Annual Report 2020

The COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 has impacted all corners of the world and all spheres of our lives and livelihoods. Indigenous Peoples have been disproportionately affected by the epidemic.

This Annual Report will therefore give a broad overview of how the pandemic has affected the world’s Indigenous Peoples. IWGIA’s yearbook, The Indigenous World 2021, provides further extensive documentation as to how Indigenous Peoples have been affected in the different countries and how international processes dealing with their rights have had to adjust to the new situation and use digital means to communicate.

BY PAULINA ACEVEDO

Luis Jiménez Cáceres was elected as a Constitutional Assembly Member for the Aymara people. His Aymara roots come from the regions of Arica and Parinacota (Guallatire Community) and Tarapacá (Chiapa Community).

With this written submission, the International Work Group on Indigenous Affairs (IWGIA) seeks to bring forward the voices, perspectives and experiences of Indigenous women and girls, particularly from Africa, Asia, Latin America and the Arctic, and to include them in the development of CEDAW’s general recommendation on the rights of Indigenous women and girls.

Human Rights Violations against Indigenous Peoples in West Papua

An ongoing armed conflict in West Papua between the Indonesian military and the separatist movement finds ordinary Indigenous Peoples caught in the middle, resulting in deaths and violations of their rights.

Coal mining is destroying the forests of Siberia. Contamination of the taiga and rivers is harming the Shor people, who live from hunting, gathering and fishing. Anyone who stands up to the government and companies in defence of the right to nature suffers threats and harassment.

The Benet people in Uganda continue to suffer from gross human rights violations

The Benet people in Uganda continue to suffer from gross human rights violations at the hands of the Uganda Wildlife Authority. IWGIA is deeply concerned about the situation, and has continued to monitor it. These on-going violations are also documented in IWGIA’s yearbook “The Indigenous World 2021”.

Nepal Indigenous communities vindicated in rare European human rights victory

Indigenous Peoples and local communities in Nepal are celebrating a hard-fought victory following a landmark investigation which found that the European Investment Bank (EIB) must take urgent steps to uphold their right to Free, Prior, and Informed Consent (FPIC) in its funding of the hydropower sector. FPIC is an international legal standard empowering Indigenous Peoples to give or withhold consent to projects affecting them and their territories.

Regional and International NGOs strongly condemn the gruesome killing of Indigenous Karbi Girl in Assam, Northeast India

Asia Indigenous Peoples Pact (AIPP), International Work Group for Indigenous Affairs (IWGIA), Network of Indigenous Women in Asia (NIWA) and Asia Indigenous Youth Platform (AIYP) strongly condemn the gruesome killing of an Indigenous girl, Sumila Ronghangpi, in Assam, Northeast India.

The Mro People of the Chittagong Hill Tracts (CHT) in Bangladesh are under threat of being evicted from their ancestral lands with nowhere to go and everything to lose.

The election of members to the country’s Constituent Assembly reflected a tremendous turning point in Chile’s political history.

In addition to the 17 seats reserved for Indigenous Peoples, four Indigenous members were elected through regular constituencies and there was gender parity among all members. Chile's Constitution will be the first ever to be written by equal numbers of women and men.

Peaceful and anonymous protests have broken out simultaneously in hundreds of cities and towns around Colombia.

Peru’s elections: A country in search of its identity

Pedro Castillo's first-round victory surprised the country and the region. The rural teacher has an ability to represent the Indigenous and peasant identity while also personifying a discourse of change.

Indigenous governor murdered in Colombia

The limits of the Nasa People’s resistance.

The young Indigenous governor of Cauca was murdered for her decision to expel legal and illegal armed actors from the territory and put an end to illicit crops. After her murder, the “Minga indígena hacia adentro” organized collective action in a demonstration of their autonomy and governance.

Philippines: false accusations, persecution and imprisonment of Indigenous women

Rachel Mariano and Betty Belén, Indigenous women and human rights advocates share their incarceration stories due to trumped-up charges and evidence. The cause of their persecution is clear: they defend their ancestral lands.

Official statistics obscure the fact that the number of criminalized individuals and communities belonging to Indigenous Peoples far exceeds the number of prisoners who actually self-identify as Indigenous, because these figures exclude family members devoted to supporting them as well as the communities they were part of and to which they will eventually return once released.