40-1 “Annexed” - The Rights of Indigenous Peoples in the Paris Climate Change Talks

On a precipitous mountain slope in Laitsohpliah, a woman from the matrilineal Khasi tribe grasped finger millet in her hands, a cereal cultivated in India for over 2,000 years that is teeming with calcium and protein. We were in Meghalaya, a state in Northeast India famed for its stunning biodiversity, dizzying mountainous vistas, and a beguiling name that means the abode of clouds. The visit to the village was part of the Indigenous Terra Madre gathering to showcase the profound agrobiodiversity and lively culture that is created and preserved by Indigenous Peoples around the world.

Aili Keskitalo (Saami) President of Saami Parlaiment in Norway

Rodion Sulyandziga (Udege, from Krasnyyar, Primorski Kray, Russian Far East)Director of the Centre for the Support of Indigenous Peoples of the North (CSIPN), Russia, co-chair of the International Indigenous Peoples Forum on Climate Change (IIPFCC)

The following interviews were conducted with Indigenous leaders and activists from around the world in attendance at the Paris climate negotiations. We are thankful for their willingness to provide their perspectives.Hindou Oumarou Ibrahim (Mbororo)Coordinator of Indigenous Women and Peoples the Fulani and Mbororo of Chad and co-chair of the International Indigenous Peoples Forum on Climate Change (IIPFCC)

The following interviews were conducted with Indigenous leaders and activists from around the world in attendance at the Paris climate negotiations. We are thankful for their willingness to provide their perspectives. Cristina Coc (Maya) Maya Leaders Alliance Association (Belize)

On December 12, 2015, in Paris, after two decades of climate talks within the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), world leaders from 195 countries and the European Union came to a consensus in Paris on a legally binding agreement on climate change, with the aim of keeping global warming below 2°C and reducing carbon emissions across the globe.