Indigenous Rights

Survival of Indigenous Tribes in Bangladesh Starts at School

By Rafiqul Islam Sarker
Just before sundown on Jan. 30, a group of women day labourers from the Shantal indigenous community are in a rush to wind up their work harvesting potatoes in a field in the village of Boldipukur, some 15 km away from Rangpur district in northern Bangladesh.

Indigenous Peoples & Local Communities Vital to the Global Environment

By Katie Reytar and Peter Veit
Indigenous Peoples and local communities are some of the best environmental stewards. Their livelihoods and cultures depend on forests, clean water and other natural resources, so they have strong incentives to sustainably manage their lands.

Why the #MeToo Movement Disrupts the Creeping Commodification of Feminism

By Rangita de Silva de Alwis
As the 62nd Session of the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) at the United Nations in New York draws near, women from every corner of the world will convene to deliberate on the theme of CSW 2018: Challenges and Opportunities in achieving gender equality and the empowerment of rural women and girls. This year, the theme of empowerment has added significance. The #MeToo movement has shocked our collective conscience and made it impossible to ignore that empowerment goes far beyond economic agency.

Perpetrators of Crimes against Humanity Must be Brought to Justice

By Geneva Centre
On the occasion of the 2017 International Day of Human Solidarity observed on 20 December, the Chairman of the Geneva Centre for Human Rights Advancement and Global Dialogue Dr. Hanif Hassan Ali Al Qassim calls for peace for and human solidarity with, the Rohingya minority in Myanmar.

Civil Society Meeting Calls for Solidarity, Radical Change to Deal with Global Crises

By Amy Taylor
Our strategies have failed us. We can no longer respond to the crises facing us in the same way. We have to be more radical, more creative — together — to build the future we want.This was one of the resounding messages to emerge from a key global gathering of more than 700 leading thinkers, influencers and doers from more than 100 countries in Suva, Fiji in early December.

A Voice of Inspiration

By Pascal Laureyn
More than 700 activists gathered in Suva, Fiji's capital, to explore the latest trends – from climate change to human rights, from innovation to social justice. Anything that can help empower and mobilise citizens. The lively debates in panel discussions, workshops and lectures made the event look like a carnival of creative new ideas and tested knowledge.

A Responsibility to Prevent Genocide

By Tharanga Yakupitiyage
Almost 70 years since the Genocide Convention was adopted, the international community still faces a continued and growing risk of genocide.

“Banging on the Door” – Women Fight for a Voice and Space in Civil Society

By Tharanga Yakupitiyage
The space for civil society organizations is shrinking around the world, with particular impacts on women activists and human rights defenders who face additional barriers due to their gender or sexual orientation.

Indigenous People, Guardians of Threatened Forests in Brazil

By Mario Osava
Indigenous peoples, recognised as the best guardians of the world's forests, are losing some battles in Brazil in the face of intensified pressure from the expansion of agriculture, mining and electricity generation.

On Gender Day at Climate Meet, Some Progress, Many Hurdles

By Stella Paul
“Five years ago, when we first started talking about including gender in the negotiations, the parties asked us, ‘Why gender?’ Today, they are asking, ‘How do we include gender?’ That’s the progress we have seen since Doha,” said Kalyani Raj.

‘Never Again’: Investing in Prevention and Early Action

By Tharanga Yakupitiyage
After the Rwandan genocide, the United Nations promised ‘never again.’ But has the international community kept their word?From Mexico to Myanmar, conflicts and humanitarian crises have multiplied.

Who is Really Responsible for Collapse of Zimbabwe’s Health Services?

By Frederic Mousseau
On October 22, 2017, the World Health Organization (WHO) announced that it had removed Zimbabwean president Robert Mugabe as a goodwill ambassador following outrage and concerns raised by his appointment just two days before.

Lack of International Action on Rohingya Crisis Called a “Disgrace”

By Tharanga Yakupitiyage
As the crisis in Myanmar reaches unprecedented levels, frustration is at its peak as the international community remains slow to respond and act cohesively.

Driven to Extremes–How Poverty Fuels Extremism, and How to Help Africa’s Youth

By Siddharth Chatterjee
Poverty is a blight, and one that disproportionately affects sub-Saharan Africa. It is a vast and complex issue whose tentacles reach into many areas, including climate change, sustainable development and–crucially–global security. The link between poverty and violent extremism is compelling, and means that if we want to address extremism, we must fight inequality too.

Dams Hurt Indigenous and Fishing Communities in Brazilian Amazon

By Mario Osava
The dirty water is killing more and more fish and ‘Taricaya’ yellow-spotted river turtles every day. In addition, the river is not following its usual cycle, and the water level rises or declines without warning, regardless of the season, complained three Munduruku indigenous law students in the south of Brazil’s Amazon rainforest.

Stepping Forward to Lead on Indigenous Rights

By Rukka Sombolinggi
When nine women farmers from the Kendeng community in Central Java encased their feet in cement blocks last year, many indigenous advocates understood how that felt. Dressed in their traditional clothing, these women protested outside the State Palace in Jakarta to block a proposed cement plant that would pollute the rivers flowing through their villages. Their livelihoods as farmers were under threat, as was their cultural heritage.

The Tuxá Indigenous Paradise, Submerged under Water

By Fabiana Frayssinet
The Tuxá indigenous people had lived for centuries in the north of the Brazilian state of Bahia, on the banks of the São Francisco River. But in 1988 their territory was flooded by the Itaparica hydropower plant, and since then they have become landless. Their roots are now buried under the waters of the reservoir.

Marginalised Minorities and Homeless Especially Hard-hit by Mexico’s Quake

By Emilio Godoy
Maricela Fernández, an indigenous woman from the Ñañhú or Otomí people, shows the damages that the Sept. 19 earthquake inflicted on the old house where 10 families of her people were living as squatters, in a neighbourhood in the center-west of Mexico City.

Indigenous Land Conflicts Finally Garner Attention in Argentina

By Daniel Gutman
The territorial claims of hundreds of indigenous communities, which extend throughout most of Argentina's vast geography, burst onto the public agenda of a country built by and for descendants of European colonisers and immigrants, accustomed to looking at native people as outsiders.

Refugee Camps “bursting at the seams” in Bangladesh

By Tharanga Yakupitiyage
A dramatic increase in the number of refugees fleeing Myanmar is placing a huge strain on already very limited resources in Bangladesh, the UN refugee agency (UNHCR) said.

Once Decimated by AIDS, Zimbabwe’s Khoisan Tribe Embraces Treatment

By Jeffrey Moyo
Sixty-seven-year-old Hloniphani Sidingo gives a broad smile while popping out through the gate of a clinic in her village, as she heads home clutching containers of anti-retroviral pills.
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