States should continue addressing challenges for Indigenous defenders by OHCHR, IWGIA, ISHR   Nov. 2024   Mexico: UN expert concerned over criminalisation, arbitrary detention and long sentences for indigenous defenders. (OHCHR)   The UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights defenders, Mary Lawlor, today expressed concern about the arbitrary detention of indigenous human rights defenders in Mexico and the imposition of harsh sentences against them.   “I am alarmed that numerous indigenous human rights defenders have not only been criminalised for their peaceful and legitimate activities but have also been subjected to very long prison sentences or prolonged pre-trial detention, with the apparent intention of preventing them from carrying out their human rights work,” Lawlor said.   The Special Rapporteur highlighted the cases of 10 indigenous defenders convicted in judicial proceedings she said indicated significant violations of due process. “The human rights defenders appear to have been wrongly accused of crimes such as murder, in some cases even when they were not in the place or area where the crime took place,” she said.   The combined sentences of nine of the 10 defenders totalled almost 300 years in prison, while one of the defenders - Zapotec leader Pablo Lopez Alavez – has been detained for 14 years without a sentence. In 2017, the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention concluded that the defender's deprivation of liberty was arbitrary.   The Special Rapporteur cited the following cases: David Hernandez Salazar, sentenced to 46 years and 6 months in prison; Kenia Hernandez Montalvan, sentenced to 21 years and 9 months; Tomas Martinez Mandujano, sentenced to 43 years and 9 months; Saul Rosales Melendez, sentenced to 20 years; Versain Velasco Garcia, sentenced to 58 years; Agustin Perez Velasco, Martín Perez Dominguez, Juan Velasco Aguilar and Agustin Perez Dominguez, sentenced to 25 years each.   “These long-term sentences represent the extreme end of a very worrying trend of the misuse of criminal law against indigenous defenders – many of them leaders of their communities, apparently to limit their ability to protect their communities and defend human rights in general,” Lawlor said.   The work of the 10 defenders focuses on issues that pose a threat to their communities, including development, exploitation of natural resources and land, the detrimental effect of the extractivist economic model and organised crime.   “Therefore, the impact of their criminalisation and prolonged incarceration goes far beyond the harm to them as individuals and negatively impacts their communities,” Lawlor said..   http://www.ohchr.org/en/press-releases/2024/11/mexico-un-expert-concerned-over-criminalisation-arbitrary-detention-and-long   Oct. 2024   Indigenous Peoples’ Human Rights Defenders forge solidarity amid rising challenges. (IWGIA)   Across the world, Indigenous Peoples’ Human Rights Defenders (IPHRDs) face threats and reprisals for standing up for their rights, protesting violations, protecting their territories, communities, and the environment. In doing so they are far too often victims of violence, harassment, arbitrary arrest, forced disappearance, and worse, killings. And these threats are increasing.   This is why the Indigenous Peoples Human Rights Defenders (IPHRD) Network convened in Kampong Thom Province, Cambodia, in August 2024, for a critical exchange of experiences, joint strategizing and learning, as well as capacity strengthening through training sessions.   “I am very honored to be a part of this meaningful exchange. Bringing together IPHRDs from various countries and communities is important for building solidarity, learning and sharing with each other, and advocating for collective action”, said Casselle Ton, Kankaney Igorot from the Philippines.   Amidst the growing human rights threats they face, this meeting between IPHRDs in Asia served as an important platform for solidarity, coordination and mutual support, enabling them to speak up more powerfully as one network, rather than doing so alone, which can often leave them exposed to danger.   “By sharing our experiences, we strengthen our collective voice and resilience. This exchange has helped broaden my understanding of Indigenous issues and has also inspired me with the stories of courage and strength from other participants,” Ton said. “I am returning home with renewed determination to continue my work as an IPHRD and contribute to the international movement for Indigenous Peoples’ rights.”   Time of crisis for Indigenous Peoples’ rights   The Cambodia gathering took place in a climate of persisting violence, where the fundamental freedoms of assembly and speech were severely constrained. This repression was fueled by both governmental and corporate failure to acknowledge Indigenous Peoples’ rights to self-determination, autonomy, and the principle of free, prior, and informed consent.   These rights, which are critical to Indigenous communities' ability to control decisions affecting their lives and lands, were systematically undermined, deepening the sense of marginalization and exacerbating the challenges they face in safeguarding their territories and cultural heritage.   The current political climate across Asia was also a major topic of concern, where participants noted that this new climate has allowed for more flagrant attacks and continued impunity for the perpetrators. They spoke of dramatic rollbacks in hard-won gains for Indigenous Peoples’ rights that have taken years to achieve, alongside increasing risks of reprisals for those defenders calling attention to these overturned gains and other rights violations.   The participants emphasized that IPHRDs are at the frontlines of these struggles, risking their safety to advocate for justice and equality..   http://www.iwgia.org/en/news/5568-iphrd-forge-solidarity-amid-rising-challenges.html http://www.iwgia.org/en/component/tags/tag/iphrds.html   Aug. 2024   Indigenous Peoples’ Day: States should continue addressing challenges for Indigenous defenders - International Service for Human Rights   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 Electrique 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 be displaced from their territories.   The situation has worsened due to increased forced 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.   Enhancing the participation of Indigenous Peoples is paramount to guaranteeing that decision making processes are inclusive and meaningful.   http://ishr.ch/latest-updates/indigenous-peoples-day-states-should-continue-addressing-challenges-for-indigenous-defenders/
	Tanzania: Indigenous Maasai being Forcibly Relocated by Human Rights Watch, Minority Rights Group   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://www.iwgia.org/en/news/5553-maasai-face-violation-rights-tanzania-ongoing-struggle.html 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/   March 2023   Minority Rights Group International (MRG) welcomes recent recommendations from the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights (ACHPR), concerning the government of Tanzania’s systematic use of multi-pronged approaches to deny Maasai their rights to their ancestral land in the name of conservation.   Years of forced evictions and the destruction of property have recently evolved into a direct attack on the livelihoods of the indigenous Maasai community that amounts to forced displacement.   Following its Promotion Mission, the ACHPR recommends that Tanzania implements several international and regional human rights instruments that would protect Maasai rights; protect human rights defenders; ensure that conservation efforts are conducted with the participation of Maasai; and address the depreciation of essential amenities in the area.   MRG shares the concerns raised by the Mission concerning the eviction of the Maasai community from the Ngorongoro Conservation Area. MRG calls upon the government of Tanzania to cease all measures undertaken to render Maasai ancestral lands uninhabitable by restricting and, in some cases, totally withholding, social and economic amenities key to the very survival of the community, such as emergency medical care.   The government of Tanzania must fully implement the Mission’s recommendations and take urgent steps to ensure that Maasai rights over their ancestrally owned land are enforced.   MRG also urges Tanzania to uphold the internationally recognized right of indigenous peoples to free, prior and informed consent, and to allow Maasai to participate fully and equally in government meetings and decisions concerning their ancestral lands.   MRG reiterates that the safeguarding of indigenous peoples’ rights, including their land tenure rights, remains the cornerstone of any sustainable conservation ventures.   Further, MRG is deeply disappointed by the ruling delivered by the East African Court of Justice in September 2022, that Maasai appellants had not been evicted from their ancestral land. This ruling goes against the precedence set by the African Court on Human and Peoples’ Rights in the historic Ogiek ruling of 2017 and its subsequent reparations decision of June 2022. It similarly goes against the recommendation of the ACHPR in the Endorois case.   Both these rulings have set precedence at a regional level on the recognition and protection of the rights of indigenous communities to their ancestral lands, as well as their rights to religious practice, property, culture and the free disposition of natural resources and development. Tanzania should pay attention to this precedence.   The ruling delivered by the East African Court of Justice has been a setback for Maasai and all indigenous peoples across Africa, whose rights are increasingly violated in the name of conservation. More detrimentally still, it has in fact legitimized the human rights violations to which the government of Tanzania continues to subject the Maasai community.   The rights of ethnic minorities and indigenous peoples in Tanzania are continuously undermined because of both weak domestic legislation and the failure of domestic legal mechanisms to protect such rights. Currently, owing to a lack of constitutional protection of land rights, Tanzania does not have the legislative framework needed to meet its obligations under Articles 21 and 22 of the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights, which safeguard the land rights and rights to economic, social and cultural development of all peoples.   http://minorityrights.org/mrg-welcomes-outcomes-of-the-recent-african-commission-mission-to-tanzania/ Visit the related web page
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