Christine Diindiisi McCleave, PhD, Turtle Mountain Anishinaabe, said commercial industries are using Indigenous medicines for profit, and the psychedelic movement is making money from Indigenous medicines. Traditional medicine is increasingly targeted by rapidly expanding psychedelic industries. While others profit, Indigenous struggle to maintain their culture. She said extracting Indigenous resources and knowledge is a contemporary form of colonization for global markets. Dr. McCleave represents the Indigenous Medicine Conservation Fund.
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An Indigenous representative from Ecuador described how Ecuadorian security forces fired projectiles and tear gas at Indigenous on strike in September and October, killing four people, injuring 880 people, and imprisoning 225 people. Indigenous in Ecuador asked the U.N. to help ensure the constitutional rights of those who work in agriculture, and help ensure their protection from harassment and prosecution by the government.
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The brave Indigenous women from Russia and the Far North testified before the U.N. today -- after Russia labeled them "terrorists" and imprisoned two human rights defenders, both women. Indigenous said today they are being forced into exile, and forced to fight in a war they do not believe in. During the opening session of the U.N. Expert Mechanism on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples in Geneva today, the Russian Federation countered them, affirming Russia's stance.
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| Professor Valmaine Toki, Māori legal scholar, was selected today as the Chair of the UN Expert Mechanism on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (EMRIP) for 2026. |
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The Expert Mechanism on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Began in Geneva this morning by the outgoing chairperson and began with words from the President of the Human Rights Council.
Screenshot by Censored News |
By Brenda Norrell, Censored News, July 13, 2026
Article in progress
GENEVA -- The Expert Mechanism on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples began today in Geneva, with the selection of Maori legal scholar Valmaine Toki as chairperson.
Ambassador Sidharto Reza Suryodipuro of Indonesia, president of the Human Rights Council, said he comes from an archipelago where there are 17,000 islands and more than 700 living languages. The people have learned that there is unity in diversity, and this diversity is a heritage to be protected, he said.
"When a language dies, humanity's memory grows shorter," Suryodipuro said as the session began, speaking on the importance of revitalizing Indigenous languages. He also pointed out the tool of artificial language being used to revitalize a language can also be a means of taking Indigenous knowledge without consent.
He concluded by extolling Indigenous Peoples as peacemakers, and speaking in defense of those being persecuted because of their words at the United Nations.
The session today is focused on the study and advice on the rights of Indigenous Peoples in conflict and post-conflict situations. The study is viewed through the lens of the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.
The study reveals Indigenous Peoples are being denied possession of their lands, and are impacted more than others by the militarization of their lands, climate change, violation of treaties and peace agreements, and the criminalization of their people.
