Sign on to our collective statement.

Agenda item.1 Opening of the meeting (07.12.202)

Statement on behalf of the International Indigenous Forum on Biodiversity (IIFB) delivered by John Cheechoo, Assembly of First Nation (AFN), Kenneth Deer Indigenous World Association

From December 7-19, 2022, in Montreal, Canada, the 15th Conference of Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD COP15) is bringing together the countries who are parties to the Convention and various observer stakeholders, including Indigenous Peoples.

On November 29, 2022, the Caribbean Court of Justice heard arguments in the case Maya Leaders Alliance v The Attorney General of Belize regarding the compliance of the State of Belize with the court’s 2015 decision in favor of Maya land rights. 

On Sunday, July 19, 2020, five men, including four Garífuna, were taken at gunpoint from their homes in the community of Triunfo de la Cruz, Honduras, by unidentified men dressed in uniforms belonging to the Honduran Police Investigation Directorate.

In September 2022, Cultural Survival and our partner Asociación Sobrevivencia Cultural submitted an alternative report for the 72nd session of the UN Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (CESCR).

The following is an appeal sent by various anti-war movements of Indigenous Peoples of Siberia and Indigenous activists to the United Nations in October 2022. The signees address the Russian Federation’s current mobilization order and its impact on Indigenous communities in the Sakha Republic. They call on the UN for assistance with Indigenous draftees needing asylum and seek solidarity and support from the international community. They make known their fervent denouncement of the violence and destabilization Russia has wrecked upon Ukraine in its unjust war on the sovereign nation.

From my apartment door, I see a blue sky hovering over the tin roof of the neighboring house. I see the blended tops of coconut trees standing so close, their palms so intertwined, that it’s hard to tell where one ends and the next begins. I see lined telephone poles and a busy road down to my right, the bus stop and grocery store across the street, and wild chickens running around below. They almost always seem to be in a hurry, but I never know where they’re going.

According to reports by UN Women, one in three women has experienced some form of sexual or physical violence. Violence against women and girls happens in many different contexts, including times of both peace and conflict, natural disasters, humanitarian crises, and pandemics. It can happen within the family or community, or outside in broader society. 

November 25 is the International Day to Eliminate Violence against Women. Violence in all of its forms, whether physical, psychological, sexual, or economic, against women and girls, are violations of human rights. Indigenous women are particularly vulnerable for two factors: ethnicity and gender. In response, more and more Indigenous women are organizing around the world to fight against violence.

Long before the arrival of the settlers, the land which we call Turtle Island was bountiful of rich foods, clean water, and a vast amount of biodiversity. Cornfields wrapped around the coastline for miles, schools of fish swam so thick, and trees were so healthy they produced many nuts and fruits. Our ancestors celebrated thanksgiving about 13 times a year. In the Northeast, the first thanksgiving is the Strawberry Thanksgiving as it is the first berry of the season.