Indigenous Rights

‘Humanitarian Crisis’ for Ogaden Living Near Ethiopia’s Oil Fields

By Ed McKenna
New allegations of scorched earth evictions of the Ogaden people have raised concerns that a lack of benefit sharing could escalate instability in the region and reinforce separatist tensions as foreign energy companies prepare to extract oil and gas from troubled southeastern Ethiopia.

Chagos Islanders ‘Will Not Give Up’ Fight to Return Home

By Nasseem Ackbarally

“The Marine Protected Area (MPA) created around the Chagos archipelago is a new obstacle that the British government has placed in our path to prevent us from going back to our homeland,” claims Olivier Bancoult, leader of the Chagos Refugees Group (CRG).

Bolivia’s Anti-Racism Law – Not Worth the Paper It’s Written On?

By Franz Chávez
Three years ago Bolivia passed a law to combat discrimination and racism, but no one has been convicted as a result, in spite of hundreds of legal complaints.

After Slowdown, Global Fight for Land Rights at Tipping Point

By Carey L. Biron
Global trends towards a strengthening of legal rights over land for local and indigenous communities appear to have slowed significantly in recent years, leading some analysts to warn that the fight for local control over forests has reached an inflection point with a new danger of backtracking on previous progress.

Prosecution of Forced Sterilisations in Peru Still Possible

By Milagros Salazar
Shelving the case of the forced sterilisations of more than 2,000 women in Peru during the Alberto Fujimori regime was a surprise move by the prosecutor in charge. What happened? An IPS investigation found that legal avenues to pursue justice have not been exhausted.

U.S. Tightens Development Safeguards

By Carey L. Biron
Development activists and rights watchdogs are applauding a surprise strengthening of environmental and human rights policies governing U.S. development funding and overseas financial assistance.

Kenya’s Scorched Earth Removal of Forest’s Indigenous

By Matthew Newsome
Kenyan government security forces are forcefully evicting thousands of people, including the indigenous Sengwer tribe, from the Embobut forest in western Kenya by burning homes and possessions in an effort to promote forest conservation, safeguard urban water access and “remove squatters”.

Dammed Rivers Create Hardship for Brazil’s Native Peoples

By Mario Osava
The Itaparica hydroelectric power plant occupied land belonging to the Pankararu indigenous people, but while others were compensated, they were not. They have lost land and access to the São Francisco river, charge native leaders in Paulo Afonso, a city in northeastern Brazil.

Africa’s Billions that the Poor Won’t Touch

By Jeffrey Moyo and Miriam Gathigah
With its two-trillion-dollar economy, recent discoveries of billions of dollars worth of minerals and oil, and the number of investment opportunities it has to offer global players, Africa is slowly shedding its image as a development burden. 

The Legacy of Canada’s First PM Much Darker to First Nations

By Paul Weinberg
Many of the challenges faced by the Conservative government in its relations with Canada's aboriginal peoples may come to a head at the 200th birthday events for Sir John A. Macdonald, the country's first prime minister, set for Jan. 11, 2015.

Tanzania Struggles to End Clashes Between Farmers and Herders

By Kizito Makoye
Tanzanian authorities are finding it increasingly difficult to deal with ongoing conflicts between farmers and pastoralists as they fight over limited land and water resources in this East African nation.

OP-ED: Baka’s Struggle a Footnote to Story of Cameroon’s Growth

By Sarah Tucker
A recent article by IPS journalist Ngala Killian Chimtom described the struggle of the Baka of Cameroon to maintain their indigenous culture and livelihoods while coping with the rapidly-changing environment around them.

Sawhoyamaxa Battle for Their Land in Paraguay

By Natalia Ruiz Diaz
The Sawhoyamaxa indigenous community in Paraguay have spent over 20 years fighting to get back their land, which they were pushed off by cattle ranchers.

Anti-Poaching Operation Spreads Terror in Tanzania

By Kizito Makoye
Ali Nyenge, a resident of Iputi ward in Tanzania's northern Ulanga District, woke up as anti-poaching security officers surrounded his home. He says they accused him of illegal hunting and in front of his 11-year-old son, made him take his clothes off, poured salt water on his body and whipped him with a cane.

Baka Caught in the Maze of Modernism

By Ngala Killian Chimtom
Essomba Dominique, a Baka man from Mindourou in Cameroon’s East Region, sits dulled-eyed in front of his hut, known in the Baka language as the ‘mongoulou’.

West Papua Searches Far for Rights

By Catherine Wilson
The indigenous struggle for liberation in West Papua on the western half of the island of New Guinea in the south-west Pacific, with the loss of thousands of lives, is far from ending. But, despite political uncertainties, a united coalition of pro-independence leaders has reignited hope of freedom by galvanising the support of a Pacific Islands inter-governmental organisation.

When Home Becomes a Firing Zone

By Pierre Klochendler
Jinba is in the crosshair of ‘Firing Zone 918’ - and ‘Firing Zone 918’ is a microcosm of the Israeli occupation. Together with seven other communities, Jinba is slated for demolition to make way for an Israeli training ground. Forced eviction hangs over a thousand Palestinians.

Women Advance in Distant Islands

By Catherine Wilson
Women’s political representation in the Pacific Islands region is globally the lowest at 3.65 percent, compared to the world average of 18 percent. Leadership is still widely perceived as ‘men’s business’ and voting is heavily influenced by nepotism and money politics. However, Rhoda Sikilabu, minister for community affairs in Isabel Province in the Solomon Islands is demonstrating that women leaders can drive development progress and win voter support.

Dam the Fish

By Michelle Tolson
“I prefer the dam to the fish,” says middle-aged farmer Ton Noun, when asked his opinion on a proposed 400 megawatt dam on Sesan river near his home in northeastern Cambodia. Then he chuckles and asks, “What fish?”

Native Americans Seek Equal Access to Voting Precincts

By Matthew Charles Cardinale
In a lawsuit that could have nationwide implications for ballot-box access for tribes across the United States, Native Americans from Montana are pushing for early voting precincts to be placed closer to the locations of three tribal reservations - the Crow, Northern Cheyenne, and Fort Belknap reservations.   

Mundurukú Indians in Brazil Protest Tapajós Dams

By Fabíola Ortiz
It took them three days to make the 2,000-km journey by bus from their Amazon jungle villages.
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