Workshop | Global Activism for Indigenous Peoples’ Rights: Challenges and Opportunities in the Anthropocene

This workshop will share research that explores strategies and opportunities used by Indigenous peoples and their allies to advance their rights.  The aim is to understand the innovations in strategies used by Indigenous peoples for mobilisation, the risks and obstacles they face in advocating for their rights, the range of allies they draw upon to advance their goals, and their impact on changing international and regional norms governing their rights and/or intersecting with their rights, including in thematic areas such as culture rights, business and human rights, and environmental justice. Indigenous peoples face significant risks in advocating for rights and recognition but their resilience in doing so can demonstrate alternative pathways for social mobilisation on urgent contemporary issues of human rights, democracy and environmental protection.

Opening panel: Indigenous People’s Mobilisation through International Mechanisms 

This exciting opening panel will feature four Indigenous leaders discussing examples of Indigenous leadership in, and use of, international mechanisms for protection of their rights.  The speakers (joining online) are:

• Daniel Kobei, Executive Director of the Ogiek Peoples Development Programme, which led a successful case at the African Court of Human and Peoples’ Rights; 
• Dr Ojot Miru, Africa region Member of the UN Expert Mechanism on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, discussing regional initiatives on business and human rights; 
• Dr Hirok Jyoti Ray, reviewing Indigenous peoples use of the World Bank Inspection Panel from India; 
• Mr Kaeden Watts, discussing Indigenous peoples’ leadership in regional and national climate change activism in the Pacific and Aotearoa/New Zealand. 

Programme:

The full workshop programme can be found here.

Speaker biographies:

The full workshop speaker bios can be found here.

Keynote evening event:
The workshop will be followed by an evening public event on the workshop theme featuring leading guest Indigenous peoples’ activists, Gam Shimray, Secretary General of the Asia Indigenous Peoples Pact and Yásnaya Elena Aguilar Gil, Ayuujk linguist, writer, translator, and human-rights activist, alongside Chris Chapman Advisor/Research on Indigenous Peoples’ Rights for Amnesty International.  The event will be chaired by Meredith Preston McGhie, Secretary General of the Global Centre for Pluralism, an international organisation that works to influence perspectives, inform policies and inspire actions to advance pluralism. The evening event will run 17.30-19.00, followed by a reception, please register separately here.