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	Urgent action needed to tackle poverty and inequalities facing indigenous peoples by International Labour Organization (ILO)   The International Labour Organization (ILO) says there is an urgent need to tackle the high level of poverty and inequalities facing indigenous peoples.   According to a new ILO report, released to mark the 30th anniversary of the Indigenous and Tribal People’s Convention 1989 (No. 169), indigenous peoples are nearly three times as likely to be living in extreme poverty as their non-indigenous counterparts.   They account for almost 19 per cent of the extreme poor (those living below US$1.90 per day). Even when less stringent poverty lines are used (US$3.20 or US$5.50 per day), a disproportionate number of poor are indigenous peoples. Furthermore, irrespective of the region and residence in rural or urban areas, indigenous peoples represent a sizable share of the global poor.   “Progress in improving the lives of indigenous peoples has been too slow,” said Martin Oelz, an ILO specialist and co-author of the report. “More ratifications of Convention No. 169 and action for its effective implementation would be a step in the right direction. To ensure that public policies address the needs of indigenous peoples and reflect their aspirations, it is essential to tackle the widespread absence of institutional and legal frameworks enabling their participation in decision-making.”   New figures contained in the report, Implementing the ILO Indigenous and Tribal Peoples Convention No. 169: Towards an inclusive, sustainable and just future, show that the number of indigenous peoples worldwide is considerably higher than previously thought – equivalent to more than 6 per cent of the global population.   This amounts to over 476 million people – significantly more than the combined populations of the United States and Canada. More than 80 per cent of indigenous peoples globally live in middle-income countries.   The Convention is the only international treaty open for ratification specifically aimed at promoting and protecting the rights of indigenous and tribal peoples. Currently, 23 of the ILO’s 187 member States have ratified Convention No. 169, meaning that only about 15 per cent of indigenous peoples globally live in countries covered by the Convention.   Worldwide, there are believed to be more than 5,000 distinct indigenous communities, in about 90 countries.   Today, the livelihoods and economic activities of many indigenous peoples have transformed. The report found that about 45 per cent of indigenous women and men are outside of the agricultural sector.   Despite their over-representation among the poor, the report finds that, globally, indigenous peoples have a higher employment participation rate than their non-indigenous counterparts (63.3 per cent compared to 59.1 per cent).   But these employment participation figures come with substantial differences in the quality of work – indigenous peoples often experience poor working conditions and discrimination.   The report found that more than 86 per cent of indigenous peoples globally work in the informal economy – which is often associated with poor working conditions and a lack of social protection – compared to about 66 per cent of non-indigenous people.   Indigenous women face particular challenges. Informality rates for them are more than 25 percentage points higher than their non-indigenous counterparts. They have the lowest chance of having completed basic education and are the most likely to be in extreme poverty.   Indigenous women also have the highest participation in contributing family work (nearly 34 per cent). At the same time, only about a quarter (24.4 per cent) of indigenous women are in wage and salaried work, a lower proportion than non-indigenous women (51.1 per cent) and indigenous men (30.1 per cent).   Even when in wage and salaried work, indigenous peoples earn on average 18 per cent less than their non-indigenous counterparts.   The report notes that the higher employment rates recorded for indigenous peoples may reflect a need, related to poverty, to undertake any form of income generation, even when it is low paid and under poor working conditions.   The report underlines that despite the progress made in public policy frameworks, there is an urgent need to tackle the inequalities confronting indigenous peoples. The report also identifies many opportunities to overcome the situation and empower indigenous women and men as development and climate actors – to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals and realize the Paris Agreement on climate change.   Ratification and implementation of ILO Convention No. 169 is key to moving forward, particularly for building and strengthening public institutions and legal frameworks that enable consultation with and the participation of indigenous peoples. Visit the related web page
	Criminalization of and impunity against Indigenous Peoples intensify amid COVID-19 Pandemic by Indigenous Peoples Rights International, agencies Philippines   Aug. 2020   Over 200 human rights violations incidents were documented in 23 countries from January to July 2020   The Indigenous Peoples Rights International (IPRI), a global indigenous organization championing indigenous rights, raised alarm over the apparent growing global trend of criminalization and violence against indigenous peoples in various countries during the COVID 19 lockdown and implementation of other repressive measures.   In its mid-year special report on the criminalization and violence against indigenous peoples, IPRI reported that 202 incidents of human rights violations were documented from January 1 to July 31, 2020 in 23 countries worldwide.   These countries include Argentina, Bangladesh, Bolivia, Brazil, Canada, Colombia, Costa Rica, Democratic Republic of Congo, Guatemala, Honduras, India, Indonesia, Kenya, Mexico, Myanmar, Nepal, Nicaragua, Paraguay, Peru, Philippines, Russia, Thailand, and United States of America.   Many of these States are implementing restrictive measures and using these to take advantage of the pandemic in attacking indigenous leaders and communities and in taking over their lands and resources.   These criminalization and violence were categorized into four: violations of fundamental rights and freedoms (civil and political rights), killings, violations of economic and socio cultural rights and collective rights of indigenous peoples; and gender-based violence.   The violations of civil and political rights included cases of trumped-up charges, abduction, illegal arrest and detention, among others; while violations of economic and socio cultural rights include violations of indigenous peoples’ collective rights to land, territories and resources, livelihood, housing, culture, and self-determination.   More than half, or 110 of the 202 documented incidents are criminalization of indigenous peoples or violations of civil and political rights. Among the 23 countries, the Philippines has the highest number of documented incidents at 32, which affected 125 individuals, three communities, and six villages. Other countries that have high criminalization incidents are Bangladesh and Canada with 13 and 8, respectively.   The report also monitored 83 incidents of killings. Sixty of these incidents were recorded in Colombia. Alarmingly, indigenous killings in Colombia from January to July 2020 have already breached its 2019 record, making it the highest in the country’s history.   The victims were known activists who fought for land rights. Other countries that recorded killings were Bangladesh, Brazil, Costa Rica, Guatemala, Honduras, Indonesia, Mexico, Myanmar, Nepal, Nicaragua, and Peru.   Sixteen cases of violations of the indigenous peoples’ collective rights and economic and socio-cultural rights were also recorded. The cases were mostly in Bangladesh and Philippines, with four incidents each, both relating to land grabbing and displacement. The attacks in Bangladesh affected 5,000 individuals and three communities, while 700 individuals, 937 families, and one village were affected in the Philippines.   There were similar cases in other countries, however they were not   properly documented. Other cases include dismantling and burning of indigenous villages in forest and national parks.   Three incidents of gender-based violence were monitored in Colombia and Paraguay. Two of these cases involve minors. In Colombia, an indigenous woman activist and a 13-year-old girl were victims of gender-based violence. The woman received death and rape threats while the girl was raped by seven soldiers. In Paraguay, a 12-year-old girl was raped by a 26-year-old man.   Apart from these cases, women and girls were also monitored to have been illegally arrested and detained in Nepal, Canada, and Indonesia; physically attacked in Nicaragua; and killed in Thailand.   While the monitored cases of gender-based violence is low, IPRI recognizes the reality of indigenous women and girls on the ground, that many of them are not able to report cases of violence to authorities for lack of access to justice and prevailing culture of stigmatization.   In its report, IPRI noted that while the current COVID-19 crisis raises multitudes of health concerns for many indigenous communities globally, it has also exposed the intensified impunity against indigenous peoples under the States’ response measures to the pandemic.   The report further stated that, as the pandemic results to economic downturn, policies and targets for economic recovery increase the threats and vulnerability of indigenous peoples to land grabbing and resource extraction in their territories, and to repression and criminalization when they defend and protect their collective rights and well-being.   http://www.iprights.org/news-and-events/press-releases/criminalization-of-and-impunity-against-indigenous-peoples-intensify-amid-the-covid-19-pandemic http://iprights.org/ http://www.tebtebba.org/ http://www.tebtebba.org/index.php/covid-19 Visit the related web page
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