Global Issues News Headlines for “Rights of Indigenous People”

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 →

Papua New Guinea Bets on Indigenous Communities to Protect 700,000 Hectares of Highlands

2026-06-11T12:23:19-07:00

SAMARKAND, Uzbekistan, June 11 (IPS) - The Global Environment Facility (GEF) has approved USD 6.4 million for a new conservation initiative in Papua New Guinea that seeks to protect 700,000 hectares of critical highland ecosystems by placing Indigenous Peoples and local communities at the centre of conserving and managing their ancestral lands.

Read the full story, “Papua New Guinea Bets on Indigenous Communities to Protect 700,000 Hectares of Highlands”, on globalissues.org →

Make Last Sprint for Nature a ‘Turning Point’ for Nature Finance, Eighth GEF Assembly Told

2026-06-05T16:14:02-07:00

SAMARKAND, Uzbekistan, June 5 (IPS) - “While pressures on public budgets are growing and geopolitical tensions rising, it can be tempting to see environmental finance as optional. It is not,” GEF Interim CEO and Chair Claude Gascon told the closing plenary of the Eighth GEF Assembly in Samarkand, Uzbekistan, today.

Read the full story, “Make Last Sprint for Nature a ‘Turning Point’ for Nature Finance, Eighth GEF Assembly Told”, on globalissues.org →

As Global Demand for Gold Grows, UN Mercury Head Warns Toxic Fumes Put Women in a Motherhood Dilemma

2026-06-05T06:49:16-07:00

SAMARKAND, Uzbekistan, June 5 (IPS) - Ask any woman miner in the Katoro goldfield in Tanzania’s northern Geita region, and she will tell you that she touches toxic mercury with her bare hands when extracting gold from crushed ore.

Read the full story, “As Global Demand for Gold Grows, UN Mercury Head Warns Toxic Fumes Put Women in a Motherhood Dilemma”, on globalissues.org →

GEF Pushes Innovation, Blended Finance Ahead of the Eighth Assembly

2026-06-03T13:59:37-07:00

SAMARKAND, Uzbekistan, June 3 (IPS) - As the Global Environment Facility (GEF) steps into the starting blocks of its next financial cycle, the Interim CEO Claude Gascon reflects on what he termed a “moment of transition and delivery”.

Read the full story, “GEF Pushes Innovation, Blended Finance Ahead of the Eighth Assembly”, on globalissues.org →

As Three COPs Converge, Leaders at GEF Council Call for Unified Global Action

2026-06-02T06:23:10-07:00

SAMARKAND, Uzbekistan, June 2 (IPS) - On day 2 of the Global Environment Facility’s 71st Council Meeting, which focused on process and procedure, a clear message emerged: global environmental governance cannot afford fragmentation.

Read the full story, “As Three COPs Converge, Leaders at GEF Council Call for Unified Global Action”, on globalissues.org →

GEF-8 Assembly Welcomes New Green Pledges, Highlights Old Access Barriers

2026-05-31T11:27:11-07:00

SAMARKAND, Uzbekistan, May 31 (IPS) - The Eighth Assembly of the Global Environment Facility (GEF) opened today amid a sharp divide, with donor nations urging broader and increased funding commitments, while developing countries called for more equitable and accessible pathways to environmental finance.

Read the full story, “GEF-8 Assembly Welcomes New Green Pledges, Highlights Old Access Barriers”, on globalissues.org →