UN Special Rapporteur denied entry to youth detention facilities by Amnesty, National Indigenous Times, agencies   2 Nov. 2026   Amnesty International Australia condemns refusal to allow UN Special Rapporteur into youth detention centres.   Amnesty International Australia is deeply disappointed by the Northern Territory and Queensland governments’ refusal to allow the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples to visit youth detention centres during his official visit to Australia, which begins today.   UN Special Rapporteur Dr Albert K. Barume has expressed regret that planned visits to youth detention centres in Holtze and Cleveland will not proceed, following the governments’ refusal to engage with his mandate.   Uncle Rodney Dillon, Palawa Elder and Indigenous Rights Advisor at Amnesty International Australia, said:   “We should be opening our doors to international scrutiny, not shutting them. What are these governments trying to hide?   “We’ve already documented children being locked in prolonged isolation and subjected to cruel and degrading treatment that falls well below international human rights standards. We know what is happening to our kids, and we know these systems are failing them.   “It is deeply disappointing that when the United Nations comes to see these conditions firsthand, governments refuse to let them in. If they have nothing to hide, why are they afraid of independent scrutiny?”   “Our children deserve protection, dignity and justice. The Northern Territory and Queensland governments must reverse their decisions and allow the Special Rapporteur full access to these facilities. Australia cannot claim to uphold human rights while refusing to be held accountable for them, and both the Queensland and Northern Territory governments must face repercussions.”   This is part of a concerning pattern of Australian governments obstructing international human rights scrutiny. In 2022, the UN Subcommittee on Prevention of Torture suspended and later terminated its visit to Australia after being denied access to detention facilities in New South Wales and Queensland.   In December 2025, the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention was denied access to detention facilities in the Northern Territory.   This latest refusal marks the second time in less than a year that the Northern Territory Government has blocked UN human rights experts from inspecting detention facilities.   Amnesty International Australia calls on all Australian governments to cooperate fully with the Special Rapporteur’s visit and ensure independent scrutiny of the treatment of First Nations children in detention.   * The current Conservative Northern Territory and Queensland Governments' retrograde policy decisions are negatively impacting First Nation Australians.   http://www.amnesty.org.au/un-special-rapporteur-refused-access-into-youth-detention-centres/ http://www.ohchr.org/en/media-advisories/2026/10/un-expert-indigenous-peoples-rights-visit-australia http://nit.com.au/02-11-2026/27283/un-say-officials-blocked-from-inspecting-youth-detention-centres-in-nt-and-queensland http://nit.com.au/06-11-2026/27383/minister-calls-for-un-to-be-let-in-detention-centres http://nit.com.au/15-12-2025/21811/naaja-raises-alarm-on-prison-conditions-in-the-nt-after-un-access-denied http://www.hrlc.org.au/reports/urgent-un-complaint/ http://humanrights.gov.au/resource-hub/children-and-youth-rights/help-way-earlier!-transforming-child-justice-for-safety-and-wellbeing http://www.justreinvest.org.au/ http://justicereinvestment.net.au/resources/ http://www.naaja.org.au/ http://atsils.org.au/
	Preserving, strengthening and promoting Indigenous Peoples’ food and knowledge systems by UN News, FAO, IWGIA, Greenpeace   Oct. 2026   Preserving, strengthening and promoting Indigenous Peoples’ food and knowledge systems and traditional practices for sustainable food systems - report of the High Level Panel of Experts on Food Security and Nutrition of the UN Committee on World Food Security.   The report on Indigenous Peoples’ food and knowledge systems examines how these systems sustain nutrition, biodiversity, livelihoods and cultural continuity, and the pressures threatening their future. Its analysis connects food with territorial rights, customary governance and the transmission of knowledge across generations.   The report identifies three objectives: preserving functioning systems, restoring those under pressure or disruption, and identifying lessons for the transformation of other food systems. It emphasizes Indigenous Peoples’ agency and the recognition of their knowledge systems as valid in their own terms, independent of and complementary to scientific knowledge.   http://www.fao.org/cfs/cfs-hlpe/publications/hlpe-21   * World Food Forum: Indigenous Youth Roundtable:   http://webtv.un.org/en/asset/k1s/k1sahkwc9q   Aug. 2026   Indigenous Peoples' Land Rights for Climate Resilience. (IWGIA)   Across Africa, climate change is no longer a distant threat. It is a present and escalating crisis. For many Indigenous Peoples, whose identities, knowledge systems, and livelihoods are intrinsically tied to their ancestral lands and natural resources, the impacts of climate change are driving profound social and economic disruption.   This report explores how Indigenous pastoralist communities in Tanzania's Longido District strengthened their resilience to climate change by securing collective land rights. The recognition of these rights enabled stronger community governance, more effective conflict resolution, and the development of collective grazing plans:   http://www.iwgia.org/en/publications/indigenous-peoples-land-rights-for-climate-resilience   * Nepal: Daughters of Mother Earth   This photographic story brings us face to face with women and girls from the Koits-Sunuwar people of eastern Nepal. For many Sunuwar women, nature is not merely a resource. Rivers, forests, trees and mountains are regarded as living relations, to be met with care and respect. Humans do not stand apart from nature, but are part of an animate world in which all living things are interconnected.   The series was photographed in the village of Umakunda-3, Kubukasthali-Yakang, in Ramechhap District, where the effects of climate change and energy projects are felt in everyday life. Women and girls live with unpredictable rainfall, cloudbursts, landslides and floods that can sweep away fields and homes, while hydropower development along the rivers drains the landscape from within, drying up springs and streams. The loss of water, land and livelihoods rarely appears in government statistics, but lives on in the stories of women and girls:   http://www.iwgia.org/en/news/daughters-of-mother-earth   * From oceans to forests, the real solutions to the climate and biodiversity crises are led by those who live in and protect these territories. (Greenpeace International)   At a time of accelerating climate change, biodiversity loss and growing social challenges, Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities (IPLCs) are leading some of the world's most effective solutions to these interconnected crises. For generations, they have sustained ways of life rooted in their territories, protecting nature, strengthening livelihoods and building resilience. Yet they continue to lack the political, financial and social support needed to scale these solutions.   This interactive map showcases community-led initiatives from around the world. Together, they demonstrate how Indigenous knowledge, local practices and community leadership can protect biodiversity while defending rights, strengthening local governance and enabling communities to thrive in harmony with nature:   http://maps.greenpeace.org/maps/gpint/solutions-storymaps/ Visit the related web page
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