indigenous groups
Wednesday 1.4.2020 Peru - Latest Developments
Peru: Awajun leader killed as community resists mining in their territory
On 10th and 11th February 2020, members of Peru’s Awajun and Wampis communities protested outside the main offices of the Amazonas regional government to denounce alleged action by the government to enable mining in their territories. Read more | Read in Spanish
Monday 30.3.2020 New Zealand - Latest Developments
Terrorism law bulldozed through NZ parliament despite human rights concerns
A terrorism law was passed in December 2019 after three days in parliament despite concerns from human rights groups and the law society. The occupation of a site of a major indigenous land dispute in Auckland has continued despite the pandemic lockdown. Activists boarded an oil rig to protest the climate crisis while far-rights groups are still active in the country. Read more
Thursday 26.3.2020 Canada - Latest Developments
Canada: Natural gas pipeline project on Wet’suwet’en territory sparks national protests
Throughout February 2020, Indigenous-rights and environmental activists participated in country-wide demonstrations and set up blockades on major rail lines to challenge a natural gas pipeline project in British Colombia. Read more | Read in French
Friday 20.3.2020 Costa Rica - Latest Developments
An Indigenous leader killed and another shot in the leg by land invaders in Costa Rica
On 24th February 2020, a leader of the Indigenous Brörán community of Térraba, Jerhy Rivera Rivera, was killed in the Puntarenas province. Rivera led the land recovery process of indigenous territories in the region. Read more | Read in Spanish
Wednesday 18.3.2020 United States of America - Latest Developments
Unprecedented executive action and rhetoric harm press freedom in the U.S.
On 27th January 2020, the State Department barred an NPR reporter from accompanying Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on an official trip, allegedly in retaliation for a dispute between Pompeo and another NPR reporter. NPR’s Michele Kelemen was removed from the list of reporters allowed to fly with Pompeo on a trip to Eastern Europe, only days after the secretary reportedly swore and yelled at another NPR reporter for asking questions about Ukraine. Read more
Friday 13.3.2020 Taiwan - Latest Developments
Women migrant workers rally to demand better working conditions in Taiwan
There have been peaceful protests in recent months calling for better working conditions for women migrant workers as well as by indigenous Tao people demanding the removal of nuclear waste from Orchid Island. Further, the courts have awarded compensation to a group of protesters who were injured during clashes in 2014 over a controversial trade pact with China. The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) has also raised concerns that press freedom could be affected by Taiwan’s attempts to thwart China’s efforts to influence the media there. Read more
Tuesday 4.2.2020 Honduras - Latest Developments
Three Honduran human rights defenders killed in one week
On 28th December 2019, Garífuna human rights defender Ignacia López Martínez was shot several times by unidentified attackers. She passed away on 11th January 2020 as a result of her severe injuries from this attack. Read more | Read in Spanish
Monday 3.2.2020 Canada - Latest Developments
Public sector employees vow to protest restrictive legislation in Canada
Ontario’s four major teachers’ unions announced that they would challenge a recently passed bill that caps public sector employee raises at one per cent per year. Bill 124, passed by the government in November 2019, affects more than a million workers at universities and colleges, hospitals and other groups. Read more
Tuesday 21.1.2020 Bolivia - Latest Developments
Violent protests and alleged extrajudicial executions in Bolivia as political crisis escalated
On 10th November 2019, Evo Morales resigned as president of Bolivia, after weeks of unrest over contested general elections at the end of October 2019. Read more | Read in Spanish
Tuesday 7.1.2020 Brazil - Latest Developments
Activists criminalised and continuous delegitimisation of press in Brazil
CSO coalition Pacto pela Democracia published a retrospective of attacks against democracy in Brazil throughout 2019. The report outlines 60 key incidents which, according to Pacto, reveal a wider process of democratic deterioration in the country. Read more
