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Celebrating the World’s Indigenous Peoples on this Day August 9th, 2023

(Photo courtesy of Ganta Srinivas, Pexels)


Today is International Day of the World’s Indigenous Peoples and we join Forest Peoples Programme in showcasing Indigenous contributions to biodiversity conservation through the Transformative Pathways website.
 
  • The Transformative Pathways website, launched on the International Day of the World’s Indigenous Peoples, is a platform to evidence Indigenous Peoples’ and Local Communities’ work safeguarding biodiversity across the globe.
  • The Transformative Pathways website, in close collaboration with Local Biodiversity Outlooks, is also a repository of information to ensure Indigenous voices are heard in global biodiversity policy.
 
Find out about the project on the NEW website.
 

Statement on Nat’l Roads Dev. Project, Kalimantan, Indonesia: Delivered to the Asia Dev. Bank (ADB) by Fr. Séamus Finn, OMI October 14th, 2021

While recently visiting Tewksbury, MA, Fr. Séamus Finn, OMI had the privilege and opportunity to have a conversation with Fr. Lucien Bouchard, OMI who spent over 25 years on the island of Borneo (Kalimantan) where the Oblates have maintained a missionary presence since 1977.

(Click here to read more about Fr. Lucien Bouchard, OMI) 

Their discussion informed this written statement, which Fr. Séamus delivered to a session of the Asia Development Bank meeting here in Washington., DC on October 13, 2021.

Related story: Borneo’s last remaining pristine rainforest under threat from proposed Infrastructure Project funded by Asian Development Bank

 

 


Top 25 Wins for Indigenous Peoples in the Last 5 Years August 13th, 2021

The International Day of the World’s Indigenous Peoples is observed on August 9 each year to promote and protect the rights of Indigenous Peoples around the world. The date commemorates the first United Nations Working Group on Indigenous Populations meeting in Geneva in 1982. This year’s theme is Leaving No One Behind: Indigenous Peoples and the call for a social contract.”

As we celebrate indigenous peoples, Cultural Survival is taking a look back at some of the top 25 wins for Indigenous Peoples over the last 5 years. From historic land back cases to strong Indigenous women in power, there has been great progress to celebrate. 

READ THE FULL ARTICLE.

 


Aug 9 is International Day of the World’s Indigenous Peoples August 9th, 2021

“Indigenous communities living in the punjis are struggling hard for survival as they are facing repeated attacks by outsiders, said Fr. Joseph Gomes, OMI, coordinator of the Indigenous Environment Movement of Bangladesh Poribesh Andolon (Bapa) in Sylhet division.”
 
“Bangladesh Adivasi Forum central committee General Secretary Sanjeeb Drong said such violence against punji people has been going on for years. “But the problem is yet to be resolved.”
 
The communities remain under threat of eviction even when the International Day of the World’s Indigenous Peoples is observed today with the slogan “Leaving No One Behind: Indigenous peoples and the call for a new social contract”.
 
READ THE FULL ARTICLE.
 
 
 

Report from the 18TH UN Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues May 23rd, 2019

Hundreds of Indigenous Peoples from across the globe gathered at the UN Headquarters, New York, for the Eighteenth Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues (UNPFII) held from 25 April to 2 May. The theme for the 2019 UNPFII is “traditional knowledge: generation, transmission, protection.” The UN describes the indigenous peoples as the inheritors and practitioners of unique cultures and ways of relating to people social, cultural, economic and political characteristics that are distinct from those of dominant societies in which they live. The UNPFII was established in the year 2000, by a UN resolution with the mandate to deal with indigenous issues related to economic and social development, culture, the environment, education, health, and human rights.  

According to a report by the UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs, the estimated 370 million indigenous peoples who reside in approximately 90 countries are among the most marginalized peoples in the world. The report noted that indigenous peoples are often isolated politically and socially within the countries where they reside by the geographical location of their communities, their separate histories, cultures, languages, and traditions.

To safeguard the human rights of the indigenous peoples, therefore, the UN General Assembly (UNGA) adopted the resolution in 2007 on the  UN Declaration on the Rights of the Indigenous Peoples. The Declaration provides a comprehensive framework of minimum standards of economic, social, and cultural well-being and rights of the world’s indigenous peoples. Again, in 2016, the UNGA adopted a resolution declaring 2019 a Year of Indigenous Languages.

Read more:

UNPFIIhttps://bit.ly/2V2B6Rp
International Year of Indigenous Languages: https://bit.ly/2PzyCbH.
Reports on Indigenous Peoples Rights: https://bit.ly/2ZK8UG7

 

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