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	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
	Intensify efforts to prevent further spread of COVID-19 among indigenous people in the Americas by OHCHR, PAHO, Lancet, agencies   International Day of the World’s Indigenous Peoples, by Michelle Bachelet, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights.   COVID-19 is a critical threat to indigenous peoples, at a time when many are also struggling against man-made environmental damage and economic depredation.   In almost all the 90 countries where they live in often remote locations, many indigenous communities have deeply inadequate access to health care, clean water and sanitation. Their communal way of life can increase the likelihood of rapid contagion, although all over the world we have seen inspiring examples of indigenous communities taking measures based on their strong internal organization to limit the spreading of the virus and reduce its impacts.   Those who live in more urban environments often suffer multidimensional poverty, and these harms are compounded by severe discrimination – including in the context of health-care.   In the Americas, more than 70,000 indigenous people have been infected by COVID-19 to date. Among them are almost 23,000 members of 190 indigenous peoples in the Amazon basin. Over 1,000 deaths have been recorded, including several elders with deep knowledge of ancestral traditions. They include the tragic death in Brazil this week of chief Aritana, of the Yawalapiti people.   In this vast region spanning Brazil, Bolivia, Peru, Ecuador, Colombia, Venezuela, Guyana, Suriname and French Guiana, 420 or more indigenous peoples live on lands that are increasingly damaged and polluted by illegal mining, logging and slash-and-burn agriculture.   Despite regulations restricting movement and economic activities, many of these illegal economic activities have continued in recent months, alongside movements by religious missionaries that also expose communities to a high risk of infection.   Indigenous peoples who live in voluntary isolation from modern societies – or who are in the initial stages of contact – may have particularly low immunity to viral infection, creating especially acute risks. Communities and peoples who have been forced off their lands are also very vulnerable, particularly those who live in trans-border territories.   In June my Office issued a Guidance Note on indigenous peoples' human rights in the context of COVID-19. It highlights promising practices adopted by several countries – many in close consultation with indigenous peoples – and emphasises practical recommendations with both immediate and longer term impact on health.   Overall, the pandemic hammers home the importance of ensuring that indigenous peoples can exercise their rights to self-government and self-determination.   They must also be consulted, and should be able to participate in the formulation and implementation of public policies affecting them, through their representative entities, leaders and traditional authorities.   This is about saving lives and protecting a precious web of cultures, languages and traditional knowledge that connect us to the deep roots of humanity. http://bit.ly/3kD0wCJ   Sep. 2020   Support Indigenous Communities in the Amazon. (Avaaz)   I made the first call, and cried. Then I made a hundred more - talking to Amazon chiefs and elders throughout the rainforest.   The voices changed, but it was all one story: of earth's most resilient people, passionate guardians of the forest, facing utter devastation by Covid-19. It's killing their elders, their children, mothers, and warriors.   One man was days from any hospital, and his wife was sick. The next time we spoke, she was dead. And yet he couldn't stop to grieve. Too many of his people still needed help.   The scale of the suffering nearly broke me, but instead, I got to work on a plan. We've now mapped out the Amazon's most vulnerable communities and what they need to survive. We know where they are, and how we reach them -- and I'm hopeful, because with just one good fundraising response from the Avaaz community, we can save thousands of lives. Medicine, covid tests, urgent food aid - we can deliver it all.   It's an ambitious plan, but these people -- the Waorani, the Yanesha, the Kayapo, and dozens more - they've given all they can to protect their families and the rainforest. Now it's our turn. Donate now and Avaaz will spend every penny we get on this urgent response.   * Protecting the Earth’s First Responders from Covid-19: How to Prevent the extinction of Indigenous Communities in the Amazon (Avaaz Report): http://bit.ly/2Hyt1lO   http://www.nationalgeographic.co.uk/history-and-civilisation/2020/08/coronavirus-gets-dangerously-close-to-isolated-arrow-people-in   July 2020 (WHO)   Although people of all walks of life are affected by COVID-19, the world’s poorest and most vulnerable people are especially at risk. That is true of indigenous peoples all over the world, in urban or remote areas.   There are up to 500 million indigenous peoples worldwide, in over 90 countries. Indigenous peoples have unique cultures and languages, and deep relationships with the environment. Like other vulnerable groups, indigenous peoples face many challenges.   This includes a lack of political representation, economic marginalization and lack of access to health, education and social services.   Indigenous peoples often have a high burden of poverty, unemployment, malnutrition and both communicable and non-communicable diseases, making them more vulnerable to COVID-19 and its severe outcomes.   Although COVID-19 is a risk for all indigenous peoples globally, WHO is deeply concerned about the impact of the virus on indigenous peoples in the Americas, which remains the current epicenter of the pandemic.   As of the 6th of July, more than 70,000 cases have been reported among indigenous peoples in the Americas, and more than 2000 deaths.   July 2020   PAHO calls on countries to intensify efforts to prevent further spread of COVID-19 among indigenous people in the Americas   Indigenous peoples in several countries in the Americas are experiencing rising number of cases and deaths from COVID-19, and the Pan American Health Organization, in a new epidemiological alert, urged health authorities “to intensify efforts in order to prevent further spread of infection within these communities, as well as to ensure adequate access to healthcare services.”   PAHO’s alert called to strengthen case management using culturally appropriate approaches, and to implement preventive measures across all levels of the health system to reduce mortality associated with COVID-19.   “The COVID-19 pandemic poses a risk to the health of indigenous peoples, both those living in urban areas and those living in remote settlements or isolated areas, where access to health services is a challenge and there is often a limited capacity to serve the entire population", says the PAHO alert.   To interrupt the transmission of COVID-19 in indigenous communities, PAHO recommends that indigenous leaders participate in actions to detect cases early, obtain laboratory confirmation, isolate positive cases, and trace and quarantine their contacts.   “Among indigenous populations, either living in remote settlements or isolated in urban areas, some of the risk factors that may be associated with higher COVID-19 mortality rates include malnutrition, insufficient access or complete lack of access to health systems as well as to potable water and basic sanitation, in addition to the existing high burden of parasitic diseases,” the PAHO document notes.   PAHO analyzed the COVID-19 situation among the indigenous populations in various countries. In Bolivia, 31,249 cases and 1,135 deaths were reported. Brazil reported 7,946 confirmed cases and 177 deaths among indigenous peoples throughout the country. Canada had 334 confirmed cases including 6 deaths in five provinces. As of 6 July, there have been 1,534 confirmed cases, including 73 deaths, reported among indigenous people in Colombia, whereas in Ecuador there have been 4,498 confirmed cases, including 144 deaths.   In Mexico, there have been 4,092 confirmed cases, including 649 deaths, in indigenous populations. In the United States, there have been 22,539 confirmed cases reported across 12 areas of the Indian Health Service. And in Venezuela, there have been 152 confirmed cases, including one death, reported among indigenous peoples.   COVID-19 surveillance strategies in indigenous communities should include community surveillance conducted by residents, as well as primary care, hospital, and health center observation, with special attention to reporting rumors of cases or deaths related to fever and shortness of breath that should be investigated to determine the cause and provide prompt healthcare to those affected, the PAHO alert says.   PAHO highlighted the importance of good communication on COVID-19 among indigenous communities, by using local languages and adapting messages to consider local practices and cultures with symbols and images where needed.   “The ways in which messages are transmitted must be validated by the indigenous populations themselves. Images used in documents and on social media should be inclusive and should never stigmatize indigenous peoples,” the document notes.   The alert recommends that health authorities foster exchanges between traditional practitioners, ancestral therapists, and other community members “so that specific measures such as social distancing, diagnosis, isolation, and treatment take into account their worldviews, existing ancestral practices, and contexts. The importance and meaning of traditional medicine for indigenous peoples should also be considered.”   PAHO also notes different strategies are needed for populations in urban areas, those residing in villages, indigenous migrant populations, or indigenous populations in voluntary isolation, “considering the vulnerability and exposure differences, and that not all indigenous communities will be affected by COVID-19 in the same way.”   PAHO is working closely with indigenous organizations from the Peruvian jungle, eastern Bolivia, the Ecuadorian Amazon, Colombian Amazon, and the Brazilian Amazon, represented by the Coordinator of Indigenous Organizations of the Amazon River Basin (COICA).   http://www.paho.org/en/news/20-7-2020-paho-calls-countries-intensify-efforts-prevent-further-spread-covid-19-among http://www.oxfam.org/en/research/averting-ethnocide-indigenous-peoples-and-territorial-rights-crisis-face-covid-19-latin http://blog.cefoindigena.org/category/contenido-interactivo/voces-indigenas/   June 2020   Indigenous populations: left behind in the COVID-19 response, by Kaitlin Curtice and Esther Choo. (The Lancet)   Scholar Annie Belcourt described Native American populations in the USA as having lives that are “challenging and short”. Globally, across countries and populations, Indigenous peoples face a greater burden of disease than non-Indigenous peoples, including cardiovascular disease and HIV/AIDS and other infectious diseases, and have higher infant and maternal mortality and lower life expectancy.   Their health is impacted by epigenetic stressors of generational oppression and violence, including disproportionate numbers of missing and murdered Indigenous women, lower educational attainment, and persistent poverty.   Further, health services for Indigenous populations are typically under-resourced with language and culture appropriate care a rarity.   Structural forces limit access to health care and systemic racism and discrimination towards Indigenous peoples can make it difficult to develop trusting relationships with non-Indigenous providers.   The health of Indigenous populations also has a greater vulnerability to the decline of the planet's natural resources, as their way of life is so intimately connected to waters, lands, and forests.   This is the situation into which the COVID-19 pandemic has arrived. The foundations of colonisation across the world that negatively impact Indigenous lives contribute to the spread of communicable diseases, especially on reservations and in rural areas through factors such as small dwellings, multigenerational living, and lack of access to preventive measures such as clean water, soap, and disinfectant.   As such, the COVID-19 pandemic is having a disproportionately devastating effect on Indigenous peoples: in Brazil, deaths among its Indigenous population are reportedly double that of the general population; in the USA, Navajo Nation has surpassed New York in numbers of per capita COVID-19 cases.   Even as the vulnerability of Indigenous populations to COVID-19 becomes apparent, they have already been left out of the first wave of relief. Addressing the needs of Indigenous populations is challenging because of their invisibility from the consciousness of the majority populations.   The invisibility of inequities is inherent to the inequities themselves: under-collecting or under-reporting health events prevents mobilisation of concern, allocation of resources, and a search for solutions.   Thus, Indigenous populations are likely to be left behind in the distribution of resources that are in short supply, from tests to personal protective equipment to ventilators and medications necessary for caring for critically ill patients.   A few steps need to occur so that aid to Indigenous populations is not excluded from the urgency of other COVID-19-related efforts. First, all data on disease or death rates must be disaggregated to show what is experienced by Indigenous groups; similarly, disaggregated data on the availability of testing, medicines, vaccines, health-care providers, and other resources used in this time should be tracked and used to ensure distribution meets the needs of these populations.   Data disaggregation should be structured to acknowledge the tremendous heterogeneity within Indigenous populations.   Governments should anticipate the need for emergency resources to support Indigenous populations and should support them as a vulnerable and autonomous group—for example, by supporting containment measures such as limiting travel in and out of their lands, as deemed necessary and appropriate by the communities themselves.   The public should recognise that government-led solutions have historically not been adequate, and make such communities a priority target for individual and private philanthropy. Such giving must first support efforts on the ground, devised and run by Indigenous communities themselves, and any COVID-19-related resources provided should be managed by the communities.   As the burden of COVID-19 increases among Indigenous communities, it will invariably take a toll on elders, who are the reservoirs of language and history. Their deaths would represent an immeasurable cultural loss.   Indigenous communities have much to teach us about how to live sustainably and communally in a time when individualistic efforts seem to trump care for the most vulnerable; investing in their health is an investment in all of our futures. Valuing the unique contribution of such communities demands that our goal with respect to their wellbeing should not simply be that they survive this pandemic, but that they thrive after it.   http://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(20)31242-3/fulltext http://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(20)31545-2/fulltext http://www.un.org/development/desa/indigenouspeoples/covid-19.html http://insight.wfp.org/coronavirus-exacerbates-indigenous-peoples-historic-vulnerabilities-fcb92be8225f http://iwgia.org/en/news-alerts/news-covid-19.html http://iwgia.org/en/news-alerts.html http://www.ipsnews.net/2020/07/beware-hunger-to-access-indigenous-peoples-land-resources-post-covid-19-recovery/ http://sdg.iisd.org/commentary/guest-articles/to-build-back-better-we-must-include-indigenous-peoples/ Visit the related web page
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