Search Results for: indigenous rights

The Canada Energy Regulator (CER) ordered Trans Mountain Corporation to cease its Trans Mountain oil pipeline expansion work in a wetland area near Abbotsford, British Columbia, on Thursday. This comes after CER inspectors found environmental and safety non-compliance during a verification activity. The CER wrote in its Inspection Officer Order that Trans Mountain violated section [...]

Panama’s President Laurentino Cortizo announced on Sunday that he will hold a referendum to determine the fate of a contentious mining contract. Cortizo also said late last week that he was placing a prohibition on any new mining projects in response to protests. In his national address announcing the citizens’ vote, President Cortizo said, “I’ve [...]

The Federal Court of Canada approved on Tuesday, a CA$ 23 billion settlement to compensate First Nations children and families who were harmed by the discriminatory underfunding of the First Nations Child and Family Services (FNCFS) program. The settlement resolved two class actions that were initiated in March 2019 and January 2020, respectively. Both class [...]

After an end-of-summer visit to Ecuador, UN Special Rapporteur on Extreme Poverty and Human Rights Olivier De Schutter called on authorities to continue efforts to curb drug-related crime in the country and to increase investment in the education, healthcare, and social protection sectors. In his report, De Schutter cited poverty as the root cause of [...]

Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva vetoed multiple articles of Bill 2903/2023 on Friday, which aimed to define management rules and establish a time frame for the demarcation of indigenous lands. Bill 2903/2023, initially proposed as PL 490/2007, was approved by the Federal Senate on September 27. The bill’s controversial provisions included the establishment [...]

The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) issued a report Thursday criticizing Peru’s response to anti-government protests that broke out in December 2022. Among the recommendations the office made, it called for reforms to “ensure the exercise of human rights in the context of demonstrations, continue accountability efforts, & enable [...]

Australia’s 45th referendum failed Saturday as polling results revealed a 60 percent majority of Australians rejected the proposal to recognise the country’s First Nation people within Australia’s Constitution through establishing an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Voice within Parliament. Over 17 million Australians were enrolled for the compulsory vote, with many expats being required to attend [...]

The US Department of Justice (DOJ) and the US Attorney’s Office for the District of Arizona have declined to charge Border Patrol (BP) agents for the fatal shooting of Raymond Mattia, a member of the Tohono O’odham Nation, according to tribal leadership. The statement from the Tohono O’odham Nation Chairman Verlon M. Jose and the [...]

As regions of the world grapple with the devastating impacts of climate change, Kenya’s Climate Change Amendment Act stands as landmark legislation that shifts the trajectory of the nation’s commitment to climate justice. The amendment serves as a comprehensive and forward-looking response to the escalating climate crisis. The Act introduces innovative provisions aimed at aligning [...]

Thailand’s Central Criminal Court of Corruption and Misconduct acquitted on Thursday four forestry officials charged with the murder of Indigenous rights activist Pholachi Rakchongcharoen. Thai officials indicted the four forestry officials, including former chief of Kaeng Krachan National Park Chaiwat Limlikitaksorn, with murder in August 2022 over suspicions that they killed Pholachi. Pholachi disappeared after [...]