United Nations: Australian Aboriginal children seized, 'green energy' impacts worsen for Saami

Systematic racism in Australia means that Aboriginal children are being seized from their families, children that are later the victims of a system that results in high rates of child incarceration in Australia's prisons, a representative told the U.N. Expert Mechanism on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples this morning. Screenshot by Censored News.

United Nations: Australian Aboriginal children seized, 'green energy' impacts worsen for Saami 

Brenda Norrell, Censored News, July 9, 2024

GENEVA -- Australian Aboriginal children continue to be seized from their families by the government, and the situation for Saami in Norway is worsening because of 'green energy' projects, Indigenous representatives told the United Nations Expert Mechanism on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples today.

Both Norway and Australia had country engagements with the UN Expert Mechanism on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples during the past year, but Australian Aboriginal and Saami representatives said today that conditions are not improving.

Urgent Plea from Guatemala

A representative of Peace Brigades International told the U.N. that Mayans in Guatemala are suffering from the displacement and violence caused by extractive industries seizing their land. Palm oil, sugar cane, hydro-electric power industries are forcing communities out, and illegal armed groups are carrying out expulsions.

"International standards are not being fulfilled," she told the U.N. today. This has led to a humanitarian crisis in Guatemala for women and children. Now, there are more than 1,700 arrest warrants for human rights defenders. Indigenous women have been sentenced to 75 years in prison for defending their land, water and communities. 

"Indeed it is getting worse," she said, appealing for an urgent action.

Mayans in Guatemala are threatened with forced removal by police and private security, during the current land grab by palm oil producers in July of 2024. Source: https://avispa.org/poblaciones-maya-qeqchi-alertan-amenazas-de-desalojos-contra-nueve-comunidades-en-el-estor/

Colombia: Assassinations of Indigenous Continue

On Monday, Indigenous described how the murder of Indigenous Peoples continues in Colombia, and there has been no relief from the violence from armed groups.

Cristina Coc, a Q’eqchi Mayan community leader in Southern Belize, is founder and program director of Julian Cho Society, dedicated to the conservation of environments and rights of indigenous peoples of Southern Belize.

Cristina Coc told the U.N. that Indigenous Peoples Rights International condemns the escalation of violence in Colombia by armed groups and the murder of Indigenous leader Carmelina Yule Pavi, who was killed on March 17.

Australian Aboriginals and Saami Struggle for Rights

Dr. Hannah McGlade addressing U.N. today. Screenshot by Censored News.

Dr. Hannah McGlade told the U.N. that Australian and Torres Strait Aboriginal children continue to be seized by the government without involving family members.

Dr. McGlade, in closing comments today, said the Australian government is not making it clear that Aboriginal children are being removed from their homes at high rates or that there are high rates of incarceration, and high rates of suicide.  Dr. McGlade, an Australian academic, human rights advocate and lawyer, is a Kurin Minang Noongar woman of the Bibulman Nation.

Aboriginal representatives told the U.N. that the systematic racism in Australia means that Aboriginal children are being seized by the government from their families, and placed with non-family members. These children are engulfed in the system of foster care and many become part of the large number of Aboriginal children in Australia's prison system.

In response, Western Australian government representatives admitted the dire situation and described steps being taken by the government to decrease the number of Aboriginal babies and children being torn from their families.

New Zealand Diminishing Maori Rights in Law Reform

“New Zealand is often held up as a world leader in recognising Indigenous rights. However, the reality is that in the absence of constitutional protection, Māori rights are extremely vulnerable. Our government is currently working through an extensive law reform programme that looks to diminish and even delete Māori rights.”
Te Kāhui Tika Tangata Human Rights Commission’s Tatau Urutahi shared leader Julia Whaipooti appeared before the Expert Mechanism on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples at the United Nations in Geneva. Read more:

https://tikatangata.org.nz/news/new-zealands-commitment-to-indigenous-rights-under-international-spotlight

Saami Land Seized for 'Green Energy' in Norway

Saami representative addressing U.N. today. Screenshot by Censored News

During today's session, the second day in the week-long session, Sami told the U.N. that conditions in Norway are worsening for Saami, because their land is being seized for "green energy" projects, including wind energy projects.

Saami said that climate change is drastic in the Arctic in Norway, far worse than in other regions, and that fossil fuel industries continue to destroy Saami lands.

Free, prior and informed consent, as stated in the U.N. Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, is not being honored in regards to Saami reindeer herders by the government of Norway.

The U.N. Expert Mechanism on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples engaged in a  country visit to Norway in March. Consultation, energy law, and Norway's new mineral act, were among the topics.

A representative from Africa, responding to the report, said the impacts of green energy on Saami shows that the exploitation of Indigenous Peoples for green energy projects is a global issue. While Indigenous lands are being seized for minerals, the minerals and products are exported, and are not of benefit to Indigenous Peoples whose land the minerals are taken from.

Saami in Finland said the government of Finland is violating the rights of Saami by failing to recognize Saami people.

The session this morning in Geneva focused on Australian Aboriginals and Saami, following country engagements. Indigenous representatives from other regions also described global attacks on Indigenous rights. A Native representative told the U.N. that Native hunting and fishing rights continue to be violated by the government of Canada.

Russia's Anti-war Indigenous Denied Credentials for Session

Leyla Latypova, Indigenous correspondent for Moscow Times, reports that Russia's Indigenous were denied participation at this year's U.N. Expert Mechanism on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.

"When I launched this column last month, I promised to keep my readers up-to-date on the current discourse — or simply the hottest gossip — in the republics. In this edition, I am fulfilling that promise," Latypova writes.

"This week, all eyes, ears and whispers in Russia’s Indigenous and decolonial activist circles are focused on the 17th session of the UN Expert Mechanism on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (EMRIP) that started in Geneva on Monday.

"While Indigenous and ethnic minority activists from Russia are under no illusion that today’s UN is a largely dysfunctional institution in desperate need of reform, they also recognize that it holds some of the few avenues for political engagement and visibility currently available to them."

"Unfortunately, the Kremlin appears to have become acutely aware of the latter fact as well. That’s how things became very tricky." Continue reading at Moscow Times:

https://www.themoscowtimes.com/2024/07/09/are-indigenous-activists-from-russia-being-shut-out-of-the-un-a85657

Among those shut out is Marina Khankhalaeva, representative of Buryatia Independence Committee. She spoke at United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues in April in New York.

"The Russian Federation is destroying my people. It plunders our lands only to go to war with its neighbors."

Maori Selected as New Chair

Valmaine Toki photo courtesy U.N. EMRIP

Valmaine Toki from New Zealand was elected Chair of the U.N. Expert Mechanism on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples at the opening of the 17th session on Monday, July 8, 2024.

The National Iwi Chairs Forum congratulates and celebrates Dr Valmaine Toki (Ngāti Rehua, Ngāti Wai, and Ngāpuhi) on her appointment to the role of Chair of the Expert Mechanism on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples in Geneva today, 8 July 2024. Dr Toki has been a member of EMRIP since 2022 and contributes to the international advancement of Indigenous rights through her work there as a Professor of Law at the University of Waikato. Source: Scoop https://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/AK2407/S00287/wahine-maori-appointed-as-new-united-nations-emrip-chair-to-advance-indigenous-rights.htm

UN High Commissioner for Human Rights

Volker Turk, U.N. High Commissioner on Human Rights, welcomed Indigenous from all part of the world during the opening session, and said Indigenous have been excluded and silenced too long.

"It is crucial to value and honour the knowledge and perspectives of Indigenous Peoples. To take just one example, ancestral scientific knowledge and sustainable practices remain critical to preserving the world’s biodiversity."

"Indigenous Peoples are estimated to have direct links to some 13 per cent of the Earth’s land surface, meaning that your experience and knowledge are indispensable to finding a path together through the triple planetary crisis."

Continue reading: https://www.ohchr.org/en/statements-and-speeches/2024/07/hc-turk-it-crucial-value-and-honour-knowledge-and-perspectives

The 17th session of the Expert Mechanism on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples,  EMRIP, provides the Human Rights Council with expertise and advice on the rights of Indigenous Peoples. It assists Member States in achieving the goals of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, EMRIP said.

Next:

Oral intervention by Yana Tannagasheva International Committee of Indigenous Peoples of Russia 

Voices of Russia's Indigenous anti-war activists denied credentials are heard anyway

https://bsnorrell.blogspot.com/2024/07/united-nations-russias-anti-war.html

Original Series by Censored News

Testimony at U.N. Expert Mechanism on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples in Geneva, July 2024

Kayapo Forest Defenders Urge United Nations to Help Halt Illegal Gold Mining in Brazil https://bsnorrell.blogspot.com/2024/07/kayapo-forest-defenders-urge-united.html

Aboriginal Elder Describes Australia's Child Abuse to United Nations https://bsnorrell.blogspot.com/2024/07/aboriginal-elder-describes-australias.html

Violence and Repression: Indigenous from Russia, Algeria and Nicaragua Appeal to United Nations https://bsnorrell.blogspot.com/2024/07/violence-and-repression-indigenous-from.html

The Mother Tongue: Countering the Identity Thieves of Canada, Russia, Japan and U.S.

The horrific abuse in boarding schools, failure to provide language classes, and government refusals to recognize languages, reveal abuses around the world aimed at silencing ancient languages. https://bsnorrell.blogspot.com/2024/07/the-mother-tongue-countering-identity.html

Indigenous Expose Racism and Genocide at United Nations -- Governments Rush to Deny Abuses and Insult Presenters
France denied its genocide. Azerbaijan and Russia insulted Indigenous exposing them. The U.S. omitted Interior's Sec. Deb Haaland's assault on the Paiute Massacre Site; Hualapai, Apache, Quechan sacred sites for lithium and copper mines; Hualapai battling uranium mining; Tohono O'odham and Apache defending ancient sites from wind energy.  https://bsnorrell.blogspot.com/2024/07/indigenous-expose-racism-and-genocide.html

Leonard Peltier's Message Read at Conclusion of U.N. Expert Mechanism on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples https://bsnorrell.blogspot.com/2024/07/leonard-peltiers-words-conclude-un.html

Indigenous Women: Land Defenders, Water Carriers, Life Givers, Assert Rights at United Nations https://bsnorrell.blogspot.com/2024/07/indigenous-women-land-defenders-water.html

United Nations: Russia's Anti-War Indigenous Women Denied Credentials, are Heard Anyway https://bsnorrell.blogspot.com/2024/07/united-nations-russias-anti-war.html

United Nations: Australian Aboriginal Children Seized, Green Energy Impacts Worsen for Saami https://bsnorrell.blogspot.com/2024/07/united-nations-australian-aboriginal.html

About the author

Brenda Norrell has been a news reporter in Indian country for 42 years, beginning at the Navajo Times during the 18 years that she lived on the Navajo Nation. She was a correspondent for Associated Press, USA Today and Lakota Times. After serving as a longtime staff reporter for Indian Country Today, she was censored and terminated in 2006 and created Censored News. She has a masters degree in international health. 

Please send corrections, additions, statements to Brenda Norrell 

brendanorrell@yahoo.com

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