Persons with the condition – which is caused by a lack of melanin pigmentation, affecting skin, hair and eye colour – continue to face an uphill battle to attain a life with dignity and equality, said Muluka-Anne Miti-Drummond, the UN Independent Expert on albinism.
“My clarion call today is for Governments, UN counterparts, civil society organisations, influencers, community members and all stakeholders to reach out to persons with albinism and ensure their voices are heard – to form new partnerships and strengthen existing ones,” she said in a message to mark International Albinism Awareness Day on Tuesday.
Worldwide representation
Albinism is a rare, non-contagious, genetically inherited condition that is present at birth. It is found in both sexes regardless of ethnicity and in all countries worldwide.
Albinism is much more prevalent in sub-Saharan Africa, with estimates of one in 1,400 people being affected in Tanzania, according to the UN.
Prevalence as high as one in 1,000 has been reported for select populations in Zimbabwe and for other specific ethnic groups in Southern Africa.
Cancer and other dangers
Almost all people with albinism are visually impaired and prone to developing skin cancer.
They also face discrimination due to their skin colour, meaning they are often subject to multiple and intersecting discrimination on the grounds of both disability and skin colour. In some cultures, they have been killed for their body parts.
Over the past decade, UN human rights entities have received reports of more than 600 attacks against children and adults with albinism. Witchcraft was identified as one of the root causes of these attacks, as some believe that the body parts of people with albinism can bestow good luck or wealth.
Diversity and collaboration
This year, the International Day is being celebrated around the theme of “Inclusion is Strength”, which upholds the importance of diversity – both within and outside the albinism community.
Specifically, it highlights the value and benefits of including a broad spectrum of persons with albinism in albinism-related discussions, such as young people, women, children, older persons and LGBTQ+ persons of all races and ethnic backgrounds.
It also calls for collaborating and embracing albinism within the disability movement, and in other sectors where decisions affect persons with the condition, as well as teaming up with other groups outside the albinism movement, such as those working to advance human rights.
Translate policies into action
“Today, we have the opportunity to pause, reflect and remember that not all persons are treated equal, and that many persons with albinism continue to suffer human rights abuses and violations, often invisibly and in silence,” Ms. Miti-Drummond said.
She was adamant that persons with albinism cannot be excluded or left behind when it comes to decisions affecting them, stressing that human rights laws, policies and dialogue, must include issues relating to albinism.
“More critically, these must translate to actions and tangible results,” she said.
“Such a journey for inclusion should not be difficult given the myriad of human rights commitments States and stakeholders have undertaken at the international, regional, and national fora,” she added.
“Human rights mainstreaming is a common mantra, and the challenges faced by persons with albinism can be eliminated through strengthened partnerships and collaboration.”
Addressing a conference to take stock of action since the adoption of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) 17 years ago, he urged countries to “do much, much better” to achieve greater inclusion and accessibility.
There are more than one billion persons with disabilities worldwide, most of whom are of working age and live in developing countries.
Mr. Guterres said the treaty marked “a landmark moment in our shared journey towards a more just and inclusive future for all.”
It has been ratified by 186 countries, and some 75 per cent of State Parties have passed laws to guarantee the integration of students with disabilities in mainstream schools.
Nearly 80 per cent now prohibit discrimination in hiring against persons with disabilities, and over 90 per cent have adopted national disability laws.
Hit hard by crises
“Today, however, the progress we achieved is at risk of reversing,” he said, referring to the lingering effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, the worsening climate emergency, conflicts, soaring humanitarian needs, and the global cost-of-living crisis.
Mr. Guterres noted that persons with disabilities “are often hit first and worst” when crisis strikes. “In every emergency – from natural disasters to pandemics to armed conflicts – persons with disabilities lose their lives at vastly higher rates,” he said.
Furthermore, workers with disabilities – who already suffer exclusion and marginalization – are often the first to lose their jobs and the last to be re-hired. Meanwhile, women and girls with disabilities are more likely to suffer violence and abuse, face discrimination, and remain trapped in poverty.
Everyone wins
“We must do much, much better,” he said, underlining that everyone has the right to live lives of dignity and opportunity, in societies that are peaceful, prosperous, and just.
“Because a world in which persons with disabilities can realize their full potential is a world that is more equal, more inclusive, more vibrant, fairer and better for all,” he added.
Areas for action
Mr. Guterres said the conference highlights three areas where progress must be made now, starting with improving digital accessibility for persons with disabilities, as “leaving no one behind, means leaving no one offline.”
Persons with disabilities must also have equal access to sexual and reproductive health services, an issue that has been “so deeply neglected”, he continued.
“It is not only a matter of justice and rights, including fundamental reproductive rights – for women with disabilities, access to sexual and reproductive health services can be the difference between life and death,” he said.
Finally, countries must ensure the full inclusion and active participation of persons with disabilities in all their diversity.
“Specifically, that means shifting mindsets to ensure persons with disabilities are fully included in decision-making processes on all issues that affect them,” he said. “And it means realizing the powerful call of the disability movement: ‘Nothing about us, without us.’”
Pick up the pace
The Secretary-General underlined the UN’s commitment to take ownership and show leadership.
Four years ago, he launched a strategy on disability inclusion across all pillars of the Organization’s work in peace and security, human rights, and development. Since then, UN entities and country teams have met 30 per cent of benchmarks.
Mr. Guterres acknowledged that “while this is progress – it is neither fast nor broad enough”, adding “we must pick up the pace.”
“My commitment is ironclad: guided by persons with disabilities and their representative organizations, we will not stop until disability inclusion and accessibility are fully built into every aspect of our work – across every policy, programme, and operation; from headquarters to the field,” he said.
UNITED NATIONS, Jun 13 (IPS) – The United Nations system has an agreed leadership framework that is inclusive and respectful of all personnel and stakeholders, embracing diversity and rejecting discrimination in all its forms.
It is collaborative, reflecting the interdependent imperatives of the UN Charter and seeking collective “as one” thinking. It is self-applied, so that UN principles and norms are embedded in all areas of work of the UN system by staff at all levels and in all functions and locations to foster broader cultural change within UN system organizations.
The parameters of this inclusive leadership have already been clearly prescribed by the UN Charter.
Article 1 (3) of the UN Charter asserts that one of the purposes of the UN is to promote and encourage respect for human rights and for fundamental freedoms for all without distinction as to race, sex, language, or religion.
Racism and racial discrimination are against the principles expressed in the UN Charter, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and many international instruments. However, the issue of racism in the UN system is deep-rooted with many forms and dimensions.
The report of the Secretary-General’s Task Force on Addressing Racism agrees that UN staff perceive national or ethnic origin as the primary grounds for racism and racial discrimination. Staff are reluctant to report or act against racial discrimination when they witness it because they believe nothing will happen, lack trust, or fear retaliation, suggesting a low level of solidarity with those who experience racial discrimination and a lack of faith in the mechanisms established to address this issue.
Surveys reveal that UN personnel of Asian descent face specific forms of bias and discrimination.
Racism and racial discrimination are widespread throughout the system and the magnitude is high, based on evidence of the prevalence, form, and effects of racism and racial discrimination.
Article 101 (3) of the UN Charter affirms that due regard shall be paid to the importance of recruiting the staff on as wide a geographical basis as possible.
The Asia-Pacific region is home to around 4.3 billion people, which is equivalent to 54 percent of the total world population. In the UN organizations, however, staff from Asia and the Pacific constitute only about 19 percent of staff in the Professional and higher categories.
There is a significant lack of diversity in senior managerial positions (P-5, D-1, and D-2 levels) at the UN. The majority of senior and decision-making posts are held by staff from the global North.
The JIU review on racism found that UN staff from countries of the global South, where the population is predominantly of color, tend to be in lower, less well-paid grades and, therefore, hold less authority in decision-making than those from countries where the population is predominantly white and from the group of Western European and other States.
This finding was corroborated by the JIU’s system-wide survey, and this issue of discrimination in seniority and authority for decision-making in the UN system emerged as a major macrostructural issue to be addressed.
Article 8 of the UN Charter stipulates that the UN shall place no restrictions on the eligibility of men and women to participate in any capacity and under conditions of equality in its principal and subsidiary organs.
The Universal Declaration of Human Rights also states that there can be no distinction or discrimination on the basis of gender (articles 2, 7 and 23). The Fourth World Conference on Women in 1995 in Beijing adopted a Platform for Action, including the goal of achieving overall gender equality in the staff of the UN system by 2000.
The gender goals that were set by the Beijing Declaration 28 years ago are not being realized.
With regard to regional representation of women in the UN system, women from Western European and other States constitute a little more than half of the population of women in the Professional category (51 percent), while women from Africa, Asia-Pacific, Eastern Europe, and Latin America and the Caribbean combined represent only 49 percent.
Among them, 18 percent are from the Asia-Pacific region. This disparity demonstrates the inconsistencies in the balance of objectives regarding meeting gender targets and geographical representation and emphasizes that there should be a correlation between these two goals.
Taking part in collective leadership: Role of staff interest groups
The role of staff resource groups is most helpful in the journey towards creating a more diverse and inclusive work environment at the UN. All staff resource groups in the UN organizations are voluntary and mostly organized around the mission, purpose, mandates and objectives of the UN.
There are many staff interest groups focusing on anti-racism, gender equality, diversity and inclusion. Such groups build bridges between staff and management as well as make connections between inequities and policies, and they play a significant role in bringing about effective change in the organizational culture.
Towards addressing racism in the UN, the tone set by the Secretary-General António Guterres and the space presented to the UN staff interest groups to work towards driving organizational culture change are commendable.
This approach is especially important in developing “inclusive” or “collective” leadership as established in the UN leadership model, which demands that all stakeholders play interdependent roles to achieve a collective impact system-wide.
The JIU review on racism also promotes the importance of “collective” leadership that provides a high level of support for personnel resources and special interest groups and whereby such groups are able to leverage support for actions to address racism and racial discrimination.
It further notes that the UN is in the initial stages and has a long way to go to develop the kind of effective leadership coalition that is critical to driving reforms to address racism and racial discrimination.
Taking part in collective leadership: Advice to my younger self
The UN Charter, the founding document of the UN, is an inspiring document that was signed 77 years ago. It made promises to respect each and every one of us, to reaffirm our fundamental rights and to value men and women equally. While we have achieved some progress in many areas, we still have a long way to go towards realizing the ideals enshrined in the UN Charter. Hence, I would tell my younger self that:
• I should not be surprised when I am not treated equally by the UN and the world.
• I should learn as early as possible to speak up if I am not treated fairly, if I am disrespected, or if my rights are violated.
• I should talk to colleagues to share my experiences and identify any patterns of unfair treatment in the workplace.
• I should understand that merit, along with hard work, commitment and credentials, is not enough to get into senior positions in the UN.
• I should be taking initiative as an individual to address any discriminatory actions.
• I should focus on more concrete and specific initiatives that would bring change in the UN.
The sum of my experiences in the UN, together with learning that many colleagues in the UN system were also having similar experiences, led me to realize the importance of a staff interest group for personnel from Asia and the Pacific, even though this took years to come into being.
Taking part in collective leadership: Solutions to overcome barriers to Asian talent
It is important to take part in the collective leadership approach in order to explore solutions to support overcoming barriers to Asian talent in the workplace, within and outside the UN system.
(1) If there is no staff resource group representing the Asian community in the Organization, we should create one immediately.
UN-ANDI, established in 2021, is the first ever effort to bring together a diverse group of personnel from Asia and the Pacific (nationality/origin/descent) in the UN system.
(2) We must speak up loudly and proudly as Asians, as members of an interest/resource group or network. It should be done in a focused way, with facts, trends, and patterns to bring global, regional, national, and local attention to our issues and concerns. This was emphasized by Ambassador Anwarul Chowdhury, former Permanent Representative of Bangladesh to the UN and former UN Under-Secretary-General, at UN-ANDI’s first public event on 2021 UN Day.
UN-ANDI is currently finalizing its report on racism and racial discrimination in the UN system faced by personnel of Asian descent or origin based on its survey conducted in summer 2022.
(3) Once we have a staff interest/resource group, it is important to explore and/or create opportunities to collaborate and complement our mutual goals towards creating a more diverse, equitable, and inclusive organizational culture.
UN-ANDI works closely with the UN Staff Union in its efforts towards combating racism. It also promotes a collaborative spirit with other networks and institutions with similar objectives, within and outside the UN. Since its inception, UN-ANDI has been collaborating with Asia Society to promote mutual understanding and stronger partnerships among peoples and cultures within and outside Asia.
Shihana Mohamed, a founding member, one of the Coordinators of UN-ANDI and a Sri Lankan national, is a Human Resources Policies Officer at the International Civil Service Commission (ICSC).
Please email [email protected] to connect and/or collaborate with UN-ANDI.
On Monday’s World Day against Child Labour, the International Labour Organization (ILO) shared these staggering numbers as a reminder of the urgent need to end this practice.
ILO’s Director-General Gilbert Houngbo said that for the first time in 20 years, child labour is on the rise.
“Child labour rarely happens because parents are bad, or do not care. Rather, it springs from a lack of social justice,” he said.
Solutions: decent work, social protection
Mr. Houngbo stressed on Twitter that the “most effective solutions” to the child labour emergency are decent work for adults, so that they can provide for their families, and improved social protection.
He also underscored that tackling the root causes of child labour requires
ending forced labour, creating safe and healthy workplaces, letting workers organize and make their voices heard, as well as ending discrimination, since child labour often affects the most marginalized.
Staggering figure for sub-Saharan Africa
More than half of all those subjected to child labour – some 86.6 million – are in sub-Saharan Africa, according to joint research by the ILO and the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF).
Almost 24 per cent of all children in the region, or close to one in four, are in child labour.
Bulk of child labour in agriculture
Most of those in child labour on the African continent, and indeed worldwide, work in agriculture. The UN’s Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) said on Monday that agriculture accounts for 70 per cent of child labour globally and that the numbers of youngsters working in the sector are on the rise.
FAO stressed that child labour was three times more prevalent among rural smallholders in farming, fisheries or forestry than in urban areas.
The agency emphasized that children often assist their parents in producing crops, rearing livestock or catching fish, “mainly for family consumption”, and that while not all this work is considered child labour, “for too many children, their work, particularly in agriculture, goes beyond the limits of safety and well-being and crosses into a form of labour that can harm their health or educational opportunities”.
Children carry bundles of sticks along the road in North Kivu province in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
‘Ensure that children have a childhood’
FAO underscored the need to tackle the issue “from the field right up to the global level, to ensure that children have a childhood”.
The agency is working with partners on eliminating child labour in key sectors such as cocoa, cotton and coffee. Together with ILO and the European Union, FAO has reached more than 10,000 women, men, youth and children in Burkina Faso, Mali and Pakistan as part of a project aiming to address child labour in cotton value chains by improving households’ livelihoods, empowering women economically, and raising awareness of the problem.
FAO has also developed a framework on ending child labour in agriculture, aiming to provide guidance to policymakers, and has supported countries such as Uganda and Cabo Verde in developing prevention policies.
ThePlan of Action for Women in Communities to Counter Hate Speech and Prevent Incitement to Violence that Could Lead to Atrocity Crimes (otherwise known as The Napoli Women in Communities Plan of Action) is based on a year-long consultation with women across the world working in the field of countering hate speech and preventing atrocity crimes.
It aim to empower women to contribute more systematically and significantly to countering the scourge and preventing incitement to violence that could lead to atrocities being committed.
‘Enduring challenge’
“First, the prevention of atrocity crimes – genocide, war crimes, ethnic cleansing, and crimes against humanity – remains an enduring challenge. It is at the heart of the mission of the United Nations,” noted Secretary-General António Guterres in remarks at the launch event, read by his Chef de Cabinet, Courtenay Rattray.
“Second, atrocity crimes have a gendered dimension, so efforts to prevent and respond to them must also take gender into account,” said the UN chief, underscoring the critical importance of the initiative for two reasons:
The Napoli Women in Communities Plan of Action was drafted from a women’s perspective, which contributed to mainstreaming women’s voices and experiences.
Failure to support
“We need to rethink how we approach prevention, starting by acknowledging that we have failed at including women and supporting their role in the prevention of genocide and other atrocity crimes,” noted Special Adviser of the UN Secretary-General on the Prevention of Genocide, Alice Wairimu Nderitu, who is also the UN Focal Point on Hate Speech.
Her view was echoed by the Permanent Representative of Italy to the United Nations, Maurizio Massari, who is also the Vice President of the UN Economic and Social Council – ECOSOC.
“If we want to fully include a women’s perspective and promote women-led initiatives aimed at countering hate speech, we must ensure that their voices are heard, and even more so, that their voices count at the table where decisions are taken,” noted Ambassador Massari.
Deliberations on The Napoli Women in Communities Plan of Action began in Napoli, Italy, with a meeting convened by OSAPG, on 13 and 14 June 2022, which resulted in Monday’s policy document, urging all relevant stakeholders to ensure that women are engaged – have the opportunity to engage, or have an increasing capacity to engage – in countering hate speech and preventing incitement to violence that could lead to atrocity crimes.
BLANTYRE, Malawi, Jun 12 (IPS) – “Cyclone Freddy was a terrible experience, and now many women who lost their homes and their livelihoods are at increased risk of sexual exploitation and abuse,” warns Caleb Ng’ombo, Director of People Serving Girls at Risk (PSGR), a frontline NGO in Malawi that supports vulnerable women whose lives have been devastated by the record-breaking tropical storm.
“The rains were heavy and continuous for three to four days,” recounts Caleb. “There was water everywhere, strong winds, mudslides, and trees falling onto houses, paths, and roads. Water was flooding into my house, and everything I owned was floating.
“There was nowhere to go because everyone was experiencing the same thing, and there was nothing you could do apart from wait for the water to recede.”
When Cyclone Freddy hit Malawi in March 2023, six months of rain fell in just six days, flooding over 170 square miles (430 km2). Over 1400 people died in the country, and UNICEF estimates that 3.8 million are facing acute food insecurity.
Around 659,000 people have been displaced, with women in poverty disproportionately affected. Caleb explains, “Many women who’ve been badly impacted were already vulnerable. They were living in makeshift buildings in locations such as river banks and hillsides because they could not afford better housing. The extreme weather dislodged big rocks that rolled down the slopes, killing people and destroying houses. It was very traumatizing.”
Sexual harassment, exploitation, and domestic abuse
Camps have been set up for those who have lost their homes, and PSGR is creating safe spaces for women to discuss challenges and find solutions. Of particular concern are the multiple reports of sexual exploitation and gender-based violence.
Women are complaining that they are being sexually harassed in the camps, and including being asked to perform sexual acts in exchange for aid. Most women are reticent about reporting incidents to the police because they know it takes a lot of time for cases to be prosecuted, and victims frequently face skepticism and stigmatization. Some married women also fear their husbands will blame them, which could trigger domestic violence.
Such fears are well founded. A comprehensive global review has found extensive data revealing that during or after extreme weather events, there is a rise in gender-based violence, including domestic and intimate partner violence.
“With justice so hard to access, women think, why bother reporting?” Caleb relays. “Judges and magistrates are mainly men, and they don’t give priority to the needs of women, so such cases are never prioritized. This is especially when the perpetrator is in a position of power, has access to money and an image to protect, and is up against a vulnerable woman.”
Another apprehension is that with so many women and girls being pushed further into poverty, there will be a rise in commercial sexual exploitation and sex trafficking. Malawi is already a trafficking source, transit, and destination country, and the socio-economic repercussions of the climate crisis, coupled with discriminatory gender roles and social norms, create a fertile ground for the abuse of vulnerable women and girls.
Compounding problems is the lack of access to justice for victims. Few trafficking cases make it to court and those that do face multiple delays, with wrongdoers rarely punished.
To address this, PSGR and international women’s rights organization Equality Now have submitted a joint complaint to the African Committee of Experts on the Rights and Welfare of the Child (ACERWC), highlighting how girls, who are especially vulnerable to trafficking for sexual exploitation, are being left unprotected by the Malawian government’s failure to implement existing anti-trafficking legislation effectively.
Women are holding the sharpest end of the knife
Cyclones are typical in Southern Africa between November and April, but climate change is making them more frequent and intense. With Freddy, the ferocity and longevity were unprecedented – hitting land multiple times over five weeks. Scientists have declared it the longest-lasting tropical cyclone ever recorded anywhere.
Over the past decade, Malawi has experienced multiple extreme weather events, including droughts, floods, rising temperatures, and unpredictable rainfall patterns, leaving people dependent on agriculture and pastoralism struggling to adapt.
At this time of year, farmers should be harvesting their crops to sell and store, but Cyclone Freddy has washed away farmland and livestock, and ruined crops and buildings, with 547 schools damaged or destroyed.
Women make up 65% of smallholder farmers in Malawi, and traditional gender roles allocate women the responsibility for household food production and farming, while men often control access to land, credit, and agricultural inputs.
Malawi’s Marriage, Divorce and Family Relations Act grants some protection ‘against emotional or physical violence or abuse within marriage, sexual relations, and the family. The law also recognizes women’s non-monetary contribution regarding marital property rights. However, inequalities within the family continue to limit women’s decision-making power, control over resources, and access to credit, all of which hampers their ability to adapt to climate change.
Women are also more likely to shoulder the burden of unpaid care work and household responsibilities, which intensify during climate-related emergencies.
“Women play a central role in managing the aftermath of climate emergencies,” Caleb explains, “They are the caregivers and the providers of food, and while the impacts of extreme weather are felt by everyone in the community, it is women and girls who are holding the sharpest end of the knife. For example, you can see with floods that it is mostly women who die because they cannot swim, whereas men have had time to learn.”
Women’s interests and input must be central to climate responses
Extreme weather is being fuelled by rising global temperatures resulting from burning fossil fuels and the emission of greenhouse gases, primarily by wealthy industrialized nations. Meanwhile, women in Global South countries like Malawi – which has one of the lowest incomes in the world – are suffering disproportionately from the climate crisis while being least able to adapt.
“The climate crisis is getting worse, and the international community must not neglect the specific vulnerabilities and needs of women and girls,” Caleb says. “Most of the strategies are dominated by men. Women are voicing their issues, but their voices are not being heard, and the result is the problems we are seeing today.”
“This emergency is manmade, and there isn’t an overnight solution. But if the world shuts its eyes and does nothing, we will fail to deliver on our commitments to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals.”
The World Bank warns that without climate financing to assist Malawi in building a climate-resilient economy, climate change could push an additional two million people into poverty during the coming decade and reduce the country’s GDP 6% to 20% by 2040. The repercussions for women and girls would be catastrophic.
“People here understand that the extreme weather we are suffering is the result of climate change. It is countries like ours that are having to pay the price for big economies that are polluting the environment,” laments Caleb.
“Women and girls must be at the discussion table when strategies are being developed to mitigate against disasters so that when emergencies happen, we understand how they can be supported. Women should have the opportunity to present their side of the story, bring solutions, and be incorporated into responses. This has to be central to climate change policy at all levels.”
Tara Carey is the Global Head of Media at Equality Now, an international human rights organisation that focuses on using the law to protect and promote the rights of women and girls around the world.
Every day, UN human rights officers are on the frontlines to support them.
They are part of the UN’s field work, talking to those most affected by conflict and monitoring how human rights principles and international humanitarian law obligations are being respected in situations of conflict and insecurity; like in Garowe, Somalia, where nearly 75,000 men, women, and children have fled to safety from nearby armed clashes amid a conflict that has already displaced as many as 200,000.
Read about a day in the life of a UN human rights team here.
UN Photo/Fardosa Hussein
Amina Abdirahman shares a room with three of her six children in Garowe, Somalia, after fleeing an outbreak of fighting in Laascaanood, 127-km away.
Indigenous representatives like Raoni Metuktire, an internationally recognized Kaiapó leader, followed the Supreme Court trial on the temporary framework, inside and outside of the courtroom in Brasilia, in a case that will determine whether the land rights of the indigenous peoples of Brazil have extreme limits established by the constitution. CREDIT: Nelson Jr./SCO-STF-FotosPúblicas
by Mario Osava (rio de janeiro)
Inter Press Service
RIO DE JANEIRO, Jun 09 (IPS) – Children were thrown into the air and stabbed and cut with knives and machetes. The attackers first opened fire on the victims of the massacre before finishing them off with knives so that none of the 244 indigenous people of the village would survive. The 1904 massacre permanently marked the Xokleng people and may play a decisive role in the future of the native peoples of Brazil.
The tragedy is emblematic of the genocide suffered by indigenous people in Brazilian history. There were more numerous and recent killings, especially during the 1964-1985 military dictatorship. But the 1904 massacre is at the center of a trial in the Supreme Court that will determine the progress of the demarcation of indigenous territories in this South American country.
The trial was triggered by a move by the government of the southern state of Santa Catarina. In 2016 the state’s Institute of the Environment (IMA) lay claim to part of the demarcated land of the Xokleng people for a biological reserve.
But in 2019 the Supreme Court recognized that the case had national repercussions, setting a precedent for all demarcations of indigenous lands, because the IMA’s claim cites something that is called the “temporary framework”.
This framework states that native peoples only have the right to the lands that they physically occupied when the current constitution was promulgated on Oct. 5, 1988, creating the present system of demarcation of indigenous reserves.
The trial began in 2021, with the votes of two of the 11 Supreme Court justices, one against and the other in favor of the temporary framework. It was then suspended due to Judge Alexandre de Moraes’ request for more time to analyze the issue. It was not resumed until last month, on May 7, when Moraes issued his vote and argument, before it was suspended again on Jun. 7.
The 1904 massacre was part of his argument against the framework, as an example of the violence used to dispossess indigenous peoples of their land, which showed that it would be “unjust” to demand their physical presence on their traditional lands on any precise date. The Xokleng were “forced to leave their land in order to survive,” the judge argued.
Judge Alexandre de Moraes (C), of Brazil’s Supreme Court, is the shining star of the country’s judiciary. He issued a vote that could be decisive for the future of indigenous peoples’ lands. He also presides over the Electoral Court and is conducting investigations that could sentence former President Jair Bolsonaro to ineligibility for political office or to jail for spreading disinformation and acting against democracy. CREDIT: Alejandro Zambrana/Secom-TSE-FotosPúblicas
Violence
The Ibirama-Laklãnõ Indigenous Land, where 2,300 people live today, almost all of them from the Xokleng community along with a few Guarani and Kaingang families, was demarcated in 2003: 37,000 hectares recognized as their territory by the government of Santa Catarina in 1926, according to official documents in possession of the native residents of that land.
But in 1965 the military dictatorship limited their territory to just 14,000 hectares. In addition, 10 years later, it ordered the construction of dams in the Itajaí river basin, which crosses the region, to curb flooding in cities and landed estates downstream.
Consequently, it flooded the Xokleng lands and further reduced the area where the indigenous people live and farm, as well as cutting off their roads, aggravating their isolation. An anthropological study conducted in the 1990s recommended that the territory should be expanded to the previous 37,000 hectares, but this was called into question by the local government and by landowners who had invaded part of the land.
Public attention was drawn to the near extermination of the Xokleng people by a book by anthropologist Silvio Coelho dos Santos, “Indigenous people and whites in southern Brazil: the dramatic experience of the Xokleng” ((Indios e brancos no Sul do Brasil: a dramática experiencia dos xokleng, in Portuguese), which includes a report of the 1904 massacre in the newspaper “Novidades”.
Many similar atrocities have been committed in Brazil. But the fact that this massacre in particular was well-documented and proven undermines the temporary framework, defended by many politicians and landowners and used in their legal arguments and in their attempts to reduce conflicts over land.
“The basic unconstitutionality is that the articles (on indigenous people) do not address the temporary framework and recognize indigenous territorial rights as ‘original’. According to the constitution, there is no indigenous person without land,” he told IPS.
Thanks to the constitution’s mandate, 496 indigenous reserves, covering 13 percent of the national territory, have been demarcated so far, without taking into account the temporary framework that is now being cited.
And another 238 reserves are in different phases of the demarcation process. Some have already been identified as indigenous lands, while others are still under study, according to the Socio-Environmental Institute, which has a large database on the subject.
In Brazil, according to the 2022 census, there are 1.65 million indigenous people, an increase of 84 percent compared to the 2010 census, although they represent only 0.8 percent of the national population. In this country there are 305 distinct indigenous peoples who speak 174 languages, according to Funai.
Moraes condemned the temporary framework, but his vote worried indigenous leaders because he proposed “full compensation” to “good faith” landowners currently occupying demarcated areas. Until now, only improvements made on property have been compensated and not the land itself, which is considered to have been usurped.
Indigenous people from the metropolitan region of São Paulo block a highway with bonfires, in protest against the temporary framework, which drastically limits the demarcation of territories of native communities. Legislators are trying to give the measure legal status, while the Supreme Court postponed a ruling on the issue for the second time, on Jun. 7. CREDIT: Rovena Rosa/Agência Brasil
Reconciliation rejected
“Moraes wants prior compensation, to pay the landowners first and then demarcate the indigenous land, which can take 10 years. They are looking for a broad compromise to satisfy those who have illegally taken over land,” protested Mauricio Terena, legal coordinator of the Articulation of Indigenous Peoples of Brazil (Apib).
“Why is it always our rights that have to be chipped away at? Our rights are always compromised, we’re always the ones who lose out,” he said while speaking to the indigenous people present in Brasilia to follow the Supreme Court trial.
Nearly 1,500 indigenous people from all over the country camped out in the capital and there were demonstrations against the temporary framework in dozens of cities and towns and along highways in the country, reported Dinamam Tuxá, executive coordinator of Apib.
Moraes also proposed that, in the event of practically insurmountable difficulties, such as the existence of towns in areas recognized as indigenous land, compensation should be offered – in other words, they should be given land in other areas, if accepted by the indigenous community.
“Our territories are non-negotiable,” Terena said. “Our relationship with them runs deep, it is where our ancestors fell.”
His complaint was also due to the new interruption of the trial. Another judge, André Mendonça, a former justice minister in the far-right government of Jair Bolsonaro (2019-2022), asked for more time to study the case. He has up to 90 days to issue his vote, which would reactivate the trial, but he promised to do it sooner.
“They need time. We left here without an answer,” Terena complained. The process has been dragging on for more than seven years and the temporary framework serves as a justification for invasions of land and violence against indigenous people.
In any case, “Moraes’s vote was positive” because it recognized the unconstitutionality of the temporary framework, said Megaron Txucarramãe, chief of the Kaiapó people, who live in the Eastern Amazon region.
“We will return to Brasilia when the trial resumes, we will continue the fight to secure our constitutional rights and the land for our grandchildren,” he told IPS by phone from the indigenous camp in Brasilia.
“We will return to Brasilia to hold demonstrations whenever necessary to defend our lands, the constitution and the rights of our grandchildren,” Chief Megaron Txucarramãe, a well-known leader of the Kayapó indigenous people from the Eastern Amazon region, told IPS from the indigenous camp set up near the Supreme Court. CREDIT: Courtesy of Megaron Txucarramãe
Lawmakers against indigenous people
But their battle is not limited to the judicial front. On May 30 the Chamber of Deputies urgently passed a bill that would make the temporary framework law, by a majority of 283 votes against 155. Its final approval now depends on the Senate.
“The processes are moving ahead simultaneously and influence each other,” Oscar Vilhena, director of the Law School at the private Getulio Vargas Foundation, told IPS from São Paulo. “If the Supreme Court declares the temporary framework unconstitutional, the bill loses its purpose, but that would increase the costs for the Supreme Court.”
By costs he was referring to increased political pressure from right-wing and landowner-linked legislators, known as the ruralists, who have long attacked the Supreme Court for allegedly meddling in legislative affairs.
In addition, if the proposed rule is declared unconstitutional, “the Chamber of Deputies could resume deliberations on a constitutional amendment already approved in the Senate,” Santilli warned by telephone from Brasilia.
This bill, which has languished in the lower house since 2015, when it was received from the Senate, would precisely establish the payment of compensation for land ownership, not only for improvements to property, to landowners affected by indigenous territories demarcated since the current constitution went into effect in October 1988.
Speaking to journalists from Bilozerka, a town on the Dnipro River about 20 kilometres west of Kherson and five kilometres from the frontline, Ms. Brown, the Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator, said that on Friday, the UN brought in a five-truck convoy to the affected areas, with desperately needed drinking water, food and equipment to help repair damaged homes.
‘Distraught’ population
Ms. Brown has been visiting affected areas and said that people were completely taken by surprise by the flooding, which came in the middle of the night on Tuesday after the dam suffered a massive breach. Both Ukraine and Russia have blamed each other for its destruction.
She stressed that people were “distraught” by the latest catastrophe to hit them, but remained resilient, even though they faced “daily shelling” – including just a day ago.
Rising needs
In many places, the waters haven’t receded yet, which is why the impact remained hard to assess and satellite imagery was “critical”, Ms. Brown said. The UN aid coordination office (OCHA) said on Thursday that flooding would still last “for at least a week”.
For the moment, an estimated 17,000 people were affected in the flooding zone according to Ms. Brown. UN refugee agency (UNHCR) spokesperson Shabia Mantoo, added that this number could rise to 40,000 as the situation evolved.
‘Doing my darndest’
Asked to comment on earlier criticism from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy of the UN’s relief effort, Ms. Brown said that the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and the UN World Food Programme (WFP) had been bringing in supplies “from day one” with commercial vehicles and that UNHCR and the UN migration agency (IOM) were also on the ground.
“I have asked that question to the Ukrainian authorities, ‘Did we get here on time?’ And the answer was yes,” she said.
Ms. Brown explained that the current situation was very difficult and fast-moving, and that the fact that UN agencies brought in relief with commercial transporters may have made them less visible to the authorities.
She also recalled her conversation with Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba on Thursday, focused on “what more we can do together”.
“I am doing my darndest to ensure that we do our job,” she insisted.
Call for access to Russian-occupied areas
OCHA said on Thursday that the UN was “extremely concerned” about the plight of civilians in areas under Russian military control and that it had no access to those areas in the Kherson region.
UN rights office (OHCHR) spokesperson Jeremy Laurence, told reporters on Friday that just like humanitarian actors, human rights monitors cannot enter the Russian-occupied territories, as Russia had denied the Office’s repeated requests on the issue.
He reiterated the urgent call for access, along with an appeal for an independent investigation into the exact circumstances of the Kakhovka dam destruction.
Waterborne diseases on the rise
Humanitarians insisted that stagnant water in the flooded was a “major” health concern, carrying risks of cholera and diarrhoea.
UNHCR also pointed out that sewage, heavy oil and pesticides were mixing with the floodwaters and creating additional health hazards.
The UN World Health Organization (WHO) warned on Thursday about the impacts of the flooding on sanitation systems and public health services. WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus tweeted that WHO is supporting the authorities to prevent waterborne diseases and to improve disease surveillance.
WHO teams are on the ground, performing health needs assessments, and the agency’s Ukraine office said that in the coming days, additional supplies to strengthen access to health services will be delivered.
Landmines threat
With landmines floating downstream with the floodwaters, Ms. Brown said that a UN Mine Action Service (UNMAS) mine expert had been deployed to work with the UN Development Programme (UNDP) to assess the risks and that a map had been produced of the most heavily mined areas.
On Thursday, Ms. Brown discussed the situation with Ukraine’s First Deputy Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko, the Government’s focal point on landmines.
She said that the UN was asked to work closely with Ms. Svyrydenko to communicate the risks from unexploded ordnance in the floodwaters to the population and specifically involve UNICEF in spreading the word in schools.
Denise Brown, UN Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator in Ukraine (centre), visits Bilozerka, one of the communities worst-affected by the floods caused by the Kakhovka Dam.
Fresh concerns for the future
While the immediate impact of the dam’s destruction is staggering, Ms. Brown expressed her concerns about “what the future holds”, amid the destruction of homes, farmland and livestock, the dramatic impact on water and energy supplies and the serious risk of environmental contamination.
To plan for the long-term effects of the disaster, the veteran aid official said that on Thursday, the UN team met with representatives of the Ukrainian Government, the European Union and the Kyiv School of Economics to look at the available satellite imagery and continue the needs assessment.
“We are concerned by the continued devastating impact of the fighting in Sudan on civilians,” Spokesperson Jeremy Laurence told journalists in Geneva.
The Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and military rival, the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), have been locked in vicious clashes since mid-April.
Hundreds have been killed and some 1.2 million have been displaced. UN agencies and partners have repeatedly warned of the growing humanitarian crisis.
Deadly airstrikes in Khartoum
Mr. Laurence said at least eight people died in an air strike on a busy livestock market in the capital, Khartoum, on Wednesday, allegedly carried out by the SAF. At least three of the victims were from the same family.
A child was reportedly killed in a separate incident that day after a shell struck his home in the Al-Shajraa district, in southern Khartoum.
Refugee and orphan deaths
OHCHR has also received reports of the killings of four other civilians in the capital on Monday, while at least three people from the same family, including a pregnant woman, were reportedly killed on Sunday.
Airstrikes that day near the Sport Complex in southern Khartoum, hit a refugee centre, reportedly killing at least 10 refugees. Furthermore, no fewer than 71 children have died at an orphanage in Khartoum since the fighting started due to lack of humanitarian assistance, including medical supplies.
Sexual violence, online hate
Mr. Laurence said OHCHR is also concerned by reports of conflict-related sexual violence.
“Since the fighting began, our Office has received credible reports of 12 incidents of sexual violence related to the conflict, against at least 37 women – although the number could be higher. In at least three incidents, the victims were young girls. In one case, 18 to 20 women were reportedly raped,” he said.
Growing reports of apparent enforced disappearance and arbitrary detention are another concern, he added, and journalists are also now at greater risk amid a rise in online hate speech and disinformation.
OHCHR has learnt of a list circulating on social media accusing certain journalists of being RSF supporters. Staff have also seen comments on Facebook calling for the killing of those on the list.
Appeal for accountability
“We reiterate the High Commissioner’s call on both parties to the fighting to ensure protection of civilians and respect for international humanitarian law and international human rights law,” he said.
“They must also ensure all violations are effectively and independently investigated and those responsible are held accountable.”
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