Indigenous Rights

World Day for Indigenous Peoples

By IPS World Desk
370 million self-identified indigenous peoples are spread across the world, but continue to face discrimination and marginalization.Dispossessed of their lands, territories and ancestral resources, these people have increasingly been forced to give up their way of life, and have been pushed into unfamiliar worlds to survive.

How the Yanadi, an Oppressed Indigenous People in India, are Reclaiming Their Rights One Village At a Time

By Stella Paul
Under the blazing midday sun, a tractor moves slowly along a dirt trail in Nacharwari Pallem, a village of the Yanadi indigenous people located some three hours from Chennai city in South India. Atop the tractor, women of the village – 36 in all – sit expectantly, ignoring the heat. Squeals of excitement fill the air as the tractor slowly halts near a stretch of rice fields.  

Farmer-Herder Conflicts on the Rise in Africa

By Juliana Nnoko-Mewanu
Violent clashes between farmers and herders in Nigeria’s Middle Belt in June reminded me of a smelting hot afternoon a year ago.  I was sitting in my living room watching a herder grazing his cows in my yard in the small town in southwestern Cameroon where I live.

Helping Indigenous Peoples Live Equal Lives

By Emily Thampoe
Although indigenous peoples are being increasingly recognised by both rights activists and governmental organisations, they are still being neglected in legal documents and declarations. Indigenous peoples are only mentioned in two of the 17 United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and only seen in two of the 230 SDG indicators, says indigenous rights expert Chris Chapman.

Protecting the Rights of Indigenous Peoples as They are Forced to Move into Cities

By Sopho Kharazi
On Aug. 9 the observance of the International Day of the World’s Indigenous Peoples will take place in the Economic and Social Council Chamber at the United Nations Headquarters in New York, bringing together U.N. agencies and member states, civil society and indigenous peoples’ organisations.

Indigenous Peoples Recover Native Languages in Mexico

By Daniela Pastrana
Ángel Santiago is a Mexican teenager who speaks one of the variations of the Zapotec language that exists in the state of Oaxaca, in the southwest of Mexico. Standing next to the presidential candidate who is the favorite for the July elections, he calls for an educational curriculum that "respects our culture and our languages."

After More Than a Decade, Rights of Indigenous Peoples Not Fully Realized

By Miroslav Lajčák
First, I want to talk about how we got here.It was nearly 100 years ago, when indigenous peoples first asserted their rights, on the international stage. But, they did not see much progress. At least until 1982 - when the first Working Group on Indigenous Populations was established.

DR Congo’s Mai-Ndombe Forest ‘Savaged’ As Landless Communities Struggle

By Issa Sikiti da Silva
Thousands of logs loaded into makeshift boats at the port of Inongo at Lake Mai-Ndombe stand ready to be transported to Kinshasa, the capital of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).

The UN tells private enterprise leaders that “Business as Usual Won’t Work”.

By Will Higginbotham
As global citizens face an array of issues from unemployment to discrimination, affecting their livelihoods and potential, a UN agency called upon businesses to employ a new, sustainable, and inclusive model that benefits all.

Drowning for Progress in Cambodia

By Pascal Laureyn
Suddenly the road ends. The cart track disappears under the water. A vast lake stretches out in front of me. I have to transfer from a motorbike to a canoe. "Tuk laang," my guide says coolly. "The water is rising."

Latin American Indigenous People Fight New Plunder of Their Resources

By Fabiana Frayssinet
Indigenous communities in Latin America, who have suffered the plunder of their natural resources since colonial times, are reliving that phenomenon again as mega infrastructure are jeopardising their habitat and their very survival.

Rohingya Crisis May Be Genocide, UN Officials Say

By Tharanga Yakupitiyage
In the wake of persistent violence against the Rohingya community, UN officials have expressed growing fears that genocide is being incited and committed in Myanmar.

For the Rural Poor of Peru, the Social Agenda is Far Away

By Mariela Jara
“The day will come when people do not have to go to the cities to overcome poverty," says Elmer Pinares, mayor of an Andean highlands municipality in Cuzco, in southern Peru, where malnutrition and lack of support for subsistence farming are among the main problems.

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.
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