AFRICA CLIMATE WEEK AND SUMMIT ARE OPPORTUNITIES FOR PROGRESS: BUT WHO WILL BENEFIT?
African Indigenous Peoples are being seriously affected by the climate crisis. Africa Climate Week (4th– 8th September) and the continent’s first Climate Summit (4th – 6th) offer a chance for action, but serious doubts have emerged about exactly who is controlling the agenda, and whether the decisions taken will favor Africa’s Indigenous Peoples, who are the most impacted and most in need of support. Climate change is a major issue everywhere, but for Indigenous Peoples, many of whom depend on the local environments for their livelihood, the stakes are even higher. In many African countries the issue is critical. In Burkina Faso, for example, where approximately 90% of the population makes its living through subsistence agriculture and livestock, rising temperatures will place a huge burden on those already on the margins of sustainability. Indigenous Peoples and women are particularly at risk. In the more arid northern regions of this land-locked country, where the Peul and Tuareg peoples live, water scarcity has been magnified by the severe drought of 2022, and even a slight rise in temperature could be mortal; while in the south, flooding has wreaked havoc with crops and drinking water supply, even in the capital, Ouagadougou. Subsistence agriculture and livestock are crucial for the country’s Indigenous Peoples, and rising temperatures will no doubt lead to more displacement, poverty, and migration to already overburdened cities. The major question is how to tackle the problem at a national and regional level. Given the context of violence, the recent military Coups D’état of 2022, and other in the region (Mali, Niger and now Gabón), in Burkina Faso it’s not really feasible to expect the national government to take the lead, says Saoudata Wallet, an indigenous Tuareg woman and Secretary General of the Burkina Faso and Mali Tin Hinane Association. In her country, she adds, it is really up to the people, particularly women’s organizations, to keep up the pressure, but even here, the regional violence, which also includes attacks by Islamic extremists, has affected people’s ability to mobilize. One opportunity to make the concerns of indigenous peoples heard, is Africa Climate Week (ACW), which will take place from the 4th to the 8th of September in Nairobi, Kenya, in parallel with the first Africa Climate Summit (ACS) which will also take place in that city between September 4th and 6th. The Summit is co-hosted by The Kenyan government and the African Union, and as of mid-August, 15 African Heads of State and government had confirmed their participation. The events are part of the run up to the 28th UN Climate Change Conference (COP 28), to be held between the 30th of November and the 12th of December in Dubai, capital of the United Arab Emirates (UAE), and will provide regional contributions to the first Global Stocktake, seen as fundamental in fulfilling the Paris Agreement goals. Although Wallet agrees most international conferences are forums for declarations rather than actions, she is convinced the presence of women and Indigenous Peoples is crucial for both the Africa Climate Summit and the parallel climate week events. “We have to be there to demand that our voices be heard”, she says, while recognizing that actually getting to the conferences can be a problem given the difficulties some experience in obtaining visas and financing in order to travel. And as she points out, it’s a long way from Ouagadougou, the capital of Burkina Faso, to Nairobi. So walking is evidently not an option. As with other international proceedings, the presence and, most importantly the input, of Indigenous Peoples will be crucial to both the success of these events and to that of the COP 28 itself. For Indigenous Peoples, says Wallet, resilience to climate change is rooted in their traditional knowledge and ability to adapt to environmental change based on their in-depth knowledge of the land. However, she adds, a serious obstacle is that Indigenous and women’s voices are generally downplayed, if not ignored entirely. Many Indigenous Peoples in Africa are not even recognized as such by the countries in which they live, in many cases being seen as dividing rather than unifying recently formed States, some even being classified as ‘foreigners’ in their own lands. Women also face major difficulties in the region, says Wallet, due to the violence that has been plaguing the Sahel region, and for anyone with an independent voice, the possibility of a backlash is very difficult to face. Another major fear is that rather than being simply a space for posturing, or in the best of cases actually helping African countries’ vulnerable populations to adapt and survive, the host Kenyan government is looking at the upcoming events as a possibility for investments and boosting the continent’s ‘green economy’. According to Kenya’s environment and climate change cabinet secretary Soipan Tuya, the plan is to “end the ‘blame game’ between developed and developing countries, and to unlock the investments Africa needs to tap into its potential and resources to support global decarbonisation efforts.” All of which raises doubts about who is really going to control the discussions and recommendations. A particular concern is the involvement of U.S. consulting giant McKinsey. An open letter signed by more than 400 African civil society groups has accused the firm of having unduly influenced the summit by “pushing a pro-West agenda and interests at the expense of Africa”, claiming that the summit’s agenda promotes “concepts and false solutions [that] are led by Western interests while being marketed as African priorities”. This, rather than prioritizing the needs of African populations, such as strengthening resilience in the face of rising temperatures, and find finding ways to help poorer countries deal with financial losses and damages due to the climate crisis or even dealing with the issue of fossil fuel phase out. According to Augustine Bantar Njamnshi, of the Pan African Climate Justice Alliance “We had a lot of hope this summit would put African priorities at the heart of climate negotiations, notably adaptation finance. It should have been
Reflections on Indigenous Participation at COP27
Land is Life’s Latin America Program Assistant, Majo Andrade Cerda, attended the 2022 United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP27) in Sharm el-Sheikh over the past two weeks. Along with coordinating our side event on the rights of Indigenous Peoples Living in Voluntary Isolation, Majo attended many discussions alongside Indigenous leaders of movements around the world. Here, she shares her reflections on Indigenous participation at the climate discussions. My name is Majo Andrade Cerda, and I am an Indigenous woman from the Kichwa community of Serena, in the Ecuadorian Amazon. I was one of the many Indigenous participants who had the opportunity to attend COP27 this month. As a young leader of my community, who belongs to the first Indigenous guard led by women in the Napo province of Ecuador, I feel it’s important to share my reflections on the conference’s achievements and failures. Although there were many meaningful side events and discussions in the Indigenous pavilion, negotiations were still held by government representatives, backed by industries, with Indigenous peoples pushed aside. I believe that the United Nations has to adjust their structures so that we, the Indigenous peoples, can share our experiences within our territories directly with those representatives who are making the decisions, and then take collective action. Although we had our own pavilion with multiple side events, space was very limited. It wasn’t a space where we could really be involved in the decision-making process. We can only send reports and hold informal consultations and dialogues. We need to keep working with state representatives to gain mutual understanding of what we need to do as a global society. As a response to being left out, we as young Indigenous peoples are increasingly more involved in fighting for our rights. Movements led by Indigenous youth are growing, as we are constantly finding ways to open more spaces to have our voices heard. However, as the next generation of Indigenous leaders, we don’t have the capacity to bring people from all around the world to hear us; we have to seek out international platforms. In those platforms, however, we are experiencing more barriers, such as language. Our brothers and sisters, delegates from Brazil’s youth for example, are not able to participate fully, due to lack of translation, as Portuguese is not an official UN language. But it’s not just about speeches on the stage — it’s about supporting Indigenous communities and respecting our ways of life. We have to be made visible to the world to say: “We are here, we exist, and we are protecting the environment for everyone, not just for us.” We have the solutions. If you respect our rights, you’re respecting the rights of nature. Failures of COP27 One key failure of COP27 discussions, in my opinion, was that government leaders did not consider the devastating impacts of mining that are hidden behind the rhetoric of a sustainable future. My river, the Napo River, is going to be contaminated by mining because the Ecuadorian government is working towards an energy transition in order to fulfill its climate targets. This will affect all peoples along its path, through the Amazon, into Brazil, because we are all interconnected with one flow of the river, flowing all the way to the Atlantic Ocean. When we talk about climate justice, we need to highlight social justice and Indigenous peoples’ rights. Another failure was that carbon markets were not considered a severe threat. Conservation organizations are seeking funds for climate adaptation, and now for loss and damage, but they don’t consider the origin of these funds. COP27 didn’t manage to have a strategy for that. Carbon markets are false solutions. They keep seeing the Amazon and other tropical forests as commodities. People are buying themselves a good conscience, without having to change their extractive and polluting ways of life. COP27 failed to stop the use of fossil fuels and the consequences will heavily impact Indigenous communities. Lessons learned There are many takeaways from my time at the Sharm el-Sheikh climate discussions. Among them was the understanding that networking among Indigenous peoples is one of the keys to strengthening the movements. We are united now, more than ever before, with Indigenous peoples from the Fiji islands and Malaysia, and we are going to strengthen our bonds with our sisters from Brazil. There’s a lot of struggle in our communities — but we know we are not alone. If something happens to us, I know there are a lot of people who would react. I am more aware than ever before of the important role of women and youth in the movement, both on the front lines as well as the daily life in Indigenous communities. It’s time we realize that women have an important role inside the programs and projects we are developing to support Indigenous communities, because sometimes our voices as Indigenous women and youth are silenced and not taken into account. We have to work daily toward supporting each other. As young Indigenous women, we particularly know how to do this, because we work daily in our communities. The future of Indigenous participation After COP27, I am committed to advocating for a paradigm shift, where the environment and the communities cannot be considered separately. Proposals and projects need to come from the communities themselves, and be led by Indigenous peoples, women, and the youth. We are told that funds need to be sent to intermediary organizations as we, as Indigenous peoples, are not capable of managing them. This needs to change. Our parents and grandparents have been working hard for our education, even though it has made us face discrimination and almost lose our languages. But here we are now, as young women, capable of leading and administering our own projects, benefiting not only our communities but also the whole world. I’ve come to realize that most people in cities don’t know how important Indigenous peoples are. I recall talking with many people in Sharm el-Sheikh who came to COP
Land is Life Brings Human Rights Concerns to the Universal Periodic Review in Geneva
While the UN climate negotiations of COP27 are under way in Sharm el-Sheikh, another notable event, the 41st session of the UN Human Rights Council’s Universal Periodic Review (UPR) is currently taking place in Geneva, Switzerland. Over this two-week session, 14 States have their human rights records examined. The UPR is a UN process intended to improve the human rights situation in all Member States. The process, which held its first meeting in 2008, is based on a review system where States give recommendations to one another on how the human rights situation in each State should be improved. The 41st session, which is currently underway in Geneva, kicked off the UPR’s fourth cycle where States will share the actions they have taken to implement the recommendations received in the three previous review cycles. Indigenous organizations, alongside other civil society actors and human rights institutions, have also contributed to the UPR process in order to have their perspectives included in the recommendations. Land is Life participated in several meetings prior to the 41st session, to address Indigenous rights violations of Ecuador, which is one of the 14 States under review in the current session. In its presentation at the UPR, the State of Ecuador was concealing its failure in fulfilling the human, social, cultural, economic, and collective rights of Indigenous peoples and the recommendations it had received in the previous cycles of the UPR. Read the shadow report that CONFENIAE (the regional organization of Indigenous peoples in Ecuador) submitted to the UPR here. Below you can find a summary of the recommendations regarding human rights of Indigenous peoples that Ecuador received from fellow States in its review. Ensure the right of Indigenous peoples to participate in the decision-making process on matters that affect them through free, prior and informed consent (FPIC). So far, there are no cases in Ecuador where Indigenous peoples’ right to FPIC would have been properly implemented. Put an end to the violence against Indigenous human rights defenders and establish a legal framework for their protection. Provide reparation measures for victims and their families. Indigenous defenders in Ecuador constantly face stigmatization, criminalization, repression, and violence for defending their territories. It was only a few weeks ago that a 24-year-old anti-mining activist and Indigenous defender lost her life. Adopt effective measures to guarantee the rights of Indigenous Peoples Living in Voluntary Isolation (PIACI) over their lands, territories, natural resources and with regard to their culture and ways of life. PIACI are increasingly exposed to extremely high vulnerability. Ecuador’s two last known PIACI, the Taromenane and Tagaeri, are facing growing threats due to the expansion of extractive industries. Adopt and implement effective policies to prevent and address the specific challenges of violence against Indigenous women and girls. Indigenous women, as leaders, knowledge-bearers and culture transmitters face discrimination and violence both for being women and for being Indigenous. Advance the economic, social, and cultural rights of Indigenous peoples. Put an end to the extreme poverty of Indigenous peoples. Take effective measures to preserve Indigenous languages and traditions. Take effective measures to combat all forms of discrimination, especially racism and racial discrimination against Indigenous peoples and Afro-Ecuadorians. On Monday, it was the Philippines’ turn to have its human rights situation reviewed. According to Panaghiusa (Philippine Network to Uphold Indigenous Peoples Rights), the human rights situation of the Indigenous peoples of the Philippines has only worsened since the 3rd review cycle of the UPR. You can read Panaghiusa’s shadow report for the UPR here. “The government, especially the National Task Force, continues to label our rights to land, territories, and free, prior and informed consent as ‘anti-development’ assertions. They brand Indigenous and Bangsamoro communities as ‘red and terrorist areas’, resulting in militarization, aerial strikes, and evacuation of communities. It persistently brands our leaders and organizations as terrorists. It also creates fake and false surrenders to support this ridiculous narrative. These lead to extrajudicial killings, trumped-up charges, threats, and harassment against members and leaders of national minority organizations.” – Beverly Longid, Igorot woman, Global Coordinator of IPMSDL Below you can find a summary of the recommendations regarding human rights of Indigenous peoples that the Philippines received from fellow States in its review: Take all necessary measures to protect the lives and rights of human rights defenders and journalists, and ensure that they can carry out their work safely, free from intimidation, harassment, red tagging, and other forms of violence. Ensure freedom of expression and media freedom. Global Witness has identified the Philippines as the third most dangerous country for human rights defenders globally. Conduct in-depth, impartial, independent, transparent, and effective investigations of the deaths and human rights violations of human rights defenders and journalists. Take all necessary measures to prevent further extrajudicial killings, enforced disappearances or other human rights violations of defenders. Between 2016-2021, according to Panaghiusa, 126 Indigenous individuals lost their lives in extrajudicial killings, 227 were illegally arrested, 478 were illegally detained, 27 were tortured and 6 forcibly disappeared. Furthermore, 97,118 Indigenous people were forcibly evacuated from their territories. Ensure full and meaningful participation of Indigenous peoples at all stages of development projects affecting them. Growing mining, dam construction, and agricultural plantations continuously violate Indigenous peoples’ rights to lands, self-determination, and FPIC. Ratify the ILO Convention 169 on Indigenous and Tribal Peoples, and ensure that laws, policies, and programs aimed at protecting the rights of Indigenous peoples are effectively implemented. Following the Philippines’ review, human rights defenders, activists, Indigenous leaders and lawyers held a protest to demonstrate that the State of Philippines had just grossly lied about its human rights situation. “We are here to challenge the UN system and represent ourselves, our community, our people, and the real situation on the ground. The Philippine government is not representing us. Instead, they are representing the interests of the imperialists, the plunderers of Indigenous territories.” – Windel Bolinget, Chairperson of the Cordillera Peoples’ Alliance
Land is Life Celebrates CEDAW’s General Recommendation No.39 on the Rights of Indigenous Women and Girls
The UN Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) released its General Recommendation on the Rights of Indigenous Women and Girls last week. The recommendation is the first-ever binding instrument focused specifically on the rights of Indigenous girls and women. CEDAW is a UN treaty body, under the auspices of the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, that monitors the implementation of the Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination Against Women – the most important international treaty regarding women’s rights. Even though the treaty was ratified in 1981, this is the first time that CEDAW has issued a General Recommendation that pays attention to the particular situation and realities of Indigenous women. In 2004, the UN Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues (UNPFII), encouraged by a group of Indigenous women, called on the CEDAW to begin a process to develop a general recommendation on Indigenous women. General recommendations are suggestions or clarifications directed to States regarding specific issues affecting women to which the Committee thinks more attention and resources should be devoted. In 2009, to push this initiative forward, the Tz´ununija´ Indigenous Women’s Movement from Guatemala prepared a shadow report to the CEDAW on the situation of Indigenous women in their territory. CEDAW responded three years later and held a week-long workshop in Wayuu territory in Colombia. This event, organized by Indigenous women from the region, was a space for developing a deeper understanding of CEDAW and formulating strategic alliances. The workshop was followed by a ten-year process of meetings, consultations, dialogues, and research that finally resulted in the General Recommendation No.39, released last week. The General Recommendation is the first-ever binding instrument that centers around eliminating the intersectional discrimination and human rights violations faced by Indigenous women and girls. It acknowledges their role as leaders, knowledge-bearers, and culture transmitters, and pays attention to their intrinsic connection to their territories, as well as the collective dimension of their rights. The recommendation addresses the lack of implementation of their rights to self-determination and autonomy as one of the root causes of their discrimination. Land is Life applauds General Recommendation No.39, and especially the grassroots efforts of Indigenous women who tirelessly pushed the process forward for almost two decades. We call on the State parties to effectively start fulfilling the obligations stated in the recommendation, so that Indigenous girls and women worldwide can live free from discrimination.
Land is Life Celebrates Indigenous Peoples’ Day in the United States
Today, in the United States, we celebrate Indigenous Peoples’ Day. It is a day that for far too long had been celebrated as Columbus Day, commemorating Christopher Columbus’ landing in the Bahamas in 1492, which for his fellow Europeans marked the discovery of the “New World”. Since the 1940s, Indigenous Peoples have spoken out against dedicating a day for honoring the enslavement, theft, violence, and massacre of Indigenous Peoples across the Americas which was the direct result of European invasion. In 1977, at the International Conference on Discrimination Against Indigenous Populations in the Americas, held in Geneva, Switzerland, Native Americans demanded the replacement of Columbus Day with a day that would express solidarity with Indigenous Peoples of the Americas. This kicked off a movement that, in 1992, led to the city of Berkley, California, to declare the day as “Day of Solidarity with Indigenous People”. Since then, 19 states, and over 50 cities, have rejected official celebrations of Columbus Day and replaced it with Indigenous Peoples’ Day. In 2021, President Joe Biden proclaimed the day as Indigenous Peoples’ Day to “honor America’s first inhabitants and the Tribal Nations that continue to thrive today”. However, the proclamation did not make it a federal holiday – which Columbus Day still is. Today, Land is Life joins the celebration and honoring of Indigenous Peoples and their cultures. We encourage all states of the US to officially recognize this day as an act of respect to Indigenous Peoples who are the guardians of the Earth. Celebrating Columbus alongside Indigenous Peoples’ Day is paradoxical and should not be tolerated. “Indigenous Peoples’ Day reminds us that we are all Indigenous! Regardless of where we live, our gender, race, age, religion, or species, we are all made of the same basic elements of life: Earth, Fire, Water, Air and Ethers. Somewhere in our genetic lineages we come from a small tribal community who knew how to respect the Earth for all that she provides – she is the life giver of all. And today with mass environmental destruction, it is time to return to that basic understanding of how to live and be on this earth as stewards for our future generations. Thank you for supporting Indigenous peoples around the word whose ways will help everyone return to a more simple and peaceful life.” – Lisa Grayshield, PhD, Washoe Tribe of Nevada and California, Washiw Zulshish Goom Tahn-Nu, Lake Tahoe, Nevada
Land is Life Highlights the Importance of Digital Security for Indigenous Activists
The need for improved security of Indigenous activists has never been greater. Over the past few years, Land is Life’s team and network have experienced first-hand intimidation, harassment, and even violence at the hands of governments and other interests. Digital threats are one of several security issues that Land is Life tries to address in its work. Since its founding, Land is Life has made it a priority to accompany Indigenous leaders under threat, as well as provide funding, legal aid, medical care, and other resources to assist Indigenous defenders, their families, organizations, and communities. Our Indigenous-led Security Fund, for example, is based on small, flexible grants that are quickly and directly disbursed to communities, with few bureaucratic requirements. In recent years, the role and importance of internet and digital technology has grown remarkably in the work of Indigenous peoples in defending their lands, human rights, and the environment. The digital divide, however, is still a major issue. The gap between Indigenous peoples and non-indigenous populations regarding access to the internet, affordability of technology, and digital literacy, is generally wide. The issue was further exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic: “When COVID hit, the offices of our partner organizations had to close their doors and most Indigenous leaders went back to their territories in rural areas. Many of these regions lack access to the internet which meant that the defenders lost a crucial tool to continue their work, including monitoring of their territories, information sharing among Indigenous networks as well as communications to a broader range of allies. In many cases, there was also a lack of devices, such as phones. As a response, Land is Life provided our partner communities in the Amazon region with cell phones, portable internet connection, as well as laptops, so that the defenders were again able to continue their work in their territories. This is also a gender issue. Indigenous women and men tend to have unequal access to the internet or technology. During the pandemic, women activists, in particular, were affected in terms of their security, due to lack of access to the internet or technology. Our digital security strategy allows us to identify and helps us to resolve these issues.” – José Proaño, Land is Life’s Latin America Program Director In addition to the digital divide, another challenge for Indigenous communities tends to be a lack of knowledge about digital security. Indigenous defenders are often vulnerable to online threats, such as phishing, spyware, surveillance, trolling, and disinformation campaigns. With this in mind, Land is Life, together with Citizen Clinic, developed a Digital Security Guide for activists. Although this guide was specifically crafted for indigenous organizations in Cameroon, Kenya, and Uganda, the information it contains and the tips for safer use of the internet and technology is applicable for activists and organizations across the world. Below is a link to our guide. Please use it to increase your security awareness. Digital Security Guide for Activists
Rights Violations of Peoples Living in Voluntary Isolation Heard for the First Time in the Inter-American Court
This past Tuesday, August 23rd, the Inter-American Court of Human Rights (IACHR) held a historical public hearing in Brasilia, regarding severe rights violations by the State of Ecuador against the Tagaeri and Taromenane Indigenous Peoples. Taromenane and Tagaeri are two of the last known Indigenous Peoples Living in Voluntary Isolation and Initial Contact (PIACI) in Ecuador. They inhabit the Yasuní region, in the eastern part of the Ecuadorian Amazon. In this historic case of Tagaeri-Taromenane vs. Ecuador, the Inter-American Court heard the first case regarding the rights of PIACI. The PIACI are holders of human rights in a situation of extreme vulnerability, and among the few who are unable to advocate for their own rights. Indigenous peoples from across Ecuador and Brazil, as well as delegates from several organizations, including Land is Life, took part in the hearing to express solidarity and to defend the rights of the Taromenane and Tagaeri. Growing pressure over the use of natural resources in Yasuní has been ongoing since the beginning of Ecuador’s oil boom in the 1970s. Yasuní is not only one of the most biodiverse regions on Earth but it also has some of Ecuador’s largest oil reserves. Despite it being designated a national park in 1979, oil companies have been increasingly entering the area and expanding their drilling operations in Indigenous territories. This has led to displacement of Indigenous peoples, forced contact, diminished territories, and contamination of rivers. Even though the State of Ecuador permanently protected part of Yasuní as the “Tagaeri Taromenane Intangible Zone”, an area where extractive industries are supposed to be prohibited, the Zone does not actually follow the boundaries of the territories of these Peoples. The Intangible Zone is too small and has allowed the oil industry to have major impacts on the rights and livelihoods of the Taromenane and Tagaeri, whose ancestral ways of life necessitate the ability to move across and use their entire territory. The Court Hearing was an attempt to determine whether the State has violated the rights of the Tagaeri and Taromenane by allowing extractive industries to enter their territories. The case also considered the killings of Indigenous peoples in Yasuní that took place in 2003, 2006, and 2013, when conflicts between different tribes escalated due to extractive pressures on their territories. Even though the State was informed about a heightened risk of violence, it did not take any measures to intervene, nor did it fulfill its responsibility to appropriately investigate these devastating cases. Leonidas Iza, President of the Confederation of Indigenous Nationalities of Ecuador (CONAIE), who testified in support of the victims, stated in his testimony: “Indigenous peoples take care of their territories for the reproduction of life. We take care of the rights of Mother Nature, not only for the benefit of Indigenous Peoples but of the entire humanity. Indigenous territories are continuously threatened by state policies that favor extractive industries. That has forced us to organize ourselves to resist. – – Oil drilling keeps destroying the Amazon and the ways of life of Indigenous peoples living in isolation. These Peoples, their culture, and their spirituality, are integrally dependent on their territories. They are the guardians of their forests, taking care of and protecting them. If these Peoples die, or are forced to leave, the balance that sustains life in the Yasuní, will break down. Humanity will lose one of the most biodiverse places in the world if we do not act in time. That is why we demand that oil companies are kept out of these territories and that the self-determination of the Taromenane and Tagaeri is guaranteed. The State must respect the life and the rights of these Peoples.” After working for the defense of the rights of the PIACI for more than 20 years, Land is Life hopes that this case will make a strong precedent for future cases. As the Secretariat of the GTI PIACI Working Group, we demand justice for the Tagaeri and Taromenane and call for their right to self-determination and to remain in voluntary isolation, to be fulfilled. Any extractive operations on Tagaeri and Taromenane territories must be halted.
Land is Life Celebrates the Landmark Victory of the Ogiek People in the African Court
On June 23rd, the African Court on Human and Peoples’ Rights ruled that the Kenyan government must grant the Ogiek people collective land title to the Mau forest and pay them $1.3 million as compensation for historical injustices. This is a landmark victory for the Ogiek who have been suffering continuous evictions from their ancestral territories. The Mau forest, in south-western Kenya, has been home to the Indigenous Ogiek people since time immemorial. The Ogiek, who depend on hunting, gathering, and small-scale farming for their livelihoods, have faced countless evictions from their ancestral homelands since the beginning of British colonial rule. Throughout the last century, the reasons for evictions have been multiple, such as industrial agriculture and logging, but the most recent cases have been about the Kenyan government blaming the Ogiek for deforestation and ecosystem degradation. In 2009, following another eviction order from the Kenya Forest Service, the Ogiek brought a case to the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights which was later taken to the African Court. Finally, in 2017, the Court ruled that the Mau forest is the ancestral home of the Ogiek; that the Government of Kenya had violated the rights of the Indigenous people to their lands; and that their evictions have not supported protecting the forests. However, rather than implementing the Court’s decision, the Kenyan government has continued violating the Ogiek’s rights. In July 2020, for example, more than 100 Ogiek families were violently evicted and 300 Ogiek infrastructures destroyed in the Mau forest. The government’s failure in implementing the decision from 2017 led to a further judgment by the same court last week. This time, the African Court ruled that the Kenyan government must pay 158 million Kenyan shillings ($1,3 million) to the Ogiek people for material and moral damages. This was the first time that the Court has called for compensation for an Indigenous community. The Court further stated that: · The government must take all necessary measures to identify, delimit and grant collective land title to the Ogiek community and, by law, assure them of unhindered use and enjoyment of their land. · The government must recognize, respect, protect and consult the Ogiek in accordance with their traditions and customs, on all matters concerning development, conservation or investment on their lands. “The judgment is a big relief to the Ogiek community. We have been in and out of courts and it has been costly for us. The next step after the landmark is for the government of Kenya to move in and start implementing the ruling of the African Court by consulting us, the Ogiek community.” – Daniel Kobei, Ogiek Peoples’ Development Program (OPDP) Land is Life celebrates this landmark victory with the Ogiek people and demands the Kenyan government to fulfill the obligations set in the ruling. We hope that the case will set a powerful precedent in Africa where various Indigenous peoples, such as the Batwa and the Maasai are continuously suffering forced evictions from their territories. The 13-year-long court process is one of the many tools that the Ogiek have used for fighting for their rights to their lands. Another relevant tool has been the ongoing process of developing an autonomous, Ogiek-led Free, Prior, and Informed Consent (FPIC) Protocol that aims to support the communities in responding to increasing land use pressures from their own governance mechanisms and worldviews.
Land is Life Stands in Solidarity with the Maasai who are Threatened by Eviction from their Ancestral Lands in Ngorongoro, Tanzania
“This is our territory, territory means life; our identity and we can’t survive without. The fortress conservation model pushes our people out of their land. We need local and global synergies to stop land grabbing and eviction of the Indigenous pastoralists of Ngorongoro.” – Maasai Leader (name withheld for security reasons) The Indigenous Maasai of the Ngorongoro Conservation Area in northern Tanzania keep resisting the government’s efforts to displace them from their ancestral lands. Until now, the Maasai herders who practice traditional livestock grazing, have been coexisting with the wildlife of the conservation area, which also is a designated UNESCO World Heritage Site. The Government of Tanzania claims that the rising Maasai population and their livestock are threatening wildlife protection. At the same time, Ngorongoro has become one of the most intensively visited conservation areas in Africa where tourism rates have exploded from 20,000 yearly visits to 650,000 visits in the past 30 years. It thus seems that the displacement of the Maasai is not about nature conservation but about expanding tourism revenues. This is nothing new – in 2009, for example, thousands of Maasai families were evicted from Loliondo to allow a United Arab Emirates -based luxury tourism and trophy hunting company OBC to fully operate in the area. In addition, it was in 1959 when Maasai pastoralists were forcibly resettled from the Serengeti plains to Ngorongoro due to the establishment of the national park. It is now some of the very same Maasai who are facing threats to be evicted from home for the second time. “Evicting the Maasai of Ngorongoro means violating their native rights of territory ownership. The women and children are the most suffering. Both the people of this community and their livestock are in great danger of losing their livelihoods.” – Maasai woman (name withheld for security reasons) Land is Life stands with the Maasai pastoralists of Ngorongoro and joins their demands on the Government of Tanzania to halt the eviction plans immediately. We also request the UNESCO – that claims to integrate the protection of cultural and natural heritage and to preserve the balance between nature and people – to intervene. We would like to ask them, what is the role of a World Heritage Site without its living cultural heritage? Land is Life joins the calls for the establishment of a Maasai-led steering committee to find the right balance between the pastoralists’ livelihoods, tourism, and biodiversity in the Ngorongoro Conservation Area.
Land is Life at U.N. Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues 2022
The 21st session of the UN Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues (UNPFII) was held April 25 – May 6 at United Nations headquarters in New York. After two years, because of the COVID-19 pandemic, Indigenous delegates from around the world were able to once again gather in person for the Forum. The UNPFII is a high-level advisory body to the Economic and Social Council, with a mandate to address issues related to Indigenous Peoples’ economic and social development, culture, the environment, education, health and human rights. Land is Life and our delegation was able to participate in a number of dialogues and meetings throughout the forum. Deep concerns were expressed on the threats that the extractive industries, infrastructure mega projects, loggings, and large-scale agriculture pose to Indigenous Peoples Living in Voluntary Isolation and Initial Contact (PIACI). Land is Life, as the Secretariat of the International Working Group GTI PIACI, applauds the forum’s recommendations on human rights where it was recommended that the Human Rights Council (OHCHR), in cooperation with the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, and Indigenous people’s organizations, start a process of evaluating the progress made, identifying implementation gaps and making recommendations to advance the protection of PIACI and to guarantee their rights. This adoption marks one step closer towards the protection of the PIACI whose ways of life are exposed to extremely high vulnerability. Land is Life at UNPFII 2022: Strengthening the Collective Security of Indigenous Defenders Recording Indigenous Voices on the Global 30×30 Initiative and Philanthropy’s Response Unfree, Late and Uninformed Consent from Ethiopia to Asia Human Rights Violations of Indigenous Peoples Living in Voluntary Isolation by Companies in the Amazon and Gran Chaco Autonomous Protocols of Free, Prior and Informed Consent: An Alternative Tool towards Regulation for Indigenous Communities