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Rights of Indigenous People
“The imperial era was largely based on the
dispossession of most of the world’s indigenous people… It
cannot be considered over until the world accepts these peoples’
rights.” Stephen
Corry, Director of Survival International
There are approximately 370 million
indigenous people spanning 70 countries, worldwide. Historically
they have often been forced from their lands, or in the centre
of conflict for access to valuable resources because of where
they live. Over the years, many groups of people have been wiped
out, either by diseases of colonising peoples, or through
policies of extermination.
Today, indigenous people are still often
amongst the most disadvantaged people in the world. Most live in
rural areas in subsistence-based communities (i.e. farming or
hunting for food for immediate use).
Thankfully, the international community
now recognises that special measures are required to protect the
rights of the world’s indigenous peoples. However, the struggle
is still not over and governments are often guilty of violating
the rights of indigenous people.
In some parts of the world, such as India,
Brazil, Thailand, and Malaysia, multinational companies have
been accused of participating in ‘biopiracy’, whereby biological
resources used by communities openly for generations (decades,
centuries, or even millennia in some cases) have been patented
away, leaving the local people unable to use their own local
plants and other resources. For other indigenous people,
logging, dam projects and other activities threaten ways of
life, sometimes leading to conflict.
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Issues ranging from
economic globalisation to climate change also have an impact on
the lives indigenous people. For example climate change in the
Arctic Circle is thought to have been a contributing factor in
the breakdown of Inuit society. Suicide rates among Inuit youth
are now among the highest in the world.
Pray for governments around the world to
work together to protect the rights of indigenous communities
and prevent exploitation by multinational corporations. Pray too
that laws enacted to protect indigenous people will not become a
barrier to them hearing the gospel.
Based on
Rights of Indigenous People
by Anup Shah
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