocimientos— las mujeres indígenas demuestran cada día que proponen ideas y
...Do indigenous peoples hold the key to saving Myanmar’s remaining forest?
Myanmar has some of the largest remaining forest areas in Asia, but also some of the highest deforestation rates in the world. Increased focus on the role of indigenous peoples’ rights and use of their knowledge through
...Det grænseløse paradoks
I klimakampen er truede oprindelige folk vigtige for at beskytte os i industrilandene mod os selv
International Year of Indigenous Languages
At least 43 percent of the 7,000 languages spoken in the world today are endangered. Many of these belong to indigenous peoples and if something doesn't change soon, UNESCO predicts that we will lose as many as 3,000 indigenous languages by the end of this century. In an effort to raise public
...Rights to Respect amidst the era of Climate Change: Regional Learning workshop on IP Women and Customary Land Tenure
Myanmar is one of the most vulnerable countries in the world to climate change, with the threat of flooding, drought, cyclones, and changing rainfall patters threatening lives and livelihoods.1 Myanmar’s National Climate Change Strategy and Action Plan (2017) outlines the major risks that
...Climate Change and indigenous peoples
Indigenous peoples are some of the most affected by climate change. It is therefore extremely important that The Paris Agreement recognizes the rights of indigenous peoples in its preamble and that indigenous communities are included in relevant processes. This page collects some of
...50 år med at forsvare og promovere oprindelige folks rettigheder
2018 er året hvor International Work Group for Indigenous Affairs (IWGIA) kan fejre 50 års jubilæum i vores forsvar af oprindelige folks rettigheder. På denne side kan du finde flere informationer af, hvad vi har opnået og hvilke trusler som oprindelige folk står overfor den dag i
...Indigenous peoples, land rights and forest conservation in Myanmar
In light of the urgency of both forest conservation and the recognition of indigenous communities’ rights to land and resources, along with the documented potential for creating conservation synergies through recognition of community rights, this study tries to look at the approaches to forest
...50 years defending indigenous peoples' rights
This year the International Work Group for Indigenous Affairs (IWGIA) celebrates 50 years of defending indigenous peoples' rights and we want to share with you some of the facts we are proud of and some of the issues that affect the world's 370 million indigenous peoples.
50 years defending indigenous peoples’ rights
On the occasion of IWGIA's 50 years jubilee, IWGIA's Executive Director, Julie Koch, looks at the past 50 years development for indigenous peoples' rights and points to the main issues and opportunities for indigenous peoples.
Indigenous land in Russia declared World Heritage
In the Far East of Russia, the indigenous Udege people have for decades fought to protect their land with support from IWGIA. In July, their long struggle was finally rewarded as an area nearly four times the size of Yosemite National Park has been awarded World Heritage Status.
Facts about indigenous peoples
The 9th of August is the International Day of the World's Indigenous Peoples and this page provides a brief overview of the most important international agreements related to indigenous peoples and some general facts about indigenous peoples.
Fremskridt for oprindelige folks rettigheder hjælper naturen
Oprindelige folk kan blive en af de helt afgørende faktorer i bevarelsen af nogle af verdens mest truede naturområder. Lige nu tilkæmper oprindelige folk sig, skridt for skridt, anerkendelse af deres rettigheder internationalt, mens oprindelige folk i Peru allerede har skabt et autonomt
...The Indigenous World 2018
The rising tensions between states and indigenous peoples are reaching a tipping point and The Indigenous World 2018 adds to the documented records, highlighting the increase in attacks and killings of indigenous peoples while defending their lands. The
...Indigenous peoples are recognised by the world's biggest climate fund
International Work Group for Indigenous Affairs (WGIA) and Denmark have long pushed for the adoption of a “GCF Indigenous Peoples Policy” in the Green Climate Fund, that every year allocates billions of dollars to climate projects. Just recently this policy was finally approved. “This is an
...Oprindelige folks betydning anerkendes af verdens største klimafond
Danmark og IWGIA har været stærkt medvirkende til, at Den Grønne Klimafond for nyligt vedtog en politik, der sikrer, at oprindelige folk fremover inddrages og høres når milliarder af kroner hvert år uddeles til klimaprojekter i udviklingslande. ”Et kæmpe skridt fremad for oprindelige folk”
...Part II: REDD
Part III: The UNDRIP and What Indigenous Communities Can Do
Appendices
Editoral - REDD and indigenous people
REDD and indigenous peoples' rights in Africa
Indigenous peoples and forest management - before and after REDD: The case of Tanzania
Tanzania: Indigenous peoples' recent engagement in the REDD process
The indigenous voice in the REDD process in the Democratic Republic of Congo
Sinar Resmi Declaration
The Kalahan Forests and carbon: a Philippines case study
Editorial
Qu'est-ce que la REDD? Guide à l'intention des communautes autochtones
Ce livre présente des informations sur la REDD (Réduction des émissions dues à la déforestationet à la dégradation des forêts dans les pays en voie de développement), l’unedes mesures d’atténuation mises en avant actuellement pour combattre les changements climatiques,et sur ses implications pour...
Livelihood, Land Use and Customary Tenure in KHUPRA - Report of a participatory action research
Four reports illustrate how the method “participatory action research” can benefit Indigenous Peoples by acknowledging traditional knowledge and documenting land use and ownership for future generations.
Livelihood, Land Use and Customary Tenure in Yusomoso - Report of a participatory action research
Four reports illustrate how the method “participatory action research” can benefit Indigenous Peoples by acknowledging traditional knowledge and documenting land use and ownership for future generations.
Livelihood, Land Use and Carbon - A Study on the Carbon Footprint of a Shifting Cultivation Community in Kayah State
Four reports illustrate how the method “participatory action research” can benefit Indigenous Peoples by acknowledging traditional knowledge and documenting land use and ownership for future generations.
Livelihood, Land Use and Customary Tenure in Kwaingan - Report of a participatory action research
Four reports illustrate how the method “participatory action research” can benefit Indigenous Peoples by acknowledging traditional knowledge and documenting land use and ownership for future generations.
“Maps are more than housing and cultivation areas”
RESEARCH: Four reports illustrate how the method “participatory action research” can benefit indigenous peoples by acknowledging traditional knowledge and documenting land use and ownership for future generations.
Climate
Indigenous peoples in climate action
Indigenous peoples across the world face the consequences of climate change. Indigenous peoples must, therefore, be heard and included in global, national and local climate action.
Indigenous
...Customary Land Tenure: Case Study in Sar Pauk Village
The study was conducted by POINT (Promotion of Indigenous and Nature Together) in Sar Pauk village, and especially emphasized on the customary land tenure of the village. The objective of the study is to identify and document customary land tenure of the village, including livelihoods, land
...Delivering on the Paris Promises: Combating Climate Change while Protecting Rights
The negotiations of the Paris Rule Book are critical to ensuring that the promises made in the Paris Agreement will be met – including the commitment of governments to respect, protect, and take into consideration existing human rights obligations.
The Indigenous World 2017
This yearbook gives a comprehensive update on the current situation of indigenous peoples and their human rights situation across the world, and offers an overview of the most significant developments in international and regional processes relating to indigenous peoples during
...Indigenous peoples are key in the implementation of the Paris Agreement
Why is climate change not only an environmental issue? This was the focus of a panel debate IWGIA and Forests of the World organized at the Danish
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India: New book documents the non-implementation of the forest rights act for indigenous peoples
A decade after the passing of the Forest Rights Act, the book by indigenous rights activits Gladson Dungdung “Adivasi and Forest Rights: Grassroots reality of Forest rights in Jharkhand” documents how government agencies, industry lobby and even the Naxal
...IWGIA and Forests of the World foster debate on human rights and climate change
Both, the UN’s 17 Sustainable Development Goals and the Climate Agreement signed last year during the COP21 in Paris, are strong tools to combat climate change. At the same time, these are mechanisms that ensure responsible resource consumption and the rights for
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Russia: Administration orders mass reindeer killing and fast-tracks gas extraction
On Yamal Peninsula, the administration has announced that it wants to slaughter 250,000 of the currently 700,000 reindeer living on the peninsula. At the same time, the Russian Ministry of Natural Resources is speeding up the development of new gas fields in the Arctic. Between June and
...Russia: Tailings pipe spill at Norilsk Nickel threatens Taimyr's rivers and lakes
At the world's largest nickel mine and smelter, Norilsk Nickel on Taimyr peninsula in Norther Siberia, a severe pipeline spill has occured. Taimyr is home to some 20,000
...Indigenous peoples’ rights violated in the name of conservation
Conservation of bio-diversity appears to come at a price. But who really bears this cost?
The current friction which exists between conservation policies and indigenous communities is
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Nepali Indigenous Peoples' Perspective on Climate Change and REDD/REDD+
Indigenous Peoples, Communities of African Descent, Extractive Industries
The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) addresses in this report State obligations with regard to extraction, exploitation, and development activities concerning natural resources. Through the implementation of its monitoring mechanisms, the Commission has consistently received
...The Indigenous World 2016
This yearbook gives a global update on the current situation of indigenous peoples and their human rights and provides an overview of the main developments that have affected indigenous women and men in the course of 2015. In 54 country specific reports and 12 articles on international
...Land, Forest and Indigenous Peoples' Rights in Relation to Climate Change and REDD (Policy and Program Analysis))
Nepal Federation of Indigenous Nationalities (NEFIN), together with the IWGIA, AIPP, TEBTEBBA and FPP, has been conducting programs on Climate Change- REDD Partnership Program. As part of this program, a research study has already been carried out with detailed reviews and analysis of the
...Special Rapporteurs discuss impact of free trade agreements in Peru
Successive UN Special Rapporteurs on the rights of indigenous peoples have expressed serious concerns in relation to the growing negative impacts of foreign investment on rights of indigenous peoples worldwide.
These investments often involve extraction of natural resources and large
...Mining and Indigenous Peoples in Colombia
This desk study documents the adverse impacts on indigenous communities from coal mining in the regions of la Guajira and Cesar, home to 90 percent of Colombia's coal production as well as several indigenous peoples such as the Wayuu, Yukpa and Kogui. SUMMARY Colombia is home
...Climate Change and Indigenous Peoples - Policies and Practices in Nepal
The problem of climate change is a relatively new pressing global concern. Efforts for mitigation and adaptation from its effects are drawing attention of all. Although indigenous peoples are not responsible for the causes of climate change, they are the ones who are at the forefront of its
...Climate Change Mitigation strategies and evictions of indigenous peoples from their ancestral land. The Case of Tanzania.
Eviction of Indigenous Peoples from their ancestral lands is one of the most destructive and degrading mitigation strategy performed by modern governments in developing countries to address climate change. Armed police and soldiers are used to forcefully evict indigenous peoples to pave the way
...Tanzania Pastoralists threatened: eviction, human rights violations and loss of livelihood
The report explores the evictions of pastoralists and other conflicts over pastoralists’ land in Tanzania, with focus on the past decade.
Although most of these evictions and land based conflicts have been documented, the associated human and legal rights violations have increasingly
...NGOs: Climate initiatives must not include large hydropower projects
Paris, 3 December 2015
In a global manifesto released today, a coalition of more than 300 civil society organizations from 53 countries called on governments and financiers at the Paris climate talks to keep large hydropower projects out of climate initiatives such as the Clean
...No climate change solution without listening to the voices of the indigenous peoples
In Kenya and Tanzania, climate change is already causing both drought and floods. This has meant increasing scarcity of suitable land for farming and pasture and a decrease in food security. It has also increased the number of conflicts between pastoralists and other land users, seriously
...Renewable Energy Projects and the Rights of Marginalised/Indigenous Communities in Kenya
The fact that energy projects are green does not necessarily mean they accept and protect internationally-recognised human rights norms.
This report documents the adverse impact of Kenya’s goal to develop its renewable energy sector on indigenous peoples. It looks particularly at the
...Indigenous Peoples Major Group Position Paper on Proposed SDG Indicators
The global goals and targets for sustainable development have been adopted but indicators are still being formulated. Indicators define what will be measured, and thus how the goals and targets will be implemented. In this position paper Indigenous peoples point at some of their most central
...UNFCCC: Indigenous peoples' key demands for the Paris Agreement on Climate Change
Indigenous peoples representatives from all over the world have been following the negotiations of the forthcoming global climate change agreement, which will be adopted by the UN at the Conference of the Parties (COP21) in Paris at the end of the year.
On October 17,
Russia: Evenk community leader opposing UK based gold mining company sentenced to 5 years
On September 29, a City court in Blagoveshchensk, the capital of Russia’s Amur region has sentenced Sergey Nikiforov, former head of the village council of Ivanovskoye, Selemdzhinski district, to 5 years in penal colony and a fine of 16 million roubles under charges of bribery.
...Russia: Case against defender of sacred lake postponed
The next court hearing over the case of Sergey Kechimov, the guardian of the Imlor, a lake sacred to the Khanty people, will take place on 3 November. "Today a court hearing was held. Given that one of the witnesses on the part of "Surgutneftegaz" did not attend and, as in previous
...Russia: Evenks of Amur Region vow to stop UK based gold mining company
Indigenous residents of Ivanovskoye village in Selemdzhinski District in Amur Region in Russia's Far East are outraged by the plans of a UK based gold mining company to start an open cast gold mine less than two kilometres from their village without their consent. I village gathering
...Mission Saranda. A War for Natural Resources in India
Dedicated to the martyrs of Saranda Forest, who have sacrificed their lives to protect their ancestral land, territory and resources.
This book and the Saranda issue it highlights are of greatest national significance. Gladson Dungdung has performed a profound service by writing
...Human Rights Based Approach to Development as experienced in ten Indigenous communities in the Philippines
In the Philippines, diversity within commonality among indigenous peoples is in itself a very complicated situation. Moreover, indigenous peoples understand their rights enshrined in laws more as violations than enjoyment, while local State authorities find difficulty in bridging the gap of
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