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Press Release - Sámi Activists Demand Removal of Wind Turbines in Fosen

Cover photo by the Saami Council

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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International Chittagong Hill Tracts Commission Stands in Solidarity with the Civil Society Leaders of CHT and Calls for the Defense of the Chittagong Hill Tracts Regulation 1900

The International Chittagong Hill Tracts Commission (CHTC) expresses deep concern over the ongoing lawsuits against the Chittagong Hill Tracts Regulation, 1900, and calls for its defense. CHTC joins hands with civil society leaders in the CHT who have tirelessly advocated for the preservation

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IWGIA calls for global solidarity for Indigenous Peoples in these times of crisis

On this day, 9 August 2020 – the International Day of the World’s Indigenous Peoples – IWGIA re-affirms its commitment to promote, protect and defend the rights of Indigenous Peoples at a time when the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, coupled with the rise of populist leaders and a shrinking

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IWGIA strengthens its foundation with Kathrin Wessendorf as new Executive Director

IWGIA welcomed Kathrin Wessendorf as its new Executive Director On 1 April 2020. Kathrin is a trained anthropologist from the University of Basel who brings with her over 20 years’ experience working with the Indigenous Peoples movement, helping to promote, protect and defend the rights of

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IWGIA se fortalece con la designacion de Kathrin Wessendorf como directora

IWGIA le da la bienvenida a Kathrin Wessendorf como nueva Directora Ejecutiva desde el 1 de abril de 2020. Kathrin es antropóloga, formada en la Universidad de Basel, Suiza, y cuenta con 20 años de experiencia de trabajo con el movimiento de pueblos indígenas,

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Indigenous peoples’ rights key in stemming Amazon fires

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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IWGIA fordømmer drab på leder af oprindeligt folkeslag i Brasilien

København – 29. juli: I sidste uge blev en 68-årige leder af Waiãpa folket fundet død i en flod nær hans landsby i det nordlige Brasilien. Drabet skete samtidig med, at omkring 50 guldgravere – heraf nogle svært bevæbnet – er blevet spottet i Waiãpernes lukkede reservat. Drabet er et nyt

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IWGIA condemns killing of indigenous leader in Brazil

Waiãpi community / Facebook

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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Indigenous peoples lives and their rights increasingly at risk

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. 

Pressemeddelelse: Oprindelige folk oplever et stigende antal konflikter og trusler

Oprindelige folk i hele verden oplever et stigende pres på deres jordrettigheder såvel som deres rettigheder til at ytre sig. Det dokumenterer dette års udgave af ”The Indigenous World”, der beskriver udviklingen for oprindelige folk i 2017. I alt dækker bogen udviklingen i 56 lande og 13

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Press release: The Indigenous World 2018

Indigenous peoples' rights to land at the core of a paradigm shift - This and many other trends can be understood by browsing through The Indigenous World 2018. The only book available that offers a comprehensive yearly overview of the developments indigenous peoples experience around the

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New green powers in the global land grab violate indigenous peoples’ rights

Photo: Pablo Toranzo/ ANDHES

LAND RIGHTS: Industries and investors lead the global land grab for new agribusiness and green projects at the cost of local communities and indigenous peoples. A new report guides you through the complexities and the legal frameworks related to human rights and today’s scramble for land.

Danish development expert and indigenous Maori new board chairs for IWGIA

A new board has been constituted in the second week of January 2017 following the planned replacement of board members whose term had come to an end.

The new chairman of the board is Knud Vilby, an experienced Danish journalist and development consultant. Knud Vilby has been sitting

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Statement by IWGIA’s partner AIPP on Human Rights Day

This year’s slogan for Human Rights Day is, "Human Rights 365". This encompasses the idea that every day is Human Rights Day. It celebrates the fundamental proposition in the Universal Declaration that each one of us, everywhere, at all times is entitled to the full range of human rights, that

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New hydropower projects in Russia's Far East threaten indigenous peoples' livelihood

The Russian state-owned hydropower corporation RusHydro" and the Chinese "Three Gorges" corporation have signed a deal over the joint realisation of a large project in the Far East of the Russian Federation. The cost of the project may amount up to 230 billion rubles (4 billion EUR or 5

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IWGIA: Letter to the World Bank related to ongoing review of Safeguard Policy

IWGIA has sent a letter to the World Bank related to the review of its Environmental and Social Safeguard Policies. By proposing an alternative approach to applying its safeguards on Indigenous Peoples the bank disregards international law on indigenous peoples rights and undermines

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Bangladesh: CHTC condemns attack on its Coordinator in Bandarban

Press statement

Dhaka, 27 August, 2014. The International Chittagong Hill Tracts Commission (CHTC) strongly condemns the brutal and cowardly attack upon Hana Shams Ahmed, Coordinator of the Commission, and her friend, a woman academic, during a private visit by them to

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Why are indigenous people left out of the sustainable development goals?

Despite promises to leave no one behind, the UN drafting committee has little to say about halting threats to indigenous peoples survival. On his blog at the Guardian Jonathan Glennie explains why development can be considered a threat as much as an

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Press release: World Bank moves to undermine the rights of indigenous peoples

In an unprecedented move, the World Bank will be proposing that governments could ‘opt-out’ of requirements designed to protect indigenous peoples from unintended and negative consequences from development activities funded by the multilateral lender. In a leaked draft of new environmental and

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Latest update on the UN World Conference on Indigenous Peoples

At the end of May, indigenous peoples were left with frustration and disappointment as the preparatory process for the realization of the High Level Plenary Meeting of the UN General Assembly, to be known as the World Conference on Indigenous Peoples (WCIP) was left in a limbo at the closing

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Russia: "We Izhma Komi are indigenous people and this is our land"

On 13 April, a meeting took place in the village of Krasnobor between residents representing 15 settlements of Izhma district and representatives of"LUKOIL" and "LUKOIL-Komi". The attempts of LUKOil representativess to "agree" privately with the leaders of civic organisations of the

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Philippines: Cordillera indigenous activist and human rights defender killed

Cordillera Human Rights Alliance denounces the extrajudicial killing of William Bugatti who was shot on March 25 around 7 in the evening. William Bugatti was a Tuwali and a human rights worker, a Regional Council Member of the Cordillera Human Rights Alliance-KARAPATAN, a Regional Council

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Debate about uranium mining in Greenland

Next week, Greenlandic and Danish environmental organizations will host a conference on uranium mining in Greenland. The half-day conference will take place in Copenhagen and aims at having a critical debate on the impacts of uranium mining in both Greenland and in the rest of the world. In

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Philippines: Update on indignous peoples' situation after thypoon Yolanda

Almost a month after the typhoon hit the central Philippines, here are some updates about the situation for indigenous peoples in the country:

Palawan island There have been two waves of relief operation and distribution in the barangays of Dillan, Lajala, Banuang Daan,

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IACHR Urges to Investigate Information on Massacre of a Yanomami Community

Washington, D.C. – The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) expresses its deepest concern about the informaton on a massacre that allegedly took place in the Community of Irotatheri, of the Yanomami Indigenous Peoples, Municipality of Alto Orinoco, Amazonas State, Venezuela.

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Paraguay: FAPI Statement on the current political and social situation

Following the dismissal of President Fernando Lugo through an abrupt and traumatic process for all of us, and given the present political situation in Paraguay, FAPI, a body that unites several indigenous peoples’ organisations of the western and eastern regions of the country, wishes to inform

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COP 17: Political will needed now!

Press statement: POLITICAL WILL NEEDED NOW! Indigenous networks call on states-parties to act decisively in Durban 5 DECEMBER (Durban, South Africa) - Governments present in Durban continue to display lack of political will to move the Durban Climate Talks forward.

Indigenous adress to the Barent Euro-Arctic Council

Your Excellencies, Ladies and gentlemen, Allow me first of all to thank the member states of the Barents Council for providing the indigenous peoples representatives through the Working Group of Indigenous Peoples (WGIP) the opportunity to address Barents Euro-Arctic Council 13th session 2011

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Israel: Bill will force Bedouins to pay for destruction of their own homes

An urgent appeal to the United Nations The Negev Coexistence Forum for Civil Equality today appealed to various representatives of the UN to avert the passing of a discriminatory legal amendment aimed at placing the payment of house demolitions on homeowners. The proposed law will not apply to

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Colombia: Call to action

On June 2, 2011, people in Colombia and other parts of the world will join to mark the 10th anniversary of the forced disappearance of Colombian Indigenous leader Kimy Pernia Domico, and draw attention to ongoing threats and attacks against Indigenous peoples in Colombia. The Jenzerá Collective

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Ensure the full recognition of our rights in a Cancun climate decision

The Indigenous Peoples’ Network on Climate Change and Sustainable Development (IPCSSD) welcomes the document (FCCC/AWGLCA/2010/CRP.3) which was released today. We welcome the inclusion of paragraphs 7 and 8 which recognize the need for effective participation of indigenous peoples and fully

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Russia: Residents of Northern Yakutia feel devastating effects of global warming

According to the Russian news agency Vostok-Media, Chukchi representatives from Yakutia say, that their community might disappear within the next decade. This is what Villagers of Kolymskoye told the Russian news agency Vostok-Media, responding to questions about the impact of the record summer

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About IWGIA

IWGIA - International Work Group for Indigenous Affairs - is a global human rights organisation dedicated to promoting and defending Indigenous Peoples’ rights. Read more.

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Indigenous World

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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DK 1422 Copenhagen
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Phone: (+45) 53 73 28 30
E-mail: iwgia@iwgia.org
CVR: 81294410

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