In 2023, we supported Indigenous Peoples’ Rights Defenders in the Philippines, Myanmar, North East India, Nepal & West Papua.
Land is Life’s Indigenous-led Security Funds are active across Asia, Africa, and the Americas. Each fund is coordinated and led by Indigenous Peoples’ Rights Defenders in that region. Our program provides the tools and resources they need to be able to promote and protect their rights safely, and is able to provide rapid response funds in emergency situations in a matter of hours. We monitor countries’ compliance with international human rights agreements, and campaign to hold accountable those who are responsible when Indigenous Peoples’ rights are violated.
Supporting legal fees to defend Indigenous Peoples’ defenders against criminalization, and to file legal complaints and request protection measures for individuals, communities and organizations that are under threat.
Funding for medical, psychological and spiritual assistance/protection from Western doctors as well as traditional healers for Indigenous Peoples’ right defenders who have been harmed or are being threatened as a result of their human rights activities.
Immediate transfer of Indigenous Peoples’ rights defenders to safe havens, taking into account their request and risk.
Provide assistance to the families of Indigenous Peoples’ right defenders who are missing, have been killed or are in hiding. Funds are also used to support communities that have been forcibly evicted from their territories.
Develop and implement, in collaboration with Indigenous Peoples’ communities and organizations, strategies to ensure their ability to safely carry out the work of promoting and defending their human rights.
Engage national governments, regional human rights bodies and United Nations human rights bodies and Special Procedures on specific cases, as well as broader issues concerning Indigenous Peoples’ rights defenders.
In 2023, we supported Indigenous Peoples’ Rights Defenders in the Philippines, Myanmar, North East India, Nepal & West Papua.
In 2023, in partnership with the Organization of the Indigenous Peoples of the Colombian Amazon (OPIAC), we supported more than 100 Indigenous Peoples’ Rights Defenders across the Colombian Amazon, and provided critical assistance to communities that are under threat or had been violently evicted from their territories.
In 2023 we supported Indigenous Peoples’ Rights Defenders in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Cameroon, Kenya, Tanzania, Nigeria, Uganda, South Africa, Botswana, Malawi and Zimbabwe, and provided critical support for communities that have been violently displaced from their territories.
In 2023 we supported Indigenous Peoples’ Rights Defenders across Mexico, Nicaragua, Honduras, Panama, Costa Rica, El Salvador, and Guatemala, as well as critical support for communities under threat.
Our Indigenous-led Security Funds contribute to progress in the following areas:
Protecting Indigenous Peoples’ rights defenders, their families, organizations and communities and improving their capacity to take defensive actions that ensure their rights, territories, and collective cultural heritage.
Establishing dialogues with states, and enhanced coordination amongst Indigenous Peoples on territorial security and collective rights.
Raising public awareness about the security concerns of Indigenous Peoples’ rights defenders through engagement with collective and wide-reaching regional networks.
Around the world, Indigenous women play an increasingly vital role in the promotion and protection of their peoples’ rights. Whether leading community-based sustainable development projects, responding to the challenges
Hopes are not high for the COP 28 conference in Dubai, especially given the presence of a huge number of oil industry delegates, but the meeting has focused attention on
Open letter regarding respect for the rights of Indigenous Peoples at the COP 28 meeting, and the need for their full inclusion in all negotiations regarding climate change. November
93% of our funding goes directly to Indigenous Peoples.