Latest news with #AlbertK.Barume
NZ Herald
12-07-2025
- Politics
- NZ Herald
David Seymour criticises UN official over indigenous rights letter
Deputy Prime Minister David Seymour has told a United Nations official their views on the Government's indigenous rights agenda are wrong and 'an affront to New Zealand's sovereignty'. Last month, the Government received a letter from Geneva-based Albert K. Barume, the United Nations' Special Rapporteur on the rights of
Scoop
15-06-2025
- Politics
- Scoop
‘The Answer Is Us': Global Indigenous Congress Issues Urgent Call Ahead Of COP30
12 June Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities from the world's major tropical forest regions have released a powerful new declaration from their First Global Congress, held in Brazzaville, Republic of Congo. The declaration outlines urgent demands ahead of COP30 — including land rights, direct climate finance, and protection for environmental defenders — and calls for Indigenous leadership to be centered in global climate and biodiversity solutions. Below are several quotes from the Congress: 'We are tired of false solutions and initiatives disconnected from our ways of life and the realities in our territories,' said Sonia Guajajara, Minister of Indigenous Peoples of Brazil. 'The time has come to invest in innovative mechanisms that treat us as partners, not beneficiaries. The answer is us.' 'Countries must recognize historical injustices; it's important to enshrine this in a legal code,' said Albert K. Barume, United Nations Special Rapporteur on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. 'As an act of recognition and protection, the right to self-determination and traditional authorities must be recognized.' 'This Congress is historic because, for the first time, we have united as Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities from the world's three great forest basins to defend our rights, our territories, our cultures, and our identities,' said Joseph Itongwa, coordinator of the The Network of Indigenous and Local Populations for the Sustainable Management of Forest Ecosystems in Central Africa (REPALEAC). 'Even where laws are weak or unenforced, we see strong local commitment. We urge countries like the Republic of Congo and others in Central Africa that have ratified key conventions to put them into action — our rights must be recognized based on the evidence we have provided. We must continue working every day to secure legal recognition, the demarcation of our lands, and respect for our traditional knowledge, which protects the 50% of biodiversity that still remains intact.' 'This is not just about money; it is about friendship and solidarity. The answer is us. All of us,' said Rukka Sombolinggi, Secretary General of the Indigenous Peoples Alliance of the Archipelago (AMAN) in Indonesia. 'Let's walk together and create a better funding environment for all Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities. We have our mechanisms already, let's test them out!' 'I believe this Congress will contribute to reinforcing the partnership between governments, donors, strategic allies, and the Indigenous People and Local Communities' rights movement,' said Dr. Solange Bandiaky-Badji, Coordinator and President of the Rights and Resources Initiative (RRI). 'We have to work together; we have to work in partnership and to support one another, because ensuring Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities legal recognition will contribute to not just their prosperity but to peace and stability in all countries.'
Scoop
07-06-2025
- Politics
- Scoop
Kenya: UN Expert Urges Immediate Halt To Land Demarcation Violating Ogiek Rights And African Court Judgments
GENEVA (4 June 2025) – A UN expert* today expressed grave concern over the ongoing land demarcation by the Government of Kenya in the Eastern Mau Complex, which threatens ancestral lands of the Ogiek Peoples and contravenes binding judgments of the African Court on Human and Peoples' Rights (AfCHPR). 'These actions risk causing irreparable harm to the Ogiek's land rights, which have been unequivocally upheld by the African Court,' said Albert K. Barume, Special Rapporteur on the rights of Indigenous Peoples. 'I urge the Government of Kenya to immediately cease all activities that undermine the Ogiek's rights and to fully comply with the Court's rulings.' Despite the AfCHPR's 2017 and 2022 judgments affirming the Ogiek's ownership of their ancestral landsand requiring their restitution, the Kenyan Government has yet to take any actions to return Ogiek lands. A hearing scheduled for November 2024 was postponed at the State's request and is now set for June 2025. In September 2024, Kenya's Environment and Land Court in Nakuru dismissed the Ogiek's claims to their ancestral lands in East Mau, contradicting the AfCHPR's decisions. Meanwhile, from December 2024 to April 2025, the Government convened a series of public forums to discuss how to implement the Nakuru court ruling, criticised as exclusionary and politically driven. These culminated in a rushed demarcation process beginning on 25 April 2025, without the necessary consultations with Ogiek Peoples. 'The demarcation threatens the rights of more than 8,500 Ogiek people in Nessuit, Mariashoni, and Sururu, and endangers ecologically sensitive areas vital for water catchment sustainability,' Barume said. On 6 May 2025, the President of Kenya issued a 250,000-acre land title deed for parts of the Maasai Mau Forest to Narok County, further alarming the Ogiek of Sasimwani, who remain displaced following the 2023 forced evictions of over 700 families. 'We call on Government, all states institutions and Indigenous Peoples to engage in dialogue grounded in mutual respect and human rights,' the Special Rapporteur said. He expressed readiness to visit Kenya to support efforts toward a just and rights-based resolution in line with the AfCHPR's judgments.
Scoop
19-05-2025
- Politics
- Scoop
Youth Justice Systems Across Australia In Crisis: UN Experts
GENEVA (19 May 2025) – Two independent human rights experts on torture and indigenous peoples respectively* today sharply criticised state and territory youth justice systems in Australia, where disproportionately large numbers of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children continue to be jailed. 'The various criminal legal systems operating in Australia appear to be in crisis nationwide,' said Alice Jill Edwards, the Special Rapporteur on torture and Albert K. Barume, Special Rapporteur on the rights of Indigenous Peoples. 'Children are suffering undue harm to their safety and well-being, as well as to their educational and life prospects as a result of short-sighted approaches to youth criminality and detention.' In a letter to Australian authorities, the experts expressed considerable concern about a bill proposed in Queensland that is due to be adopted this week. 'Many new or proposed state laws, including Queensland's Making Queensland Safer (Adult Crime, Adult Time) Amendment Bill, are incompatible with basic child rights,' the experts said. 'If passed, the Queensland bill would result in additional adult penalties being applied to children for a wide range of offences. This would have an especially negative impact on the lives of indigenous children, who are already disproportionately represented in the criminal legal system. We urge members of the Queensland Parliament to vote against the bill.' The experts propose a child-centred approach that reflects international law and best practice. This should involve more comprehensive strategies in tackling young people's anti-social and criminal behaviour. The age of criminal responsibility in most Australian states and territories is 10. This is younger than in most other industrialised countries. Australia has been widely criticised for not adhering to international recommended standards. 'The first goal should always be keeping children out of prison. We are extremely concerned that present approaches are creating a future under-class of Australians,' the experts said. 'Juvenile facilities should prioritise education and rehabilitation to support childhood development. Criminal justice reform alone does not result in fewer anti-social or criminal behaviours.' The experts stressed that the allegations constitute violations of Australia's international obligations with regard to children, including the obligation to protect them from torture and other forms of cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment, treat them humanely and with dignity at all times, and prioritise their best interests in all decisions affecting them.
