Peace & Justice: Threats to indigenous people

The title of next week’s gathering may be intimidating, but the issue is important and worth your time.

The topic is “Justice and Accountability in the Context of Extractive Industries: Indigenous Women Human Rights Defenders from Guatemala, Brazil, Indonesia, and Bangladesh.” The gathering is organized on August 26 by Franciscans International, the non-governmental organization that represents the Franciscan family at the United Nations.

In a nutshell, extractive industries remove raw materials such as oil, coal, gold, iron, and copper from the earth, usually by such means as drilling, pumping, and mining. It has been reported that “extractive activities within indigenous peoples’ lands and territories undertaken without adequate consultation or consent are the main source of serious violations of their human rights, including violence, criminalization and forced displacement.”

How bad is the situation? Last year in Guatemala alone, there were 17 murders and 22 attempted murders.

According to Franciscans International, here are some key issues:

-       The risks and dangers faced by indigenous peoples, particularly in the context of industries, and the impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic on their already precarious situation.
-       The experiences of women human rights defenders from indigenous communities in Guatemala, Brazil, Indonesia, and Bangladesh, facing human rights abuses in the context of extractive industries.
-       The challenges and risks to indigenous peoples as human rights defenders and their struggles when accessing justice.
-       Recommendations to guarantee the participation of indigenous peoples in developing mechanisms to strengthen the rule of law and achieve justice for human rights violations against their communities in the context of the implementation of SDG16.