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Sunday, November 15, 2026
News and Views from the Global South
Indigenous Rights
DRUGS-BOLIVIA: More Cocaine, More Political Tension?
An eight percent rise in Bolivian coca cultivation documented by the United Nations, equaling an annual supply of 94 tonnes of cocaine, could cause tensions with Brazil and European Union (EU) countries where the illegal product is marketed, political observers say.MALAYSIA: Trade Fears Fuel EU Criticism of Race-Based Policy
Unexpected criticism of Malaysia’s race-based affirmative action policy by the European Union's top envoy reveals underlying concerns that this could be a stumbling block to unrestricted market access for European multinational firms in the region, say analysts.CANADA: First Nations Step Up Pressure on Land Claims
After facing heated criticism in recent weeks from First Nations groups, the Canadian government has committed to passing legislation to overhaul the Indian Claims Commission, a federal body that was set up to make recommendations on longstanding disputes.RIGHTS-AUSTRALIA: Despite Cop’s Acquittal, Furore Far from Over
Despite last week’s acquittal of a policeman on charges relating to the death of an Aboriginal man in custody, the furore around it – along with concerns about discrimination against indigenous Australians - is far from over.
COLOMBIA: Civil Resistance Aimed at Recuperating Biodiverse Lands
Indigenous and black communities of Colombia's north-western department of Chocó are trying to recover their lands and food sources, lost to the decades-long civil war that has taken its toll on this area of vast biological diversity.RIGHTS-AUSTRALIA: Cop in Rare Trial for Custodial Death of Aborigine
For the first time in decades an Australian policeman is facing trial on charges of manslaughter and assault in relation to the death of an aboriginal man while in custody.EGYPT: Bedouin Take On the Govt
Last month saw a wave of angry sit-in demonstrations held by the Bedouin of Egypt's Sinai Peninsula, triggered by the killing of two tribesmen by police in April. And last week, Bedouin leaders again reiterated their long list of grievances, claiming that state representatives had so far failed to meet their basic demands.BOLIVIA: Disenfranchised 2.5 Million Soon to Have the Vote
Bolivia's lower house of Congress is working hard to approve a draft law that would grant citizens living abroad the right to vote in time for next year's referendum on the new constitution being drafted by a constituent assembly.
RIGHTS-AUSTRALIA: Too Little, Too Late for Lost Generation Aborigines
A decade after the release of the landmark 'Bringing Them Home Report' on the forced removal of indigenous children from their families - known as the Stolen Generations - the situation for indigenous Australians remains desperate.
BOLIVIA: Not Another 500 Years of Marginalisation, Say Indigenous Leaders
"We prefer to defend our rights with bloodshed and die rather than wait another 500 years," says Esperanza Huanca, a Quechua Indian who is one of the 84 women in the constituent assembly that is rewriting Bolivia's constitution.SRI LANKA: Gov't in Serious Image Crisis
"Somewhere in the jungles of Vanni (northern Sri Lanka), Velupillai Prabhakaran (Tamil Tiger rebel leader) is rubbing his hands in glee. The actions of the Sri Lankan government during the last week, however quickly reversed, best served his interests, and his alone," 'The Nation' commented in its Sunday editorial.SRI LANKA: Court Stays Eviction of Tamils From Capital
The nationalist government of President Mahinda Rajapakse received a rap on the knuckles from the country's apex court Friday when it ordered a stop to the indiscriminate deportation of ethnic Tamils from the national capital to their homes in the island's north and east.RELIGION-MALAYSIA: Mired in Holy Quandary
After a landmark superior court decision downgraded secular law and constitutional guarantees against Islamic rules, a storm of protest has been building up as government and civil society rush to find a solution to the religious impasse.
ENVIRONMENT: Audit Clears Once-Leaky Pipeline for Funding
A controversial gas pipeline in the pristine heart of the Amazon forest that has ruptured six times since its inception received a clean bill of health this week from the main financial backer, the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), drawing scepticism from indigenous groups and international environmentalists.GUATEMALA: Whitewash for ‘Adoption Paradise’
Guatemala may begin to shed its reputation as a paradise for international adoption now that its parliament has ratified a global adoption treaty and is preparing to pass a law that would regulate the phenomenon in a country where the trafficking and sale of babies have become widespread.MEDIA-SRI LANKA: Building Ethnic Harmony With Community Radio
In this tea-growing hill country, about 150 km from Colombo, a state-run community radio station is creating harmony among the country's Sinhalese, Tamil and Muslim ethnic groups by broadcasting from the villages and opening up the airwaves to people's participation.RELIGION-MALAYSIA: No Freedom of Worship for Muslims Says Court
The stunning decision by Malaysia's highest secular court this week that freedom of worship, a constitutional guarantee, does not apply to Malay Muslims is a major blow to freedom and constitutional democracy, lawyers and human rights activists say.SRI LANKA: War Refugees Stressed by Mass Resettlement
An army-supervised mass resettlement plan underway for more than 100,000 people, displaced by fierce battles with Tamil rebels in eastern Batticaloa district, may be causing new problems for the refugees rather than solving existing ones, say volunteers.LABOUR: Reversing South Africa’s Brain Drain
The short, black and white film projected on a white board in a room filled with about 200 South African expatriates had an unambiguous message - if you want a better South Africa, come back home and help build it.
RIGHTS-CANADA: First Nations Warn of a Long, Hot Summer
Phil Fontaine, the Chief of the Assembly of First Nations, a Canadian aboriginal governing body, says that the anger felt by First Nations communities over deplorable economic and social conditions has hit a wall and civil disobedience will increase in the coming months.CHILE: Rights of Mapuche Indians Still Not Ensured
Indigenous people in Chile face serious problems in terms of access to justice and protection of their rights, Sergio Laurenti, executive director of Amnesty International-Chile, told IPS.« Previous Page — Next Page »
The planet's roughly 350 million indigenous peoples took notable steps on the international stage in the last decade. They got the world's governments to agree to create a body to represent them at the United Nations, the Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues, and to appoint a special rapporteur responsible for their human rights. In 2007 a Universal Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples was approved by the UN. Yet the living conditions of most "tribal", "aboriginal", "native" or "first" peoples remain precarious. IPS, with its network of contributors at the UN and linked to indigenous communities worldwide, is committed to tracking the world community's efforts to do justice to the rights and aspirations of these peoples, with a special current focus on Latin America's 40 million rural indigenous peoples.
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