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	Failure to consult Indigenous Peoples on future pandemics will further harm children’s education by Amnesty, Global Call to Action Against Poverty   Feb. 2025   Failure to consult Indigenous Peoples on future pandemics will further harm children’s education. (Amnesty International)   The failure of governments around the world to consult Indigenous Peoples on Covid-19 school closures and other emergency pandemic responses violated their rights, as children continue to feel the effects five years after the first global lockdown, Amnesty International said in a new report today.   Indigenous leaders interviewed by Amnesty International for its report What If Indigenous Consent Is Not Respected?, testified to sharp and sustained increases in post-pandemic absenteeism and school dropout rates, of more than 80 per cent in some cases, among Indigenous children in more than 10 countries. Indigenous leaders and activists also voiced concerns that the often discriminatory, desultory or non-existent response by authorities to the educational needs of Indigenous children during the pandemic worsened long-standing inequities faced by Indigenous communities – with Indigenous girls and children with disabilities particularly disadvantaged. Going forward, the organization is calling for Indigenous Peoples to be consulted during future pandemics.   “The Indigenous leaders and activists we spoke to felt completely ignored by governments during the pandemic, which had an enduring and damaging impact on their rights and prospects,” said Chris Chapman, Amnesty International’s Researcher on Indigenous Rights.   “They said that remote learning solutions were often unavailable to Indigenous children. Those in rural areas, where Indigenous communities often lacked devices, internet connections, electricity and the technological knowledge or capacity to participate in virtual classes or remote learning, were worst affected.”   When lower-tech solutions such as printed materials were distributed to other groups, Indigenous communities in several different countries said they were passed over, ignored, or asked to pay for them.   Indigenous campaigner Sylvia Kokunda said: “For the most part these materials were distributed by the local government, since it can be easier for the village chairperson to identify the people in this community. However, local officials would not give the materials to these Batwa people, they would give only to their people.”   Radio or television-based educational broadcasting during the pandemic was often unavailable in Indigenous languages. An Ogiek activist said that although Sogoot FM 97.1, an Ogiek language radio station, was used to reach the community to inform them about Covid-19 and its impacts, it was not used for school coursework.   The report is based on data and more than 80 interviews or collected responses that Amnesty International gathered to explore how Indigenous students around the world were impacted by pandemic-related school closures, including in Democratic Republic of Congo, India, Kenya, Mexico, Nepal, Russia, Taiwan and Uganda.   There are 476 million Indigenous people worldwide in more than 90 countries, belonging to 5,000 different Indigenous groups and speaking more than 4,000 languages.   Technology, discrimination and dropout rates   Where Indigenous families had limited access to technology for remote learning during the pandemic, boys were often prioritized.   According to Indigenous women activists from Nepal,“If some families have a mobile, then only one or two will use it. And if there are more children in the house, one has to sacrifice their education. When it comes to the sacrifice, the girls are sacrificed more.”   Even if Indigenous students had devices capable of being used for remote learning, their families were sometimes unable to afford sufficient data. In addition, remote teaching was rarely provided in Indigenous languages.   Children with learning difficulties or disabilities which required specialist teaching, for instance through use of sign language or braille, were often excluded, including among Indigenous communities.   Interviewees in many states said there was often little or no government monitoring, or consideration of the effectiveness of alternative learning initiatives for Indigenous communities. Information on how to access education when schools closed – and they stayed shut for more than 18 months in some countries – was rarely provided in Indigenous languages.   Students with little or no access to education during the pandemic often worked instead, and never returned to schools when they reopened. Those who did return when schools reopened, often found that they had fallen behind their classmates. If they were unwilling to retake a year, or could not be supported financially, they too dropped out.   In Kenya, the majority of dropouts of Ogiek students were girls, especially girls who got pregnant during Covid-19 or were subjected to early marriage. However, it affected boys too. An Indigenous activist from Kenya said: “Boys between the ages of 12 and 18 who had begun working in jobs such as motorcycle taxi drivers or farm workers to earn money for themselves and their families also dropped out.”   Some schools across many states never reopened, further reducing access to education for Indigenous children, Indigenous activists reported.   Asked to reply to Amnesty’s findings, the Mexican government stated that it responded to the “unprecedented challenge of Covid-19″ by working with Indigenous schools and teachers to roll out a set of measures including distributing materials in five Indigenous languages, sometimes in printed formats where access to internet or devices was restricted, developing new digital educational materials, and capacity-building for schools and parents to use digital platforms.   Recommendations   “Significantly more resources are now required to safeguard, restore and improve the educational opportunities and rights of Indigenous communities,” Chris Chapman said.   “States must work with Indigenous communities to immediately restore and enhance the right to education for all Indigenous children including a focus on re-enrolling Indigenous girls, and Indigenous students with disabilities.”   Alongside the report, Amnesty International has shared a guide for researchers who wish to investigate the extent to which the human right to participate effectively in decision-making has been violated, especially when it comes to Indigenous communities.   “Governments must consult with Indigenous Peoples on Covid-19 response measures and other pandemic and emergency response measures, otherwise they risk violating their right to consultation, and their right to give or withhold their consent to decisions affecting them. Our study highlights the risks of failing to take into account the realities, cultures and rights of Indigenous Peoples,” said Chris Chapman.   “While our report sets out the devastating impact of this lack of inclusion, it’s hoped that Amnesty’s guide will ensure Indigenous people are included in discussions that affect them in the future. Every child has the right to free, high-quality primary education. States must therefore ensure that no child is left behind.”   http://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2025/02/global-failure-to-consult-indigenous-peoples-on-future-pandemics-will-further-harm-childrens-education/   Feb. 2022   How the COVID-19 pandemic impacted Asia’s indigenous women - Global Call to Action Against Poverty, agencies   Lockdown measures and restrictive policies in the wake of COVID-19 have led to shrinkage of livelihood options for indigenous women and severely affected household food security. Restrictions have prevented Indigenous women in Asia from gathering traditional medicines and foods, write Pragyaa Rai, Richa Pradhan and Pradeep Baisakh.   There are approximately 410 million indigenous people in the world. They, together account for about 5 per cent of the global population. There are 260 million indigenous people in Asia, with 2,000 distinct civilizations and languages. The majority of indigenous peoples in Asia have experienced historical suppression, marginalization, socio-economic and political discrimination.   In some cases, the indigenous people lack legal or constitutional recognition. Indigenous people are generally poor and constitute majority section of the informal work force. Existing policies limits their access to social protection benefits and deny them full and effective participation in society.   Their rights as indigenous peoples are repeatedly violated and there is hardly any respect to their collectivism, self-governance, identities and culture. Incursions into their lands in most Asian nations in the name of ‘development’ have expelled them from their ancestral lands and territories and deprived them of their resources.   COVID-19 exacerbates vulnerabilities   The onset of COVID-19 has reinforced the existing inequalities and marginalisation of indigenous peoples, with most negative impacts felt by indigenous women and girls, persons with disabilities and older people.   The vulnerability of indigenous communities to COVID-19 has been exacerbated by their limited access to health services and information regarding the virus and relief packages. It has been further aggravated by restrictions on mobility, lack of transportation and testing services and failure to provide information in their native languages.   Indigenous women migrant workers have fared worst of all, losing their jobs. They also experienced violence and torture. Indigenous women and children in some Asian countries could not access social protection assistance and relief packages because they did not have the required legal documentation.   Despite the spread of the virus, development projects and military operations have continued in the Philippines, Myanmar, India and Bangladesh, with severe negative consequences for indigenous communities including women.   Land grabbing of indigenous territories by development projects continued during lockdown. Human rights of indigenous leaders and women were violated through vilification, illegal arrest, detention, killings and sexual assaults. Attacks by State forces on indigenous human right defenders, among whom there are many indigenous women, were reported during the lockdowns.   Northeast Indian women in particular have experienced ethnicity-based discrimination and stigmatisation during COVID-19 because they have central Asian features. Indigenous women with disabilities also faced the additional risk of abuse and violence from their own family members and care takers during the lockdowns and shutdowns.   Need to amend continued exclusion   Official COVID-19 containment and humanitarian packages across Asia excluded indigenous people in general and had a particularly harsh impact on indigenous persons with disabilities.   Lockdown measures and restrictive policies led to shrinkage of the livelihood options and severely affected food security of indigenous people and communities. Restrictions have prevented Indigenous women in Asia from gathering traditional medicines and foods. The deployment of military personnel in the indigenous territories has prevented them from harvesting food crops and, even when they have had something to sell, they have had to throw it away because there are no buyers for their produce.   The governments and development partners need to focus on addressing these gaps by adopting inclusive recovery policies and programmes that prioritise the needs of the indigenous communities, including the women and person with disabilities.   To begin with, gathering disaggregated data should be initiated and made publicly available to permit monitoring of access to basic health services and recovery packages. Indigenous women’s knowledge of herbal remedies and traditional foodstuffs should be valued and encouraged to create their livelihood opportunities. Special priority attention should be given to the health and needs of women and persons with disabilities, especially in conflict zones and militarised regions.   * Pragyaa Rai and Richa Pradhan work with Asia Indigenous People’s Pact (AIPP) and Network of Indigenous Women in Asia (NIWA) and Pradeep Baisakh is associated with Global Call to Action Against Poverty (GCAP).   http://gcap.global/news/how-the-covid-19-pandemic-impacted-asias-indigenous-women Visit the related web page
	"The Earth is speaking: she tells us we have no more time" by Global Witness, IWGIA   "The Earth is speaking: she tells us we have no more time." These were the words of Txai Suruí - a 24-year-old activist from the Brazilian Amazon - as she spoke at the opening ceremony of the COP26 climate conference in Glasgow, the only Indigenous woman to do so.   “It is a huge responsibility to be representing Indigenous Peoples. We are a large and diverse group, with different cultures and realities. Some suffer with deforestation, others with illegal mining. I speak about the Amazon rainforest because it is the place I live and was born,” said Txai when talking about her experience in Glasgow.   The Brazilian Amazon featured heavily in the first week of climate talks, as leaders pledged to put an end to forest destruction by 2030. Not only have we heard similar commitments before which failed to translate into action, but the world’s forests cannot wait eight more years - deforestation in the Amazon jumped by 22% this year.   For Txai, climate change and deforestation are not separate issues, but intimately connected. “The Amazon is the biggest tropical forest of the world with a huge amount of biodiversity, richness of people and cultures. Therefore this discussion [to protect it] is important to the entire world. If there are no Indigenous Peoples, forests wouldn’t exist today.” Txai’s community has lived in the Amazon for more than 6,000 years.   Txai became a rights advocate due to her parents’ activism, especially her father Almir Suruí, one of the most prominent Indigenous leaders in the country. She is also the first Indigenous woman of her community to study law and is currently training to become an environmental lawyer.   “Any woman knows that wherever you are it is going to be difficult, people will also try to discredit you because of your age, by saying ‘you are too young, you need to learn’,” she adds.   Women who defend our environment too often face gender-specific forms of violence, including sexual violence, as reported in our latest data on environmental defenders. After delivering her speech at COP26, Txai received threats and racist attacks via social media.   “As an Indigenous woman, I can say we also face racism and issues related to colonisation, so I think it is very important to be here in this space [COP26] because we will only be able to decolonise these places with our presence and our voices.”   This dynamic was fully present at COP26 in Glasgow, where over 500 lobbyists from the fossil fuel industry were welcomed through the doors of the debating halls, while the voices of Indigenous Peoples and citizens of countries most affected by the climate crisis were systematically excluded due to vaccine inequity, travel restrictions, high costs, and a litany of logistical failures at the venue itself.   Txai summed up why it is so important that people like her are involved in discussions about how we tackle the climate crisis: “The healing of our planet will happen thanks to and through the wisdom of Indigenous women. It is crucial that we are heard because we are the ones suffering the most with the climate crisis in our territories and despite that, we're fighting hard and already have solutions to put an end to this crisis.”   http://www.globalwitness.org/en/blog/earth-speaking-she-tells-us-we-have-no-more-time/ http://www.globalwitness.org/en/blog/struggle-access-clean-water-honduras-remains-fraught-danger/ http://www.iwgia.org/en/news/4571-cop-26-reaction-outcome.html http://www.iwgia.org/en/news-alerts Visit the related web page
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