In April 2025, Cultural Survival accompanied two Indigenous authorities from Bolivia, Pastor Carvajal from the Seque Jahuira Viacha Community in the Department of La Paz (Aymara) and Guadalupe Fernández from the Ayllu Acre Antequera, province of Poopó Department of Oruro (Quechua), to the 24th Session of the UN Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues. In this space, the leaders presented to the international community their denunciations of the extractive activities of foreign mining companies and illegal actors, as well as violations of their rights perpetrated against them due to the defense of their territories.
During their advocacy activities and their denunciations of the Bolivian State's failure to take action to protect them, they were verbally threatened by a leader of the Confederación Sindical Única de Trabajadores Campesinos De Bolivia (CSUTB). This organization is part of the Unity Pact, an alliance of social movements and organizations supporting the political party currently in office, Movimiento al Socialismo (MAS), which is currently facing deep internal divisions.
Fernández and Carvajal were also harassed for wearing their traditional clothing and for displaying the Bolivian flag during their intervention at the plenary session of the Permanent Forum, which is the alleged reason a security guard photographed their credentials. Other speakers also displayed state flags and were not approached by security.
These events are not isolated, as the defenders have suffered threats and verbal and physical attacks back in Bolivia on other occasions. However, it is extremely concerning that this type of intimidation and threats also occur in a space such as the UN Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues in New York, a forum created by and for Indigenous Peoples, which should be a safe space for peaceful dialogue that seeks to reach resolutions for the protection of their rights.
Given the hostile political climate in the Americas and other parts of the world, as well as the extreme and ever-increasing violence against Indigenous Peoples for defending their rights, there’s an urgent need for the creation of safe spaces for fair and equitable exchange between Indigenous Peoples and representatives of United Nations member states.
Therefore, Cultural Survival urges the United Nations system and the Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues to:
- Guarantee a safe space that prioritizes respect for the self-determination and freedom of expression of Indigenous Peoples so they can continue to participate in this forum explicitly created to bring their concerns and demands to the center of the discussion.
- Establish the necessary measures to protect Indigenous and allied defenders who participate in this and other international advocacy spaces when they make their public denunciations.
- Take serious reprisals against governments and other attendees who use these spaces to threaten and attack defenders.
- Provide comprehensive support and follow-up to Indigenous defenders who suffer such intimidation during and after the Forum activities.
Cultural Survival demands that the government of Bolivia:
- Cease threats against Indigenous environmental and rights defenders in both national and international spaces, such as the Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues.
- Comply with the Escazú Agreement, the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, Indigenous and Tribal Peoples (ILO) Convention 169, and other international agreements Bolivia has signed, to guarantee and ensure the protection of the rights of the Indigenous Peoples.
