Several Lepchas, the aboriginal inhabitants of Sikkim in West Bengal, who oppose building a hydroelectric power plant in the region on land they consider sacred, were recently arrested for allegedly damaging equipment owned by the firm responsible for building the plant. Read more about it here.
On March 15, the United Nations General Assembly voted 170–4 to create a new Human Rights Council, effectively dissolving the oft-criticized Commission on Human Rights. Candidates for the Council will need to be elected by an absolute majority of 96 votes in order to secure a position, and once elected members can serve a maximum of two consecutive terms.
The following are more excerpts from statements made during Week Two of the second session of the UN Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues.
ON EDUCATION
Jiten Yumnam, Centre for Organization Research and Education, Manipur, India:
In a violent operation last week, over a thousand “tribals”, as some indigenous peoples are called in India, were evicted by Indian security forces from the Muthanga wildlife sanctuary in the southern state of Kerala. Reports vary, but anywhere from two to 20 people were killed during the exercise, and many more, both tribals and policemen, were injured. The action has been widely condemned by international civil society groups and human rights activists.
A health camp is to be opened on February 24th following rising concerns about the health of the indigenous peoples in Thane district of Maharashtra. Adivasi (vanavasi) people are victims of various diseases and they require immediate medical attention. Several medical specialists would participate in the health camp and would provide routine examinations.
Land Acknowledgement
We acknowledge that we are headquartered on Massachusett land, in Cambridge, MA, and we thank the past, current, and future Indigenous stewards of this territory.
