By Cristina Verán

By Glenn Smith

Corporations are increasingly recognizing the link between good business and respecting human rights. This is reflected in the more than 12,000 corporate participants and other stakeholders from over 145 countries in the UN Global Compact, the largest voluntary corporate responsibility initiative in the world. The Global Compact is a strategic policy initiative spearheaded at the United Nations for businesses committed to aligning their operations and strategies with 10 universally accepted principles in the areas of human rights, labor, environment, and anti-corruption.

By Emily Sanders

Four days of violent conflict within a natural gas concession known as Block 108 in the Junin province of Peru led to the death of 25-year-old protestor Ever Perez Huaman. Huaman was allegedly killed by a gunshot wound to the abdomen, and many other protestors were injured and subject to tear gas fired at them by police. The area in conflict, whose ecosystems are threatened by Peru’s largest oil and gas producer Pluspetrol, is home to Indigenous Chanchamayo communities.

The World Bank has failed to properly enforce its environmental and social guidelines regarding Indigenous Peoples in Africa. According to a leaked report obtained by  the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists, the Bank knew there was an “operational link’’  between its funding for an Ethiopian development initiative and the forced evictions of thousands of Indigenous Peoples. 

By B.R. Ole Koissaba

By Emily Sanders

By Asia Alsgaard

The Massachusetts Office of Travel and Tourism (MOTT) has a variety of themed historical programs ranging from ones that trace the state’s history in the Civil War to another that delineates the plethora of historic lighthouses spotting the Massachusetts coastline. However, their newest program is unique. The Massachusetts Native American Trails website is not merely written about Native peoples, but is written by Native people themselves.

By Paola Canova

By Glenn Smith

In Taiwan, 'Oppose Meiliwan' has been the battle cry of a wide-ranging coalition of eco-activists, Indigenous rights groups and everyday citizens for more than a decade. Meiliwan, which means 'beautiful bay', comes from the Chinese name for the Miramar Resort Village, a five-star beachside property development at the tiny seaside hamlet of Shanyuan (杉原) ten miles north of Taitung City.

By Stephanie Hon

The UN Committee on the Rights of the Child reviewed Colombia on January 21, 2015. The Colombian Development Plan for the next four years were structured around the key pillars of peace, equity, and education, and Colombia has increased its investment in children from $1.3 billion in 2011 to $2 billion in 2014. Despite these improvements, Colombia is still challenged with addressing inequalities among regions and groups, particularly in regards to Indigenous Peoples.

The state of Peru is in the process of launching the bidding process for the largest oil concession in the country, Lot 192, which expires this year, while affected Indigenous communities are still waiting for their demands to clean up contaminated areas from the previous 44 years of exploitation.