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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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
POR MARÍA DE LOURDES ALCANTARA
El avance sobre las tierras indígenas ha crecido durante el gobierno de Jair Bolsonaro y pone en riesgo la cultura, la economía y las formas de vida de las comunidades. En el Congreso existen numerosos proyectos de ley que afectan la ocupación
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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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The Government of India halted a discriminatory draft development regulation as a result of interventions by IWGIA and the Indigenous Lawyers Association of India (ILAI). IWGIA and ILAI wrote an urgent request to the CERD to intervene against the Indian government to immediately withdraw the
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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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BY CONRADO OCTAVIO FOR DEBATES INDÍGENAS.
The Brazilian Amazon has the largest number of peoples living in
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BY MIGUEL LOVERA , JIEUN KANG, MIGUEL ÁNGEL ALARCÓN, NORMA FLORES ALLENDE AND LEONARDO TAMBURINI
Close to 150 members of the Ayoreo people in voluntary isolation survive in the Chaco region in the border between Bolivia and Paraguay. Among the signs that evidence their
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BY LUIS JESÚS BELLO
The Jödi, the Yanomami and the Uwottüja living in voluntary isolation are threatened by the invasions that result from extractive activities and by the presence of illegal groups in the area: to the environmental impact we should add the sociocultural
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In 2020, Indigenous communities in Samburu County, northern Kenya, paved the way for implementing the Community Land Act of 2016. This is a way of securing their collective community land rights while at the same time strengthening the role of women in land governance.
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
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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
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The Mro People of the Chittagong Hill Tracts (CHT) in Bangladesh are under threat of being evicted from their ancestral lands with nowhere to go and everything to lose.
Human rights violations have escalated in Asia during the COVID-19 pandemic. Indigenous Peoples are disproportionately affected, putting the structural inequalities and discrimination that Indigenous Peoples face into sharper focus as they are met by multiple threats simultaneously.
Since the United Nations Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights were promulgated, there have been growing concerns over human rights in business. Indigenous Peoples form the highest proportion of victims of such business activities.
Movilización en Angol en apoyo a los presos políticos Mapuche en huelga de hambre durante julio de 2019. Foto: Julio Parra.
Mapuche political prisoners use their own bodies and resort to a solid and liquid food hunger strike as resistance tools against the Chilean state, police
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Movilización en Angol en apoyo a los presos políticos Mapuche en huelga de hambre durante julio de 2019. Foto: Julio Parra.
Mapuche political prisoners use their own bodies and resort to a solid and liquid food hunger strike as resistance tools against the Chilean state, police
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Indigenous peoples walk towards the rally in front of the Chinameca farm, 100 years after the murder of Emiliano Zapata. Photo: Daliri Oropeza
While we now have a government that
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Indigenous peoples walk towards the rally in front of the Chinameca farm, 100 years after the murder of Emiliano Zapata. Photo: Daliri Oropeza
While we now have a government that
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Demonstration of Indigenous Peoples in Colombia. Photo: Archivo Semana.
The Peace
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Demonstration of Indigenous Peoples in Colombia. Photo:
Arbildo Meléndez Grandes was killed while out hunting and fishing to provide for his family. Photo: Aidesep.
Despite its function being to fight drug trafficking, the National Commission for Development and Life without Drugs (DEVIDA) has been
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Arbildo Meléndez Grandes was killed while out hunting and fishing to provide for his family. Photo: Aidesep.
Despite its function being to fight drug trafficking, the National Commission for Development and Life without Drugs (DEVIDA) has been
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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
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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
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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
"Neither here nor there", published by the Legal Assistance Centre (LAC) in 2020, highlights aspects of land rights issues in Namibia and addresses the national land programmes, giving special attention to Namibia’s Indigenous and marginalised communities.
Indigenous Activism in Russia: What's next?
Land Rights of Indigenous and Marginalised Communities in Namibia Explored in New Book
"Neither here nor there", published by the Legal Assistance Centre (LAC) in 2020, highlights aspects of land rights issues in Namibia and addresses the national land programmes, giving special attention to Namibia’s Indigenous and marginalised communities.
KATHMANDU, 8 October 2020 – Today, Indigenous communities affected by the 220 kV Marsyangdi Corridor transmission line in Nepal call on their government and the European Investment Bank (EIB) to seek their Free, Prior, and Informed Consent (FPIC) in accordance with a protocol they are releasing
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On 8 October 2018, communities filed a complaint to the EIB’s Complaints Mechanism documenting that project authorities have left communities in the dark about the transmission line, its various impacts and the route of the line.
Over the centuries, Indigenous Peoples have developed ingenious and dynamic ways of managing their constantly evolving territories while avoiding the depletion of natural resources. Some Indigenous lifestyles have faced various challenges and have led to a less sustainable management of their
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Spending time with the Baka, as we have both done over several years, is a humbling experience. This group of over 40,000 spread between the forests of Cameroon, the Republic of Congo and Gabon, practice hunting and foraging as a traditional livelihood. Through their long history in the Congo
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Photo by Signe Leth // IWGIA
As large parts of the world’s population are sitting at home in self- and authority-imposed isolation watching the development of the major public health crisis,
Photo by Signe Leth // IWGIA
As large parts of the world’s population are sitting at home in self- and authority-imposed isolation watching the development of the major public health crisis,
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
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Photo by Signe Leth // IWGIA
As large parts of the world’s population are sitting at home in self- and authority-imposed isolation watching the development of the major public health crisis,
The situation for Indigenous Peoples in Bangladesh in many ways echoes the situation of other Indigenous Peoples in Asia: they face heavy militarization; they are stigmatized as anti-national for wanting to be included in decisions affecting their lives – such as industrial development taking
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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
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How can indigenous peoples survive the dismantling of public policies and rights acquired by decades of work in Brazil? This process, resulting from setbacks to democracy, as described by the authors, shows that this is an emergency situation. There is a need to seek alternatives and for
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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
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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.
If we calculate all the risks, 90 million Adivasis are struggling for their survival, losing access to forests and suffering the gravest threat of being alienated from their forest lands and traditional habitations.
This book is an attempt to understand the relationship between Adivasis
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“We will surrender our lives but not our land, hills and forests,” says representatives of Datobeda village, Jharkhand, India
The purpose of this briefing paper is to provide data on: (1) the land tenure situation of Indigenous Peoples on a global level; (2) the trends of land grabbing; and (3) the drivers behind this phenomenon.
Recommendations from the National Dialogue on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples and Extractive Industries held in Nairobi Kenya, October 2019.
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
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The Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change of the Government of India published the Draft National Forest Policy of 2018 on 14 March 2018 and is expected to finalise the policy soon.
This draft policy provides for the adoption of а completely new legal framework
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Mens skovbrande fortsætter i Amazonas, går levegrundlaget for de omkring en million oprindelige folk op i røg. ”En forfærdelig situation for oprindelige folk i Amazonas” udtaler Julie Koch fra IWGIA, en danskbaseret organisation som arbejder for oprindelige folks rettigheder globalt, og uddyber
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The international press clearly showed how the fire swept through the Brazilian Amazon and Bolivian forests. The images of calcined trees and animals suffering from the voracity of the
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“Monkey”, “pig”, “dog” – these words were shouted at a group of West Papuan students, who had been arrested and later released due to lack of evidence. They were accused of burning the Indonesian flag. This is the latest development in a more than 60-year struggle for the independence of West
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While the international community is focusing its attention on the advancing fires in Brazil, the reality is that the problem transcends the South American giant and is reflected in the nine Amazonian countries. Beneath the ashes, the fire has shown (once again), a conflict that specialists
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Indigenous peoples in the Amazon rainforest are on the front line of defending themselves and their land from the rapidly spreading fires. A majority of the tens of thousands of fires are happening in Brazil, though fires are also raging in Bolivia where 10,000 km2 of forests (an
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In August 2019, US President Mr Donald Trump expressed an interest in buying Greenland from Denmark. In an update on Facebook, IWGIA's Board Member and Inuit from Greenland, Sara Olsvig, explains why Greenland cannot be bought, and how Trump's apparent interest in Greenland is based on
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Emyra Waiãpi, a 68-year-old indigenous leader, was stabbed to death last week as around 50 gold miners, a dozen of whom were heavily armed, entered the remote Waiãpi indigenous reserve in the northern Brazilian state of Amapá, which borders French Guiana, reported multiple Brazilian and
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To create a room for indigenous peoples to discuss and analyse their experiences around autonomy and self-government, the international seminar "Right to Autonomy and Indigenous Self-Government as a manifestation of the Right to Self-Determination of Indigenous Peoples" was held on March 11, 12
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On 22-23 June 2019, rights holders and audiences from across the world will come together in Bonn to zoom in on the transformative role of rights and rights-based approaches for securing a more just, sustainable and prosperous future for all. IWGIA will be present and co-host an event focusing
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IWGIA supports this statement made by pastoralist communities in Uganda against the government's plan to 'abolish nomadic pastoralism and embrace agriculture and paddocks'
The global rush for natural resources is one of the biggest threats against indigenous peoples’ as they often live in remote areas which are still rich on natural resources. Unfortunately, indigenous peoples are increasingly being criminalised – or even killed – when defending their rights. In
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In a landmark decision on 13 March 2019, the Australian High Court ordered the Government of the Northern Territory to pay $2.53 million AUD (1.78 million USD) in compensation to the Ngaliwurru and Nungali peoples for the loss of Native Title in the town of Timber Creek.
The report on the current state of Indigenous Peoples’ Lands, Territories and Resources (LTR) was prepared by the Indigenous Peoples Major Group (IPMG) to inform the implementation of global commitments to Sustainable Development and the various related processes for transformational change. It
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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
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Press release: On 24 April 2019, at the United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues in New York, IWGIA will release The Indigenous World 2019, an extensive, one-of-a-kind yearbook presenting a comprehensive, global overview of the developments indigenous peoples’ experience.
Myanmar has adopted a National Land Use Policy in 2016 which mandates the enactment of a comprehensive National Land Law. Once a National Land Law is passed, all other laws will have to be harmonized with its provisions. This new law will be critical for the future of Myanmar’s indigenous
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The International Working Group for Indigenous Affairs (IWGIA) is writing to seek intervention of the UN Committee Against Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination under its Early Warning Procedures for prevention of violations of the rights of indigenous peoples of India through the
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María Lourdes Alcántara, anthropologist and coordinator of the Guaraní Youth Support Group of Mato Grosso del Sur (GAPK / AJI) and Professor of medical anthropology in the Faculty of Medicine at the University of São Paulo, reflects on the main threats to indigenous communities in Brazil after
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An International Seminar to assess the global status and trends with regards to indigenous autonomies is taking place in Mexico City in March 2019.
An International Seminar to assess the global status and trends with regards to indigenous autonomies is taking place in Mexico City in March 2019. This meeting follows the work developed by indigenous organizations and the organizing institutions over the last few years. In January 2018, at
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En el mes de marzo de 2019 se lleva a cabo en la ciudad de México un seminario internacional sobre los avances de las autonomías indígenas a nivel global. Este encuentro es producto de los esfuerzos que han impulsado las organizaciones indígenas y los organizadores de este evento durante los
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A verdict from India’s Supreme Court has ordered 20 state governments to evict 1,5 million families living on forest land before the 24th of July. These families live in and around 500 wildlife sanctuaries and 90 national parks; but many live there sustainably and have protected the forests
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IWGIA - International Work Group for Indigenous Affairs - is a global human rights organisation dedicated to promoting, protecting and defending Indigenous Peoples’ rights. Read more.
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IWGIA's global report, the Indigenous World, provides an update of the current situation for Indigenous Peoples worldwide. Read The Indigenous World.
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