False claims levelled at the UN expert on the rights of indigenous peoples by her own Government in the Philippines, “are without grounding in fact or law” and must cease immediately, said a statement issued by a group of her fellow experts on Wednesday.
Top news for Monday include: the celebration of International Mother Earth Day, efforts by the UN to push for a political solution to the Libyan crisis, the opening of the annual Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues, the UN Security Council's condemnation of the Sri Lanka attacks, and an upcoming UN high-level mission to Bangladesh to highlight the humanitarian needs of Rohingya refugees settled there.
As the UN’s International Year of Indigenous Languages begins, ancient mother-tongues under threat of extinction across the world, need to be seen as a “symptom” of a much wider struggle. That’s the view of one leading linguistics professor in New York, Daniel Kaufman, founder of the non-profit Endangered Language Alliance. In this edition of the Lid Is On podcast Mr. Kaufman speaks with UN News's Matt Wells.
Fifteen Guatemalan women from the Q’eqchi indigenous group, who were enslaved and raped by the military during the Central American country’s 36-year-long civil conflict, are still waiting for hard-won reparations to materialize.
Progress that destroys traditional culture, language, land and human heritage “is not development, but willful destruction”, the UN Deputy High Commissioner for Human Rights said on Wednesday, in defence of indigenous peoples everywhere.
As more people are moving to cities, traditional practices are weakening among the Karen, a society of indigenous farmers in northern Thailand. In New York to speak at a commemoration for Indigenous Peoples Day, Prasert Trakansuphakon, a Sgaw Karen, described some of the traditional Karen practices to Liz Scaffidi.
Marking the International Day of the World’s Indigenous Peoples, UN Secretary-General António Guterres put a spotlight on the factors pushing indigenous people to migrate “within their countries and across international borders” despite their “profound spiritual connection to their lands and resources”.
Governments are being urged to ensure that the rights of indigenous peoples are recognized, whether they are living on their traditional lands or forced to move elsewhere.
Victoria Tauli-Corpuz, UN Special Rapporteur on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, is not afraid of a fight. As a young woman she joined the movement to protect her mountain homeland in the Philippines from major dam and logging projects.
But now Ms. Tauli-Corpuz finds herself on the frontline of a new battle, as she told Dianne Penn in this latest episode of the UN Gender Focus podcast.
