Indigenous Peoples’ Day: States should continue addressing challenges for Indigenous defenders by International Service for Human Rights (ISHR) August 2024 On the International Day of the World's Indigenous Peoples, we recognise and celebrate the important role that Indigenous defenders play in the promotion and protection of human rights, their communities, territories and the environment. Indigenous communities have a history of taking care of the environment. While they are among those who contribute the least to climate change and environmental degradation, they are one of the groups who are facing most vulnerabilities and risks. Indigenous Peoples have been historically marginalised, discriminated against, and subjected to numerous violations related to land grabbing, forced evictions, extractive industry operations and other threats. In addition, Indigenous defenders are also constantly exposed to harassment, intimidation, criminalisation and in some cases killings. According to the Business and Human Rights Resource Centre, between January 2015 and August 2022, 883 attacks on Indigenous human rights defenders were documented related to business operations, including killings, threats, arbitrary detention, and strategic lawsuits against public participation (SLAPPs). States should establish measures to guarantee that Indigenous defenders can exercise their individual and collective rights without intimidation and harassment; develop, adopt and adapt adequate protection mechanisms for Indigenous defenders and communities; and establish adequate measures to guarantee that State and non-State actors, including businesses, are held accountable for attacks against Indigenous Peoples. Consultation and free, prior and informed consent During the most recent session of the United Nations Expert Mechanism on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, ISHR highlighted the importance of conducting effective and meaningful consultation with the objective of obtaining the free, prior and informed consent of Indigenous Peoples. Reaching such consent should not be a mere formality, but an ongoing process that should be conducted in good faith, transparency and through mechanisms established by Indigenous Peoples’ own forms of organisation. In French Guyana, the United Nations Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (CERD) recently expressed concern about the lack of such process by the Centrale Électrique de l’Ouest Guyanais (CEOG), a power plant that has been under construction since November 2022: there ‘might have been no consultation or free, prior and informed consent of the Kali’na people before the approval of the project’. The communities have insisted that they did not oppose the construction of the power plant per se, but its proposed location which is currently in a forest of major cultural and economic importance for the village of Prosperite. In Guatemala, in addition to the structural discrimination faced by Indigenous Peoples, climate change, desertification, land grabbing, and the consequences of extractive industries have led Indigenous communities to displace from their territories. The situation has worsened due to increasedforced evictions in the country, particularly in Alta and Baja Verapaz. ‘The dispossession of [Indigenous Peoples’] lands is a scourge that has worsened in recent years,’ said Volker Turk, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, during his official visit to Guatemala in July this year. Inclusive and meaningful participation of Indigenous Peoples in multilateral arena Enhancing the participation of Indigenous Peoples is paramount to guaranteeing that decision making processes are inclusive and meaningful. For this reason, ISHR welcomes the organisation of the First Inter-sessional meeting to discuss and develop measures to enable and facilitate the participation of Indigenous Peoples in the work of the United Nations Human Rights Council (HRC). In this sense, the HRC should take into consideration three guiding pillars when enhancing the participation of Indigenous Peoples: self-determination, self-identification and consultation. During the session, ISHR highlighted that enhancing the participation of Indigenous Peoples would also require addressing the current limitations for engagement within the UN system. For instance, it would require tackling the lack of provisions for remote and hybrid participation tools, which disproportionately impacts underrepresented groups and hinders their access to multilateral spaces. Moreover, the lack of financial support and of flexible visa procedures are also challenges that prevent meaningful and inclusive participation of Indigenous Peoples. There is an urgent need for action to tackle these challenges,including appropriate security measures, addressing the language and technological barriers that may deter Indigenous Peoples’ engagement; and establishing procedures, including registration platforms, that are accessible, transparent, inclusive, and sensitive to their needs. While the discussions will continue in October, States should ensure that Indigenous Peoples are meaningfully consulted and can participate genuinely in matters that affect their rights. http://ishr.ch/latest-updates/indigenous-peoples-day-states-should-continue-addressing-challenges-for-indigenous-defenders/ |
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Tanzania: Indigenous Maasai being Forcibly Relocated by Human Rights Watch, agencies July 2024 Tanzania’s government is forcibly relocating Indigenous Maasai residents from their homes and ancestral lands in the Ngorongoro Conservation Area (NCA), Human Rights Watch said in a report released today. Before further relocations are planned or carried out, the Tanzanian authorities should restore essential public services and consult affected communities to seek their free, prior, and informed consent. The 86-page report, “It’s Like Killing Culture,” documents the Tanzanian government program that began in 2022 to relocate over 82,000 people from the NCA to Msomera village, about 600 kilometers away, to use their land for conservation and tourism purposes. Since 2021, the authorities have significantly reduced the availability and accessibility of essential public services, including schools and health centers. This downsizing of infrastructure and services, coupled with limiting access to cultural sites and grazing areas and a ban on growing crops, has made life increasingly difficult for residents, forcing many to relocate. “The Maasai are being forcibly evicted under the guise of voluntary relocation,” said Juliana Nnoko, senior researcher on women and land at Human Rights Watch. “The Tanzanian government should halt these relocations and respect the rights of Indigenous people and rural communities by ensuring their participation in decisions affecting their rights and livelihoods through genuine consultation, access to information, and consent of Indigenous groups.” The NCA, a United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization World Heritage Site is managed by the Ngorongoro Conservation Area Authority (NCAA), a government entity. The area has been home to the Maasai for generations. The government has not sought the free, prior, and informed consent of the Indigenous Maasai residents in the area about the government’s resettlement plan, Human Rights Watch found. The residents did not have access to information on matters related to the relocation process, compensation, what conditions to expect in Msomera, and which villagers had registered for relocation. By disregarding its obligations, the government raises serious concerns about the prospects for accountability, justice, and remedies required under international, regional, and national law. Human Rights Watch interviewed nearly 100 people between August 2022 and December 2023, including current residents in the conservation area, former residents now in Msomera village, and Msomera residents who had already been living there. They described violations of their rights to land, education, health, and compensation and attacks on critics of the relocation process. “No [government] leader has come to listen to the citizens of Ngorongoro to know what their problems are,” said a village council member in the NCA. The lack of consultation has prevented meaningful engagement and exacerbated the harm to residents in both locales. The authorities have instituted new rules that restrict movement in and out of the conservation area. Since 2022, the NCAA security personnel have arbitrarily required residents to show various types of identification to verify their place of residence and permit entry, even if that resident is known to the guard. Guards deny residents entry or force them to pay a relatively costly tourist fee to enter if they do not have the specific type of identification demanded. The authorities have denied entry to nongovernmental organizations or followed and monitored their representatives who have been permitted access. Authorities have also imposed increasingly exorbitant entry fees for local groups: an annual fee in 2022, a vehicle fee per entry in 2023, and a per person and per vehicle fee for each entry in 2024. These actions make it difficult for local groups to continue supporting the Maasai communities in the area and make it increasingly hard for residents to get information and other support.. http://www.hrw.org/news/2024/07/31/tanzania-indigenous-maasai-being-forcibly-relocated http://secure.avaaz.org/campaign/en/maasai_voting_rights_loc/ http://news.mongabay.com/2024/08/community-consultations-must-also-include-women-not-just-men-commentary/ July 2024 DRC: Respecting indigenous peoples’ rights ruled key in fighting climate crisis. (Minority Rights Group) The forcible eviction of the indigenous Batwa community from their ancestral lands within the Kahuzi-Biega National Park (PNKB) was a violation of their rights by the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) government, finds the African Commission on Human and People’s Rights in a historic decision. The ruling recognizes Batwa as the best guardians of biodiversity and calls for their return to their land. ‘This is a huge win for the climate justice movement,’ says Samuel Ade Ndasi, African Union Litigation and Advocacy Officer at Minority Rights Group (MRG). ‘The decision negates the idea that solving the climate crisis requires displacing indigenous communities and seizing their lands. Instead, it sets a strong precedent that recognizes the value of indigenous traditional knowledge and environmental and biodiversity conservation practices. From this point forward, no indigenous community should be evicted in the name of conservation anywhere in Africa.’ In the 1970s Batwa were violently expelled from their homes and dispossessed of their ancestral lands to pave way for the creation of the PNKB. They were forced into decades of grinding impoverishment, severe discrimination, landlessness and skyrocketing mortality in informal settlements on the outskirts of the park. In the two devastating decades after expulsion, the number of Batwa expelled from the park fell from an estimated 6,000 to just 3,000. In 2022, an MRG investigation documented a three-year campaign of organized violence by park authorities and Congolese soldiers to expel Batwa who had returned to their lands in 2018, resulting in the death of at least 20, group rape of at least 15 and forced displacement of hundreds. The case, brought by MRG and Environnement, Ressources Naturelles et Developpement (ERND) on behalf of the Batwa community, highlighted the continual violent evictions and human rights abuses suffered by the Batwa community was filed at the African Commission in 2015, after five years of fighting for redress in the DRC’s domestic legal system to no avail. Josephine M’Cibalida, a Batwa community member, shares her experience: ‘While we were hunting, state agents invaded our community and burned down our homes, leaving us homeless and destitute. We lost everything, including our dignity as human beings. This ruling brings us hope that we will receive justice for the harm done to us.’ For the first time ever, the Commission’s ruling specifically recognizes an indigenous people’s crucial role in safeguarding the environment and biodiversity. It found that conservation models excluding indigenous peoples from their lands are not effective for fighting climate change in Africa. Key recommendations from the Commission to the DRC government include: A full public apology to the Batwa, acknowledging the deadly abuse by ecoguards, eviction-related deaths and the inhumane living conditions to which Batwa have been subjected; Legally recognize Batwa as full citizens of the DRC; Pay compensation to the Batwa; Demarcate and grant collective titles to Batwa over ancestral territories within the PNKB; Establish a community development fund and share park revenues with Batwa; Withdraw non-Batwa persons from Batwa ancestral lands. Jean-Marie Bantu Baluge, ERND spokesperson says: ‘Reclaiming the rights of indigenous peoples to their ancestral lands and resources is paramount to their survival and in protecting biodiversity. The Commission’s Decision offers a lifeline to the Batwa people and other indigenous communities in the Congo Basin who have been battered for over half a century in the name of conservation.’ The African Union has fully endorsed the Commission’s Decision. Both the Executive Council and the Assembly approved it during their Ordinary Sessions held in February 2023 in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. However, its publication was delayed by months. MRG received a copy of a corrigendum to the Decision, containing important clarifications in late June 2024. The corrigendum will be made available on the African Commission’s website in due course. http://minorityrights.org/batwa-ruling/ http://minorityrights.org/events/open-civic-space-and-the-right-to-participation-essential-steps-on-the-path-to-climate-justice/ Visit the related web page |
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