
Free, Prior and Informed Consent (FPIC) is the principle that a community has the right to give its consent to proposed projects that may affect their lands, resources, livelihoods, and communities.
A Coalition of 50+ Indigenous Groups Host #Proud2BIndigenous Week during UNPFII
New York, NY
The Ihanktonwan Oyate/Yankton Sioux General Council of South Dakota passed key resolutions in April to affirm their opposition to the Keystone XL Pipeline.
According to Native News Network, an April 4th Resolution declared that consultation with tribes by the State Department in regards to the pipeline project has been flawed and has not lived up to standards established in the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.
The Wirikuta Defense Front released their annual report on the mining concessions in their territory and the threats they represent to their people and have presented the information to James Anaya, the UN Special Rapporteur for Indigenous Peoples on April 18th.
The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights has issued a statement condemning the State of Belize for violating the rights of Indigenous Peoples in the Toledo district.
The Commission has been closely following the illegal extraction and destruction of natural resources conducted by foreign companies with support from the government of Belize since 2004, when they issued a recommendation that the government “delimit, demarcate and title the [Mayan] territory” and until that has happened, abstain from any projects that might affect these lands.
The following editorial by Samuel Nguiffo was published in Al Jazeera on April 14th.
Samuel Nguiffo is the Secretary General of the Centre for Environment and Development (CED), Cameroon, and a recipient of the Goldman Environmental Prize in 1999. He is currently being sued by the government of Cameroon for tarnishing the state's reputation when he advocated against an oil palm plantation concession.
New York-based New Tang Dynasty Chinese television channel produced a video covering the continued fight to protect the Ukok Plateau in Russia's Altai region from a gas pipeline that would bring natural gas to China. They highlight the environmental, cultural, and archeological concerns about the project that would bisect the UNESCO heritage site that is sacred to the Indigenous Telengit People.
Karuturi Global Ltd, an India-based agricultural company and the world’s largest rose grower, has stated that it will pursue funding from an undisclosed sovereign wealth fund after development banks denied the corporation financial assistance to continue projects in Ethiopia.
By Madeline Hall