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UN Special Rapporteur on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, José Francisco Calí Tzay (Maya Kaqchikel), conducted a week-long visit to Nepal on September 10–17, 2023, to meet and learn more about Nepal’s Indigenous Peoples and the status of their human rights. Calí Tzay was invited to Nepal for academic purposes by the Central Department of Anthropology of Tribhuvan University, the oldest and biggest university in the country.

By Chenae Bullock (Shinnecock)

Indigenous Peoples hold tenure to over 25 percent of the world's land surface, which is home to about 80 percent of the remaining global biodiversity, all while making up just a bit over 6 percent of the human population. Investing in Indigenous communities can promote cultural continuity, economic empowerment, environmental protection, and social justice, leading to a more sustainable and equitable world for all.

Indigenous community media is essential for Indigenous Peoples’ reclamation and resistance movements worldwide. They contribute to securing respect for individual and collective rights, ensuring access to relevant, contextualized information and content in Indigenous languages, created and transmitted according to the interests, needs, and worldviews of the Indigenous communities they represent.

Yvy Pyte, 11 de octubre de 2023

Comunicamos a la opinión pública nacional e internacional los graves hechos que ponen en riesgo nuestras vidas y nuestros territorios ancestrales que personas ajenas a nuestra comunidad vienen realizando e instamos a las autoridades competentes a tomar las medidas urgentes que correspondan para el resguardo de nuestros derechos como pueblo indígena.  

Dear Presidents, Commissioners, and Rapporteur,

We, the undersigned organisations, represent Indigenous Peoples, afro-descendant peoples, and other peoples and communities who share an experience of collective ownership, management and use of our lands, territories and natural resources. Many of us are recognised as human rights, land and environmental defenders for our efforts to protect these lands, territories and resources.

“Free, Prior and Informed Consent (FPIC) is the first line of defense when investors and government officials seek to develop projects that may affect Indigenous communities, lands, territories, and resources. For this reason, Indigenous Peoples must be prepared to engage with FPIC from a fully informed, proactive stance. Indigenous Peoples must have their FPIC protocols ready, and be ready to lead engagement around FPIC on their terms.” –Securing Indigenous Peoples' Right to Self-Determination: A Guide on Free, Prior and Informed Consent

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