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The expropriation of ancestral territories to settlers is a risk to the life, sustainment, and culture of the Mayangna people. They don’t live peacefully anymore: the men go together in groups to work, for fear of being ambushed, and the women leave their houses at sunset for fear of being raped. Even though the government is calling for peaceful co-habitation between the indigenous and the settlers, their ways of life are incompatible.
BY DÉBORA ASTUDILLO RAMOS AND MARÍA JOSÉ LUCERO FOR DEBATES INDÍGENAS
During the last civil-military dictatorship, the forced disappearances and political executions of members of the Mapuche people must be framed as a continuum of colonial and genocidal violence. Despite the pain, Mapuche families continue to struggle for truth and justice. In September, the anniversary of the coup, an illustrated, bilingual book will be presented that brings together the memories of seven women from Araucanía who remember their fallen relatives and embrace a political horizon of dignity and human rights.
Some 12 Indigenous communities of the Tsimane people living in the Yucumo region are in danger of extinction due to the invasion of settlers, deforestation and the burning of their homes. In addition to being dispossessed of their traditional lands, the Tsimane are discriminated against and have serious difficulties in accessing justice. Under the complicit gaze of the Plurinational State of Bolivia, violence, threats and fear are commonplace.
Lola García-Alix is a senior advisor on Global Governance at the International Work Group for Indigenous Affairs (IWGIA), and since the first session of the United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues in 2002, she has been following all its annual sessions. The specialist explains that the Forum sessions plays an important role as an amplifier, drawing the attention of the international community to the situation of Indigenous Peoples around the world. It is also an instrument for Indigenous Peoples to engage in dialogue with States and present their demands to ensure respect and protection of their rights. Regarding this year's main theme of the session, Lola points out that all the interventions by Indigenous Peoples emphasized that there is no separation between human health and planetary health. Without the well-being of their territories, one cannot speak of the health of Indigenous Peoples. She also celebrates the increased participation of indigenous women and youth in meetings like the Permanent Forum.
Over the past several decades, the Indigenous Afar people have been subjected to widespread discrimination, forced incarceration, disappearance and violence, and information from the notoriously closed country is sparce and sometimes unreliable. However, in 2023, some recent information on the situation of human rights, including that of Indigenous Peoples, has started to trickle out and come to light.
IWGIA - International Work Group for Indigenous Affairs - is a global human rights organisation dedicated to promoting and defending Indigenous Peoples’ rights. Read more.