Join Land is Life at 2019 United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues: April 22-29th
At this year’s United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues, Land is Life will be highlighting our global mission and grassroots partnerships at the following events. Contact [email protected] for information on how to attend. Land is Life Event at the United Nations: Discussion on Threats to Indigenous Populations Living in Voluntary Isolation in the Amazon April 25, 2019, 1:15 pm – 2:45 pm, United Nations, Room S-1521 Land is Life will convene a panel discussion featuring Alicia Cahuiya: Leader of the Waorani Nation of Ecuador, Maria Quispe, Brian Keane: Rapporteur of the Permanent Forum, and Antenor Vaz: Expert on Peoples Living in Isolation from Brazil. The panel will discuss the findings of a report which details the current situation of and potential threats to the lands and territories of Indigenous Peoples living in voluntary isolation in the Amazon and El Chaco regions. The report has been developed with contributions from 10 Indigenous organizations from the region. It provides a clear overview of the status of land rights recognition for these groups as well as maps that identify the extractive and development projects that threaten those lands and territories, coupled with analyses of the opportunities to protect their lives and biocultural diversity of their lands and territories. Indigenous Rights Defenders Under Attack: Challenges and Responses April 25, 2019, 7:00 pm to 9:00 pm, Rudin Center, New York University Human Rights Defenders and Indigenous Peoples are increasingly under attack worldwide. This convergence of threats was recognized by a report last year from the UN Special Rapporteur on Indigenous Peoples. That report highlighted how intensified competition over natural resources — led by private companies and at times with government complicity — has placed indigenous communities seeking to protect their traditional lands at the forefront as targets of persecution. This panel features perspectives from the Americas, Asia, and Africa on the nature of these threats against Indigenous rights defenders and the responses these organizations and their allies are taking to ensure the security of indigenous rights defenders and advancing efforts to defend the lands, resources, and rights of Indigenous communities: Register Here Join the Gwich’in to Protect the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge from Drilling: April 29, 2019, 11:00 am – 12:30 pm, United Nations, Room CR-9 This gathering is In solidarity with the Gwichin to demand Free Prior Informed Consent from any company who intends to bid on oil leases offered by the United States Department of Interior on their ancestral lands, the coastal plain of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. Join us to understand the urgent threat to these lands from oil development and to elevate this pristine area for international protection.
Land is Life Stands with Katribu in Condemning the Killing of Indigenous Leader in the Philippines: Datu Kaylo
The Katribu Kalipunan ng Katutubong Mamamayan ng Pilipinas (Katribu) vehemently condemns the killing of Datu Kaylo Bontolan on April 7, 2019 during a military operation perpetrated by elements of the 3rd Infantry Battalion of the Armed Forces of the Philippines – Eastern Mindanao Command in Kitaotao, Bukidnon. Datu Kaylo is a member of the National Council of Leaders of Katribu, a Manobo tribal chieftain in Talaingod, Davao del Norte, and a well-known Lumad leader of the Salugpongan community organization. He is also the Deputy Secretary General of PASAKA – Confederation of Lumad in Southern Mindanao. The Lumad leader is the 60th victim of extrajudicial killings among indigenous peoples under the fascist Duterte regime. To justify the killings, the state military forces are quick to tag their victims as combatants of the New People’s Army (NPA), akin to the Lumad victims of massacre in Lake Sebu about two years ago. Serving his fellow Lumad, Datu Kaylo was looking into the situation of the Manobo-Lumad communities who were victims of perennial internal displacement when he was killed by state military forces. These Lumad communities from Talaingod sought refuge in Kitaotao, Bukidnon due to the intense military operations and bombings in their ancestral domain that gravely affected their safety, livelihood, and way of life. The Katribu, along with the indigenous peoples (IP) communities in the country, grieves for the death of one of its valiant leaders and defenders. Amid his young age and untimely demise, Datu Kaylo has sacrificed more than what a Lumad can give in a lifetime, in defense of their ancestral land and community schools. To honor his death, the Katribu are calling for the end of Martial Law in Mindanao that has supported the attacks of the paramilitary groups, like the Alamara, against Lumad communities. The Martial Law in the region has also intensified the military operations that caused the frequent displacement of our Lumad brothers and sisters. In the time of a murderous Duterte regime, Katribu calls on indigenous peoples to take to heart the courage, life, and sacrifices of Datu Kaylo for the people. We are also calling on indigenous peoples to unite, resist, and oppose the militarization of Pantaron Range as it will facilitate the entry of huge mining companies and destructive plantations in the area. Let us not waste what Datu Kaylo, and the IP leaders before him, have started in defense of our lands. Let us honor their sacrifices by defending our ancestral domains, our right to self-determination, and the next generations. Our challenge for the indigenous peoples is to be more like Datu Kaylo and less of ourselves.
United Nations Special Rapporteur on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Visits Ecuador
On November 19th, through a formal invitation from the government of Ecuador, the United Nations Special Rapporteur for the Rights of Indigenous Peoples began her 11-day visit to the country. The purpose of the visit was to make recommendations to the Ecuadorian State on improving the human rights of Indigenous Peoples and to hear the testimonies of Indigenous leaders and community members. During her trip, Special Rapporteur Vicky Tauli-Corpuz met with President Lenin Moreno, several Ministers and high-level representatives from different ministries and governmental institutions. She also participated in a national assembly in Quito and two regional assemblies in Lago Agrio and Yakuwasi organized by the Confederación de las Nacionalidades Indígenas de Ecuador, CONAIE, and its regional bodies ECUARUNARI, CONFENIAE, and CONAICE. She had the opportunity to meet with hundreds of representatives of Indigenous communities and nationalities from the Sierra, the Coast, and the Amazon. Her visit was the first of its kind in over a decade, a period of time in which the rights of Indigenous Peoples in Ecuador were initially strengthened by government actions only to be threatened more than ever by the proliferation of mining and oil blocks throughout the country. Most recently officials have carried out an aggressive campaign to undermine a mandate of a national Constitution passed earlier this year to recognize the self-determination of Indigenous Peoples in Ecuador. Land is Life, together with CONAIE, ECUARUNARI, and CONFENIAE played a central role in organizing the Special Rapporteur’s agenda and supporting the travel logistics of several key Indigenous participants. Read the Report in English and Spanish.
Denouncing Recent Killings of Indigenous Inga Peoples of Yunguillo, Colombia
Land is Life and Protection International denounces the killing this week of three members of the Indigenous Inga community of Yunguillo in Colombia. We are increasingly concerned with the growing violence against Indigenous Peoples and activists in the Amazon (since the start of 2018, 32 Indigenous leaders were killed in Colombia alone) and take threats to our partners and staff with the utmost seriousness. We continue to work to improve the safety and security across our operations and the activities of our partners. Land is Life and Protection International strongly endorse the following statement (translated below) released by the Secretariat of Human Rights and Peace of the Zonal Indigenous Organization of Putumayo (OZIP) and urges the Colombian authorities to complete a transparent investigation into the killings: We reject all acts of violence against members of Indigenous communities and we stand in solidarity with the community and families of ARMANDO MUTUMBAJOY, JAIME ALIRIO BECERRA CHINDOY, ELKIN FARID SIGINDIOY CHINDOY. Taking into account the previous National Alerts issued by OZIP on July 7, 2018 regarding the (murders of the Embera Pueblo brothers in Orito Putumayo) and October 31, 2017 of the (Resistance Minga) we raised a call for attention to the National Government, reiterating the need to establish together with the competent institution mechanisms for the respect of the human rights of the members of the Indigenous Peoples of the Department of Putumayo, demanding that the following measures be adopted aimed at respecting the interior of the territories indigenous: Establish mechanisms to obtain protection for the members of the Indigenous communities of the Department of Putumayo. Prevent actions or omissions that entail that human rights be violated or threatened by agents of the state, members of illegal armed groups or persons engaged in any type of crime. Investigate the behaviors and judge and punish those responsible for them. To carry out actions in mass media aimed at overcoming the prejudices and stigmatization that currently affect the dignity of indigenous peoples for the defense of the principles of respect for culture, life, territory and nature as a source of life.
Land is Life at IFIP: Women-Led Empowerment in DRC + LGBTQ Rights in the Philippines
Land is Life, along with Indigenous partners from the Philippines and the Democratic Republic of Congo, will present new initiatives next week at the 2018 IFIP Annual Funders Conference in Sante Fe, New Mexico. The panels will be moderated by supporters of the new work, the David & Lucile Packard Foundation, and Lush Charity Pot. Learn more below! Building Empowerment through Women-Led Conservation DRC: Founded in 2004 by Mbuti Pygmies in the Democratic Republic of Congo, DIPY works through direct grassroots actions as well as local, national and international advocacy efforts for the well-being of Pygmies and the conservation the Congo basin. Moderated by Kai Carter of the David & Lucile Packard Foundation, DIPY founder Sinafasi Makelo and his colleague Ibula Bolondo Brunelle, will discuss the importance of Indigenous women-led initiatives and their experience working at the grassroots to improve livelihoods while conserving traditional lands and territories. The panel will present and review the findings of a recent six-month study that analyzed the potential of women-led cooperatives throughout DRC. Engaging Indigenous LGTBQ Youth and National Dialogue in the Philippines: In most Indigenous communities in the Philippines, men dominate decision-making, traditional rituals, and community affairs and look down on LGBTQ peoples. While LGBTQ issues are gaining acceptance, the older generation continues to discriminate. Very few Indigenous-rights organizations focus on LGBTQ issues due to the urgent priority of protecting land rights. Securing financial and human resources for LGBT rights work is difficult. This session will give members of Innabuyog and the Cordillera Peoples Alliance, leading Indigenous organizations dedicated to LGBT rights in the Philippines, to discuss a new initiative that will improve their grassroots operations and systems while elevating LGBTQ issues and activists into the broader Indigenous-rights movement through research, training workshops, knowledges exchanges and regional and national dialogues. Their goal is to train and empower the next generation of Indigenous LGBTQ leaders and generate a national conversation about discrimination and rights. Moderated by Lush Charity Pot, the panel hopes to generate broader ideas about how to build off this work and apply it to Indigenous- rights and LGBTQ efforts globally.
Urgent Appeal for Support for Communities Devastated by Super Typhoon Ompong
In response to an urgent request from our grassroots Indigenous partners in the central Philippines in the wake of the devastation of Super Typhoon Ompong, Land is Life is asking friends and allies from across our network to offer their support to this urgent cause. Among the worst hit is the mined-out Itogon town in Benguet province. Land is Life has visited these communities in the past and has partnered with grassroots Indigenous organizations throughout the region for many years. A massive landslide buried several homes, an old bunkhouse of the Benguet Corporation Inc. and a chapel. At least 40-50 people were staying in the bunkhouse while the chapel was attempting to evacuate during the height of the typhoon. Rescue operations and retrieval of bodies are still ongoing, with 34 dead and 42 still missing.
Stop the Attacks on Jiten Yumnam and Indigenous Human Rights Defenders!
The Land is Life network and the Cordillera Peoples Alliance support the call of various organizations for a stop to the attacks against Land is Life South Asia Coordinator, Jiten Yumnam, and other indigenous human rights defenders. As organizations working for the advancement of indigenous peoples’ rights and welfare, we strongly condemn the attacks on indigenous peoples who are dedicating their lives for the protection of our ancestral lands and the environment, and the respect of human rights. Jiten is a staunch environmental and human rights defender. Currently, the secretary for the Centre for Research and Advocacy – Manipur (CRA-Manipur) and a long-time solidarity partner of the Cordillera Peoples Alliance, Jiten is being subjected to harassment and intimidation by local state forces in Manipur, India. In a statement and complaint he submitted to the Chairperson of the National Human Rights Commission of India, he narrated the harassment that the Manipur police committed at his residence on August 13, 2018 where they verbally informed his mother of a pending case against him without written documents to support the claim and that he is being summoned to the Imphal West Manipur Police Commando Complex. Jiten and his family fear that such summons could result to arbitrary arrest and detention as a repeat of what happened to Jiten in September 2009 where he was detained and tortured in the same police complex. The threat on Jiten’s safety has caused unnecessary anxiety and inconvenience for Jiten and his family. Quoting directly from the complaint Jiten submitted, “The repeated summon by police commandoes in my family also caused much tension and anxiety with my family members, including my children while disturbing my profession and creating a very deleterious impression among locals of my locality. The summon also constitutes a continued threat and harassment to human rights defenders in Manipur.” The case of Jiten is happening in various parts of the world, with the crackdown on environmental activists and indigenous human rights defenders. In the Philippines and other countries in Asia, Indigenous Human Rights Defenders are facing gross human rights violations when all they do is to stand up against the corporate plunder of their ancestral domains. There is no difference for indigenous peoples in Latin America where indigenous leaders are criminalized for their strong opposition to the entry of extractive industries and other so-called ‘development’ projects in their communities. The harassment, intimidation, arbitrary arrests and detention, torture, extrajudicial killings and filing of trumped-up charges against indigenous human rights defenders and environmental activists are clearly meant to discredit and silence indigenous peoples’ legitimate dissent and our struggle against threats to our lives and livelihood. However, indigenous peoples will never be cowed and will continue to defend our lands, forests, rivers, and right to self-determination for the sake of future generations and the wider society. We echo the call of various civil society organizations to stop the attacks on activists, especially indigenous leaders who are in the frontlines of the struggle to defend the environment from destruction and indigenous peoples’ collective rights. We call on governments to truly recognize the decisive role of grassroots indigenous peoples in the protection of our global ecosystem. We call on the local government of Manipur and national government of India to stop all forms of arbitrary summon, harassment, degrading treatment and torture of human rights defenders, including Mr. Jiten Yumnam and to repeal emergency laws that put at risk the security of indigenous human rights defenders, such as the Armed Forces Special Powers Act of 1958 and National Security Act of 1980. Stop criminalizing indigenous peoples and put an end to the exploitation and plunder of indigenous territories! For reference: Sarah Bestang Dekdeken Land is Life Asia Program Director Cordillera Peoples Alliance Secretary General
Global Day of Action: International Day Of The World’s Indigenous Peoples 2018
On this year’s International Day of the World’s Indigenous Peoples Land is Life stands in Solidarity with our longtime partners the International Indigenous Peoples Movement for Self Determination & Liberation (IPMSDL) as they unite around a GLOBAL DAY OF ACTION: “On August 9, we call on everyone to the GLOBAL DAY OF ACTION to celebrate and stand for the continuing struggle and victories of Indigenous Peoples (IP) in different parts of the world against imperialist assaults on IP rights to self-determination. In this year’s commemoration of the INTERNATIONAL DAY OF THE WORLD’S INDIGENOUS PEOPLES, let us unite and highlight the struggles and victories of Indigenous communities against the intensifying resource exploitation of transnational corporations (TNCs), war and militarization, and the worsening human rights situation attacking IP rights defenders and the collective action in defense of land, territory, and way of life. Together, we will amplify the voices and demands of Indigenous Peoples for the right to self-determination. Let us strengthen our solidarity and broad unity among and between Indigenous communities and all oppressed peoples! Long live the struggle of Indigenous Peoples to self-determination!”
Welcome New Members to our Global Team: Nidia, Renz, Vanessa, and Alicia!
As Land is Life continues to better serve our network of grassroots Indigenous organizations, communities and leaders and to build a more dynamic global team, we are excited to welcome the following new hires (above from left to right) Nidia Becerra, Rendilyn “Renz” Cuyop, Vanessa Barham and Alicia Waller. Read about their commitment to our mission to support the self-determination of our Indigenous partners everywhere. Nidia Becerra, Amazon Regional Coordinator Nidia is a 29-year-old Colombian Indigenous leader. She has dedicated her life to environmental activism, focusing on protecting the lands of her people, the Inga, against mining companies. Elected leader of the Inga three times, Nidia works with the Yunguillo, a reserve in the department of Putumayo, in the Colombian Amazon, to achieve the protection of its territory. Under her leadership, she has quintupled the amount of formally protected traditional Inga land. Nidia will coordinate Land is Life’s Indigenous-Led Grantmaking initiative throughout the Amazon as well as work closely on our ongoing security initiative throughout the region. “Land is Life is a comprised of a diverse, multicultural team of both Indigenous and non-Indigenous professionals dedicated to promoting the self-determination of Indigenous Peoples globally. I joined Land is Life to add new perspectives and energy to Indigenous-Led Grantmaking, an initiative that truly respects the ever-changing challenges and opportunities facing grassroots Indigenous communities.” *** Rendilyn “Renz” Cuyop, Asia Program Coordinator Renz is a 21-year-old Tuwali-Igorot from the Cordillera region, Philippines. After finishing college, she became a full-time volunteer secretariat of the Cordillera Youth Center. Her commitment to promoting the rights of Indigenous Peoples at national and international levels has led her to join Land is Life’s Asia Program team in Baguio where she will support the Asia Program Director, Bestang Dekdeken. “To actively take part in the struggle for Indigenous Peoples’ rights is important to my generation. I took on the challenge and have now joined the Land is Life team in order to lend my energy to this important mission” *** Vanessa Barham, Latin America Program Coordinator Vanessa studied Ecology and Law in Universidad San Francisco de Quito in Ecuador. For the last nine years she has been working closely with environmental and human rights defenders in the Ecuadorian Amazon including the Shuar Siekopai, Siona, Waorani, Kichwa and Kofan. Part of her work has involved the training of grassroots activists in human and environmental rights issues, litigation against oil companies, the development of legal strategies in human rights cases and the research of environmental and human rights violations. In collaboration with our program team and grassroots partners, Vanessa will coordinate all of Land is Life’s programs in Latin America “Land is Life is not the type of NGO that imposes its own agenda to the communities they work with. We create a long-term partnership with the communities we work with and allow them to decide in which approaches they prefer. We respect the right to self-determination of Indigenous Peoples, a principle that is all too rare.” *** Alicia Waller, Operations Assistant Alicia is a practicing performing artist whose work centers around the use of artistic collaboration for the facilitation of intercultural understanding that transcends national, cultural, and social boundaries. She is a recent graduate of the M.A. program at the NYU Gallatin School for Individualized Study. Alicia brings new energy to Land is Life’s efforts to build a strong institution. “One of the things that most struck me prior to joining the Land is Life team is the organization’s unique approach to issues of representation in the NGO/Indigenous Rights sphere. Land is Life has proved adept at ensuring that Indigenous leaders drive, organize and prioritize the issues that they themselves know to be most prescient within their own communities. I am so pleased to be a part of this organization for identifying the value of this approach, and also for its mission to actualize this grassroots strategy in the core of its foundational structure.”
Arctic to the Amazon Indigenous Women Demand Protection for their Lands at the United Nations
Last week, Land is Life convened Indigenous women leaders from the Arctic and Amazon at the 17th Session of the United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues (UNPFII) to raise awareness about the threat of oil exploration to their lands, cultures and livelihoods. Gwich’in leaders from Alaska and Canada raised awareness on their shared fight against new efforts to open the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to oil exploration, threatening their traditional lifestyle, specifically the calving grounds of the Porcupine caribou herd. Leaders from the Ecuadorian Amazon discussed their experiences working together across communities to defend their collective territory against oil developments. Together, we hosted an official side event and a panel discussion at New York University, sharing their message, connecting with new allies and building solidarity with other Indigenous Peoples and organizations from across the globe. “It was an honor to stand with our sisters from Ecuador and to learn about the issues they are facing. I look forward to working in solidarity as Indigenous women leading this fight to protect our territories, rights and ways of life.” – Bernadette Demientieff, Executive Director, Gwich’in Steering Committee This proved to be a timely event, as news broke the Trump Administration issued a Notice of Intent (NOI) to initiate the environmental review process for oil and gas leasing on the Coastal Plain of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. Gwich’in Steering Committee leaders Bernadette Demientieff (Executive Director) and Lorraine Netro (board member) brought the voice of the Gwich’in Nation to the UN, officially calling on the United States and Canadian governments to uphold their human rights, land rights and food sovereignty by protecting their ancestral homelands. “As this unfortunate news came out, it was a very important time to be at the United Nations with our brothers and sisters from around the globe, sharing in our common efforts to protect our ancestral homelands.” – Lorraine Netro, Board Member, Gwich’in Steering Committee During this first stage of the leasing process, there will be a 60-day public comment period that will provide the first opportunity to emphasize that no oil and gas development activities should be allowed on the Coastal Plain, and to draw attention to the rushed process while reinforcing the values of the Refuge. While the Gwich’in discussed their efforts to protect their land amidst new threats, the President of the Kichwa community of Sarayaku in Ecuador, Mirian Cisneros, presented and promoted their community’s Indigenous-led conservation plan—Kawsak Sacha (living forest)—to collectively manage their territory and resources, as highlighted in a recent New York Times piece. Together, they have demonstrated that from the Arctic to the Amazon, Indigenous women are leading the fight to protect their lands and way of life.