Failure to consult Indigenous Peoples on future pandemics will further harm children’s education by Amnesty International   Feb. 2025   The failure of governments around the world to consult Indigenous Peoples on Covid-19 school closures and other emergency pandemic responses violated their rights, as children continue to feel the effects five years after the first global lockdown, Amnesty International said in a new report today.   Indigenous leaders interviewed by Amnesty International for its report What If Indigenous Consent Is Not Respected?, testified to sharp and sustained increases in post-pandemic absenteeism and school dropout rates, of more than 80 per cent in some cases, among Indigenous children in more than 10 countries. Indigenous leaders and activists also voiced concerns that the often discriminatory, desultory or non-existent response by authorities to the educational needs of Indigenous children during the pandemic worsened long-standing inequities faced by Indigenous communities – with Indigenous girls and children with disabilities particularly disadvantaged. Going forward, the organization is calling for Indigenous Peoples to be consulted during future pandemics.   “The Indigenous leaders and activists we spoke to felt completely ignored by governments during the pandemic, which had an enduring and damaging impact on their rights and prospects,” said Chris Chapman, Amnesty International’s Researcher on Indigenous Rights.   “They said that remote learning solutions were often unavailable to Indigenous children. Those in rural areas, where Indigenous communities often lacked devices, internet connections, electricity and the technological knowledge or capacity to participate in virtual classes or remote learning, were worst affected.”   When lower-tech solutions such as printed materials were distributed to other groups, Indigenous communities in several different countries said they were passed over, ignored, or asked to pay for them.   Indigenous campaigner Sylvia Kokunda said: “For the most part these materials were distributed by the local government, since it can be easier for the village chairperson to identify the people in this community. However, local officials would not give the materials to these Batwa people, they would give only to their people.”   Radio or television-based educational broadcasting during the pandemic was often unavailable in Indigenous languages. An Ogiek activist said that although Sogoot FM 97.1, an Ogiek language radio station, was used to reach the community to inform them about Covid-19 and its impacts, it was not used for school coursework.   The report is based on data and more than 80 interviews or collected responses that Amnesty International gathered to explore how Indigenous students around the world were impacted by pandemic-related school closures, including in Democratic Republic of Congo, India, Kenya, Mexico, Nepal, Russia, Taiwan and Uganda.   There are 476 million Indigenous people worldwide in more than 90 countries, belonging to 5,000 different Indigenous groups and speaking more than 4,000 languages.   Technology, discrimination and dropout rates   Where Indigenous families had limited access to technology for remote learning during the pandemic, boys were often prioritized.   According to Indigenous women activists from Nepal,“If some families have a mobile, then only one or two will use it. And if there are more children in the house, one has to sacrifice their education. When it comes to the sacrifice, the girls are sacrificed more.”   Even if Indigenous students had devices capable of being used for remote learning, their families were sometimes unable to afford sufficient data. In addition, remote teaching was rarely provided in Indigenous languages.   Children with learning difficulties or disabilities which required specialist teaching, for instance through use of sign language or braille, were often excluded, including among Indigenous communities.   Interviewees in many states said there was often little or no government monitoring, or consideration of the effectiveness of alternative learning initiatives for Indigenous communities. Information on how to access education when schools closed – and they stayed shut for more than 18 months in some countries – was rarely provided in Indigenous languages.   Students with little or no access to education during the pandemic often worked instead, and never returned to schools when they reopened. Those who did return when schools reopened, often found that they had fallen behind their classmates. If they were unwilling to retake a year, or could not be supported financially, they too dropped out.   In Kenya, the majority of dropouts of Ogiek students were girls, especially girls who got pregnant during Covid-19 or were subjected to early marriage. However, it affected boys too. An Indigenous activist from Kenya said: “Boys between the ages of 12 and 18 who had begun working in jobs such as motorcycle taxi drivers or farm workers to earn money for themselves and their families also dropped out.”   Some schools across many states never reopened, further reducing access to education for Indigenous children, Indigenous activists reported.   Asked to reply to Amnesty’s findings, the Mexican government stated that it responded to the “unprecedented challenge of Covid-19″ by working with Indigenous schools and teachers to roll out a set of measures including distributing materials in five Indigenous languages, sometimes in printed formats where access to internet or devices was restricted, developing new digital educational materials, and capacity-building for schools and parents to use digital platforms.   Recommendations   “Significantly more resources are now required to safeguard, restore and improve the educational opportunities and rights of Indigenous communities,” Chris Chapman said.   “States must work with Indigenous communities to immediately restore and enhance the right to education for all Indigenous children including a focus on re-enrolling Indigenous girls, and Indigenous students with disabilities.”   Alongside the report, Amnesty International has shared a guide for researchers who wish to investigate the extent to which the human right to participate effectively in decision-making has been violated, especially when it comes to Indigenous communities.   “Governments must consult with Indigenous Peoples on Covid-19 response measures and other pandemic and emergency response measures, otherwise they risk violating their right to consultation, and their right to give or withhold their consent to decisions affecting them. Our study highlights the risks of failing to take into account the realities, cultures and rights of Indigenous Peoples,” said Chris Chapman.   “While our report sets out the devastating impact of this lack of inclusion, it’s hoped that Amnesty’s guide will ensure Indigenous people are included in discussions that affect them in the future. Every child has the right to free, high-quality primary education. States must therefore ensure that no child is left behind.”   http://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2025/02/global-failure-to-consult-indigenous-peoples-on-future-pandemics-will-further-harm-childrens-education/
	DRC: Indigenous peoples must not be forgotten in conflict by Minority Rights Group Democratic Republic of Congo   4 Feb. 2025   Minority Rights Group is gravely concerned by the impact of the developing situation in the Democratic Republic of Congo on its indigenous Batwa and Bambuti communities. The security situation is deteriorating daily with the presence of the M23 rebel group in Kalehe territory since last Saturday.   MRG urges all parties to the conflict to respect and to ensure respect for international humanitarian and human rights law, halt their violations and ensure the protection of all civilians affected by the conflict. According to credible reports received by MRG, indigenous communities living in affected areas find themselves in a situation of particular vulnerability.   This is due to repeated and protracted displacements and to the destruction of their shelters, forcing them to be on the move in a conflict zone. They are facing heightened risk if they try to return to their ancestral territory as it is occupied by rebel groups. They also face unique challenges in terms of access to humanitarian aid.   As the security and human rights crises are unfolding, impunity is not an option. Violations of human rights and humanitarian law committed by all parties must be duly investigated, and perpetrators must be held to account.   The international community has a role to play in that regard, and MRG calls on the UN Human Rights Council to urgently establish an independent investigative mechanism with a robust mandate to investigate violations committed since the resurgence of the M23 in late 2021, identify perpetrators, establish facts and preserve evidence to pave the way for justice, truth and reparations for victims, survivors and their families.   Special efforts must be made to ensure equal and inclusive access to humanitarian aid. MRG calls on all parties to the conflict to allow unhindered humanitarian access to the affected region.   The situation is having a very serious impact on the lives of the indigenous Batwa people, especially those living in and around their ancestral lands within the Kahuzi-Biega National Park, already marginalized by a long history of human rights violations against them.   It is foreseeable that the presence of minerals and other raw materials including gold and cobalt in the areas around the Kahuzi-Biega National Park, could soon increase the violence faced by this Batwa community as armed groups seek to profit from these valuable commodities. The clashes between the various armed groups vying for these mining areas seem to be more focused in Batwa villages, particularly: Tchimoto, Katasomwa, Batanga and Bakubanagana.   Indigenous Bambuti communities in the region are affected in North Kivu and part of Ituri. It should be noted that the persistence of armed conflict in North Kivu is causing the further deterioration of living conditions of these indigenous people, particularly individuals from Rutsuru and Masisi, which are currently occupied by the M23 rebels. These persons have now been displaced to informal camps around the town of Goma, cut off from access to humanitarian assistance.   The situation in these camps is very insecure, leaving many Bambuti with no option but to return to their ancestral land, where they are better able to meet their needs. This puts them at risk of being caught in the crossfire between the Congolese army and the rebels occupying the forest areas and further increases their vulnerability, in addition to the precarious humanitarian situation they are facing.   Community leaders also describe how the biometric registration system recommended by several humanitarian agencies for registering internally displaced people excludes indigenous peoples from receiving support because of their low level of literacy and the constraints imposed by the technology. As a result, many internally displaced Bambuti do not have the same access to humanitarian assistance as other populations.   http://minorityrights.org/drc-2025/ Visit the related web page
	View more stories