News Archives » indigenous peoples
ConocoPhillips Improves Corporate Human Rights Position August 12th, 2011
ConocoPhillips has amended its corporate Human Rights policy to include recognition of the rights of indigenous peoples as articulated in UN declarations and conventions. This action, approved by ConocoPhillips Chair/CEO Jim Mulva as well as the Board of Directors, is one result of ICCR member shareholder dialogs with the company led by Steven Heim at Boston Common Asset Management. The Oblates have been engaged in this dialog for several years and remain deeply concerned about the impacts of corporate activity – particularly oil and gas exploration – on indigenous peoples.
The company’s position on the rights of indigenous peoples now reads:
“The Company’s approach to engagement with indigenous communities, in locations where they are an important stakeholder group for our operations, is consistent with the principles of the International Labour Organization Convention 169, concerning Indigenous and Tribal Peoples, and the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.”
In May of this year, the company announced it was pulling out of a controversial project slated for northern Peru. The project threatened two uncontacted tribes in the area.
Read the company’s Human Rights Position statement…
Indigenous Peoples Celebrate but not in Bangladesh August 8th, 2011
More than 70 countries are expected to observe the International Day for Indigenous People on August 9 with a focus on “Indigenous designs: celebrating stories and cultures, crafting our own future”.
Yet in Bangladesh, the government refuses to recognize the existence of indigenous peoples, arguing instead that they are simply ethnic minorities. This designation removes the groups from protections and rights afforded by the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples and ILO Convention 169, both of which Bangladesh has signed.
Sanjeev Drong, a close collaborator of the Oblates in Bangladesh,
Click here to read more »
Forest Peoples Programme Newsletter Available in Three Languages July 22nd, 2011
Given the increasingly urgent threat of climate change, efforts to reduce CO2 emissions from deforestation and forest degradation have led to sustained calls by indigenous peoples and concerned NGOs that forest peoples’ rights must be secured. These programs, known as REDD, are supposed to respect human rights and ensure the effective participation of indigenous peoples and local communities. Funders are to ‘safeguard’ these principles and ensure countries observe their international obligations.
Learn more in the newsletter of the Forest Peoples Programme, available also in Spanish and French.
Puede leer nuestro boletín de noticias en español
Lisez notre e-newsletter en français
Forest Peoples Programme supports forest peoples to secure and sustainably manage their forests, lands and livelihoods.
Their strategies to achieve this include:
(a) promoting the rights and interests of forest peoples at local, national and international levels;
(b) creating space for forest peoples to have an effective voice in decision-making processes;
(c) challenging top-down policies and projects that deprive local peoples of resources;
(d) coordinating support among environmental organizations for forest peoples’ vision;
(e) supporting community-led sustainable forest management; and
(f) publicizing forest peoples’ plight through research, analysis and documentation.
For more information, visit the Forest Peoples Programme website.
Video on Bangladeshi Khasi and Garo Peoples Now on YouTube April 12th, 2011
Sylhet area, Bangladesh
The Oblate JPIC office is excited to introduce the video, “Behind the Green,” to the Missionary Oblates JPIC YouTube Channel.
The film “Behind the Green” (Parts 1-3) is based on the historic struggle of the Khasi and Garo peoples for protection of their ancestral homeland in Bangladesh in the face of Government plans to establish an Eco-park in the Moulvibazar district. The eco-park would take up more than 1500 acres of the indigenous peoples’ land for tourism.
The films also features Fr. Joseph Gomes OMI, a missionary catholic priest working amongst the Garo and Khasi people in Bangladesh.
View the “Behind the Green” video at: http://www.youtube.com/user/OMIJPIC
Please bookmark this JPIC Youtube Channel website and check it frequently as it will be updated with stories and actions from Oblates in ministry. Spread the word!!
Canada Endorses UN Indigenous Rights Declaration November 17th, 2010
The Government of Canada formally endorsed the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples on November 12.
“We understand and respect the importance of this United Nations Declaration to Indigenous peoples in Canada and worldwide,” said the Honourable John Duncan, Minister of Indian Affairs and Northern Development and Federal Interlocutor for Métis and Non-status Indians. “Canada has endorsed the Declaration to further reconcile and strengthen our relationship with Aboriginal peoples in Canada.”
