Indigenous Rights

Cambodian Indigenous communities receive land titles

whit — Thu, 14 Mar 2013 09:46:35 +0000

Phnong minority villagers in Mondulkiri province, who have long feared they could be divided and swept off their land by powerful elites, breathed a sigh of relief yesterday when their communities became just the fourth and fifth in Cambodia to ever receive communal land titles.

Communal titles were granted to two communities from O’Chra and Gaty villages in Keo Siema district’s Sre Preah commune, comprising over 70 families.

Minister of Land Management Im Chhun Lim took the occasion as an opportunity to hand out gifts of money, kramas, salt and other small items after formally decla

Australian uranium discovery threatens ancient indigenous cave art

whit — Wed, 13 Mar 2013 14:23:44 +0000

A significant deposit has been found in a remote Australian mountain range near some of the oldest rock art on the planet

One of the world’s biggest uranium producers has found a significant deposit in a remote tropical Australian mountain range near sandstone galleries holding some of the oldest and most spectacular rock art on the planet.

After years of drilling, Canadian-based mining company Cameco has reported the find in the Wellington Range, where the thousands of Aboriginal artworks adorning cliffs and caves include a painting of the extinct dog-like creature, the thylacine, mad

UK Government Should Make UK Companies Responsible for Human Rights Abuses Abroad, Says UN

whit — Wed, 07 Sep 2011 14:35:41 +0100

“This is a hugely significant finding by the UN, because it accuses the UK of not living up to its obligations under international law”

Amnesty International welcomes a call from the UN to make UK companies accountable for human rights abuses which take place abroad.

Fact Sheet on the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples

whit — Wed, 29 Jun 2011 11:47:15 +0100

This fact sheet was endorsed by Amnesty International Canada, Assembly of First Nations, Canadian Friends Service Committee (Quakers), Chiefs of Ontario, First Nations Summit, Grand Council of the Crees (Eeyou Istchee), International Organization of Indigenous Resource Development, Innu Council of Nitassinan, Inuit Circumpolar Council, Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami, KAIROS: Canadian Ecumenical Justice Initiatives, Native Women’s Association of Canada, Quebec Native Women / Femmes autochtones du Québec, Union of British Columbia Indian Chiefs, Ermineskin Cree Nation, Louis Bull Cree Nation, Montana

Indigenous Peoples Gain U.S., U.N. Recognition

whit — Wed, 29 Dec 2010 16:53:30 +0000

UNITED NATIONS, Dec 28, 2010 (IPS) – As 2010 draws to a close, both the United States and the United Nations have reached out to one of the world’s most marginalised groups in society: indigenous peoples.

The 192-member General Assembly adopted a unanimous resolution last week calling for a first-ever World Conference on Indigenous Peoples to be held in 2014.

The primary aim is to protect the long-ignored rights – and preserve the fast-fading cultures – of over 370 million people, who comprise about 5 percent of the world’s population and about 15 percent of the world’s poor, accor

Indigenous Peruvians Win Right to Sue Occidental Petroleum in U.S. Court

Steph — Thu, 13 Jan 2011 15:57:53 +0000

LOS ANGELES, California – Indigenous plaintiffs from the Peruvian Amazon won their appeal today in a human rights and environmental contamination lawsuit against U.S. oil giant Occidental Petroleum, as the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit ruled that the case should be heard in Los Angeles, where the oil company is headquartered.

A district court judge had previously ruled that the case should be litigated in Peru, but the Ninth Circuit disagreed, allowing the plaintiffs to proceed in U.S.

ERI Wins Appeal in Case Against Occidental Petroleum for Contaminating Indigenous Achuar Communities in Peru

geoff — Thu, 13 Jan 2011 16:22:08 +0000

Today we won our appeal in Maynas Carijano v. Occidental Petroleum Corp., in which we represent indigenous Achuar victims of the toxic contamination of their communities in northern Peru. In April 2008, the federal district court ruled that the case should be dismissed because it should be litigated in Peru, not in the United States.

Canada’'s UN arguments trouble TRC commissioner

Kailash — Sun, 03 Oct 2010 15:53:47 +0100

Canada’s most recent positioning during UN debates on indigenous peoples rights has left one of the main players with the commission delving into the dark history of residential schools wondering if he can ever reconcile with this country.

Truth and Reconciliation Commission Commissioner Willie Littlechild said Canada recently argued that the collective rights of indigenous peoples were not human rights.

Belize government appeal over land condemned

Kailash — Tue, 31 Aug 2010 19:34:31 +0100

MRG welcomes Supreme Court decision upholding Maya land rights in Belize, but deplores Government decision to appeal

Minority Rights Group International (MRG) welcomes a 28 June ruling by the Supreme Court of Belize upholding Maya rights over land and resources, but deplores the government’s recent move to appeal the judgment.

The judgment came after a decade of court action between the Maya community and the Government of Belize.

Barriere Lake sets up peaceful blockade to stop unconstitutional attack on their customary government

Kailash — Mon, 26 Jul 2010 12:56:42 +0100

22 July 2010

Barriere Lake Algonquins set up peaceful blockade to stop unconstitutional attack on their customary government; AFN passes emergency resolution condemning Minister Strahl

Kitiganik, Rapid Lake, Algonquin Territory – This morning Barriere Lake community members set up a peaceful blockade on the access road to their reserve to prevent an electoral officer from conducting a nomination meeting for Indian Act band elections.

The electoral officer aims to implement the federal government’s plan to abolish Barriere Lake’s traditional leadership selection system by holdi