Self-Determination

The state of Germany has agreed to compensate the state of Namibia, by means of a development fund of 1.4 billion Euros, over 30 years. How will this agreement benefit the descendents of the victims of the thousands of people who were tortured and murdered by the colonial rulers of the South Western African country of Namibia, in the early 1900's.
Diana Morat from Eldos FM, a community radio station in Johannesburg, South Africa interviews Martinus Fredericks, a direct descendent of Cornelius Fredericks, who was a Nama leader who fought along Kaptein Hendrik Witbooi.

"Peace, justice and strong institutions: the role of indigenous peoples in implementing Sustainable Development Goal 16". That is the theme for the 20th session of the United Nations Permanent Forum of Indigenous Issues. The Forum was established on 28 July 2000 by resolution 2000/22, with the mandate to deal with Indigenous issues related to economic and social development, culture, the environment, education, health, and human rights. Cultural Survival spoke to Kenneth Deer (Mohawk) about the history and work of the Permanent Forum. 
Image: Kenneth Deer

The United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues (UNPFII) is a high-level advisory body to the Economic and Social Council. The Forum was established on 28 July 2000 by with the mandate to deal with indigenous issues related to economic and social development, culture, the environment, education, health, and human rights.
Andrea Carmen (Yaqui) from the International Indian Treaty Council was there in the beginning, and in this radio program, she tells us all about the history of the forum, the present state of the forum, and the forum of tomorrow.

February 1, 2021, the day on which the newly elected parliament had scheduled its first official parliamentary session in Myanmar after the election held in November 2020. Just hours before the scheduled sessions, the military conducted a house-raid and arrested several elected leaders and politicians, including Aung San Suu Kyi, politician, diplomat, author, and a 1991 Nobel Peace Prize laureate, and president Win Myint and other senior government figures. The Myanmar military then declared a state of emergency and imposed curfews putting restrictions on public gatherings.

December 18th is International Migrants Day – in this radio program, we look at factors that cause the migration of Indigenous Peoples, and we also explore some of the impacts of migration.
We spoke to Job Morris, from the San Youth Network, who tell us about the impacts of urbanization on San communities in Botswana that have resulted because of migration. 
Produced by Shaldon Ferris (Khoisan, South Africa)
Interviewee Job Morris (Ncao Khwe (San), Botswana)

In October 2020, a group of people representing different Khoi and San Tribes gathered at the foot of Table Mountain in South Africa. There they have created a cultural space where they will stay for an indefinite period of time in an effort to reclaim the mountain. With the temporary huts providing a little shelter, and fire providing a little warmth, they are making it known that the mountain and the area surrounding it had once belonged to their ancestors. Bradley van Sitters is among the folks camped out at the foot of the mountain.

On September 13 we commemorate the anniversary of the adoption of the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples by the United Nations.
The Declaration is an instrument to enshrine the rights that constitutes the minimum standards of survival, dignity and well-being of Indigenous peoples around the world.

The COVID-19 pandemic has already posed a grave health threat to the world's Indigenous Peoples as they already experience poor access to essential healthcare services. Indigenous Peoples globally are seeking their own solutions to this pandemic. Indigenous Rights Radio program producer Dev Kumar Sunuwar caught up with Francisco Cali Tzay, the newly appointed UN Special Rapporteur on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples who discussed COVID-19’s impacts on Indigenous communities.

The COVID-19 pandemic poses a great danger to humanity, including the indigenous peoples of Africa.

If the spread of the virus is not urgently arrested and is allowed to infect African indigenous communities, the virus may decimate our member communities.

Africa’s Indigenous Peoples are extremely vulnerable to the dreaded virus, owing to a lack of essential resources such as clean water, food, housing, medical supplies and even basic information.

A Global News Bulletin on the topic of Indigenous rights. In this edition:
Indigenous South Africans defy lockdown rules
Covid-19 in India
Covid-19 in the Himalayas
Forest fires in Thailand
Food crisis in Bangladesh
Indigenous Peoples of Mexico and the right to water