Global Issues News Headlines for “Rights of Indigenous People”

What Isn’t Named Isn’t Protected and being Named Isn’t Enough

2026-09-23T05:02:27-07:00

ULAANBAATAR, Mongolia, September 23 (IPS) - Rightsholders came to Ulaanbaatar from across the world, carrying declarations, demands and years of experience defending the lands on which their communities depend. Indigenous Peoples, local communities, Afro-descendant Peoples, women and youth were equally clear about what they needed from COP17. But being in the room is not the same as having power in the room.

Read the full story, “What Isn’t Named Isn’t Protected and being Named Isn’t Enough”, on globalissues.org →

Killing of Environmental Defenders Reflects Power Struggle Over World’s Resources

2026-09-16T08:13:55-07:00

LONDON & SRINAGAR, India, September 16 (IPS) - At least 124 land and environmental defenders were killed around the world in 2025 while protecting forests, rivers, farmland and Indigenous territories, according to a new report by Global Witness that warns violence against activists remains widespread even as recorded killings have declined from previous years.

Read the full story, “Killing of Environmental Defenders Reflects Power Struggle Over World’s Resources”, on globalissues.org →

Families in Desperate Search for Victims of the ‘Himalayan Tsunami’ in Nepal

2026-09-02T16:36:03-07:00

KATHMANDU, September 2 (IPS) - On Sunday afternoon, Mingma Tamang, 29, rushed into the TU Teaching Hospital’s emergency ward, where a rescue team had just brought in an injured person in the Rasuwa flash flood – but she soon left grim-faced.

Read the full story, “Families in Desperate Search for Victims of the ‘Himalayan Tsunami’ in Nepal”, on globalissues.org →

GEF Proposes $140 Million Program to Strengthen Drought Resilience

2026-08-24T09:53:51-07:00

DAR ES SALAAM, Tanzania, August 24 (IPS) - For pastoralists in Arvaikheer — a village in Mongolia’s dry central plains — rain can determine whether there is enough grass for cattle to roam, whether waterholes are replenished and whether families make it through another dry season. But as climate change makes rainfall increasingly unpredictable, even a wet season may no longer provide water and pasture needed to sustain people and livestock.

Read the full story, “GEF Proposes $140 Million Program to Strengthen Drought Resilience”, on globalissues.org →

Indigenous Peoples Call for Meaningful Influence in Climate Discussions — Nia Tero

2026-08-18T11:29:35-07:00

UNITED NATIONS, August 18 (IPS) - Indigenous communities have long advocated for the environment through the lens of their traditional knowledge systems and cultures. But much more work needs to be done to translate their presence into influence.

Read the full story, “Indigenous Peoples Call for Meaningful Influence in Climate Discussions — Nia Tero”, on globalissues.org →

Nairobi Biodiversity Talks Set the Stage for Key COP17 Decisions

2026-08-18T08:15:02-07:00

NAIROBI, August 18 (IPS) - Despite record participation in global biodiversity reporting and planning processes, countries remain off track to meet the world’s 2030 biodiversity goals, according to discussions that concluded this month at two key meetings under the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD).

Read the full story, “Nairobi Biodiversity Talks Set the Stage for Key COP17 Decisions”, on globalissues.org →

Peru’s Gridlock a Licence for Autocracy?

2026-07-03T18:01:09-07:00

MONTEVIDEO, Uruguay, July 3 (IPS) - Right-wing candidate Keiko Fujimori has won Peru’s presidential runoff, narrowly defeating leftist Roberto Sánchez to become the country’s ninth president in a decade. She inherits a system so engineered for dysfunction that rather than making compromises, she may decide the concentration of power is her only means of survival. The constitution that created this trap was written by her father.

Read the full story, “Peru’s Gridlock a Licence for Autocracy?”, on globalissues.org →

Colombia’s next President: A Reckoning for Peace, Climate and Human Rights

2026-06-26T12:08:47-07:00

MONTEVIDEO, Uruguay, June 26 (IPS) - On 21 June Colombians made their choice. By the narrowest of margins, Abelardo de la Espriella, a far-right criminal lawyer who’s never held elected office, became president-elect. Climate activists, human rights defenders, Indigenous communities and peace advocates have the most to lose from the incoming government’s agenda.

Read the full story, “Colombia’s next President: A Reckoning for Peace, Climate and Human Rights”, on globalissues.org →

New GEF Project Raises Hope for Change in India’s Indigenous Lake Community

2026-06-24T09:52:52-07:00

DUMBOORNAGAR, India and SAMARKAND, Uzbekistan, June 24 (IPS) - At dawn, when the waters of Dumboor Lake lie still under a pale grey sky, Santo Chakma, 63, nudges his narrow wooden boat into a reservoir that swallowed his childhood.

Read the full story, “New GEF Project Raises Hope for Change in India’s Indigenous Lake Community”, on globalissues.org →

RightsCon’s Cancellation Signals a Growing Threat to Human Rights and Digital Freedoms

2026-06-19T08:16:17-07:00

NEW YORK, June 19 (IPS) - RightsCon, the world’s leading summit on human rights in the digital age, has served for over a decade as a vital global gathering, bringing together civil society, academics, technologists, policymakers, and the private sector in cross-border collaboration. The abrupt cancellation of RightsCon 2026, following intervention by Zambia’s government just days before the convening was due to commence in Lusaka, should concern us all.

Read the full story, “RightsCon’s Cancellation Signals a Growing Threat to Human Rights and Digital Freedoms”, on globalissues.org →