Pasar al contenido principal

Cultural Survival Executive Director Ellen Lutz was in Washington November 2 for a hearing at the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights regarding Panama's violation of the rights of Ngobe people by constructing a dam on their territory. The hearing was held at the request of Panama, which apparently hoped to justify its support of the dam project.

The Cape Wind project, which would place 130 wind turbines in Nantucket Sound off the coast of Massachusetts, was put on hold in October when the Wampanoag Nation objected to the project, saying that their spiritual ceremonies require an unobstructed view of the sunrise. They also are objecting because they say the shoals on which the turbines would be built is a Wamapanoag burial ground.

The bad new is that the repressive tactics of Philippine National Police are increasingly violent against the Indigenous people of Didipio who are trying to prevent further demolitions of their homes by the mining company, OceanaGold Philippines, Inc (OGPI). A mobile unit of the National Police is now stationed inside the offices of OGPI, clearing signaling the people that their government stands with the mining company and against them. 

When the United Nations General Assembly voted on the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples in 2007, only four countries voted against it: the United States, New Zealand, Canada, and Australia. Today, the Rudd government in Australia announced that it would endorse the declaration. The original vote on the declaration was largely the result of the tireless efforts of Cultural Survival board member Les Melezer, and Melezer played a key role in today's announcement by the Rudd government: he has been in New York for two weeks putting pressure on the Australian ambassador.

The United Nations Voluntary Fund for Indigenous Populations is accepting applications for financial assistance for any representatives of indigenous communities who wish to participate in the 2007 deliberations of the Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues, the Working Group on Indigenous Populations, or the Working Group on the Draft United Nations Declaration of the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. Applications must be submitted by October 1, and must be in English, French, or Spanish. The U.N.

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.

Suscribirse a Human Rights