International Work Group for Indigenous Affairs (IWGIA)

27/10/2026

Congratulations to Pirawan Wongnithisathaporn 🙌

Pirawan is one of six Indigenous leaders recognised as Indigenous Peoples Ambassadors for Primary Forests!

This was announced at the biodiversity COP17 yesterday in Yerevan, Armenia.

A Karen Indigenous woman from Thailand, Pirawan is awarded the ambassadorship for her tireless work on Indigenous rights, community forestry and environmental governance, and for strengthening the leadership and participation of Indigenous women and girls.

She is the Environment Program Officer at the Asia Indigenous Peoples Pact, our long-standing partner. IWGIA is proud to stand with Pirawan and celebrate the recognition of her work and contributions.💙

The Indigenous Peoples Ambassadors for Primary Forests initiative honours Indigenous leaders for their commitment to primary forest conservation, Indigenous stewardship, cultural continuity, community leadership and environmental justice.

Congratulations, Pirawan!

27/10/2026

Join us on Thursday for the fifth training session in preparation for UNFCCC COP31, being held in Antalya, Türkiye, 9-20 November 2026.

🌿 This session brings together two areas of the negotiations that touch the daily life of Indigenous Peoples and their territories: the food systems that sustain communities, and the roles, knowledge, and leadership of Indigenous women in climate action. Both have been addressed under the UNFCCC through dedicated workstreams. This session assesses where Indigenous Peoples' rights, knowledge systems, and governance are recognized in them, and where they remain absent.

📅 Thursday, October 29
🕰️ 9:00–11:00 a.m. Colombia / 10:00 a.m.-12:00 p.m. New York / 4:00–6:00 p.m. Geneva / 10:00 p.m.–12:00 a.m. Singapore
🔗 Register to join via Zoom here: https://bit.ly/4iGQ8d4
🗣️ Simultaneous interpretation will be available in 🇬🇧 English, 🇪🇸 Spanish, 🇫🇷 French, 🇵🇹 Portuguese and 🇷🇺 Russian

🤝🏾 International Work Group for Indigenous Affairs (IWGIA) International Indigenous Youth Forum on Climate Change (IIYFCC)UN Voluntary Fund for Indigenous Peoples Docip International Work Group for Indigenous Affairs (IWGIA) Nia Tero

26/10/2026

📢 Free. Prior. Informed. Consent. What does it mean?

23/10/2026

📢 La libre determinación y las autonomías indígenas en el continente

A cinco años de la publicación del informe temático sobre el derecho a la libre determinación de los Pueblos Indígenas y Tribales, la Comisión Interamericana de Derechos Humanos (CIDH) y el Grupo Internacional de Trabajo sobre Asuntos Indígenas (IWGIA) organizan un diálogo con líderes y lideresas indígenas para abordar los avances y desafíos en materia de autonomías y autogobierno en las Américas.

🗓️ Lunes 26 de octubre | 16:00 a 17:30 h | Anfiteatro Simón Bolívar, Parlatino, Panamá

Evento presencial abierto al público.

✍️ Registro https://bit.ly/48eNMMl

Más información: https://bit.ly/47APkQJ

📕 Descarga la publicación en español: https://bit.ly/4yzXMum

📘 Baixe a publicação em português: https://bit.ly/4yCdq8H

22/10/2026

Debates Indígenas | Especial: Autonomías Indígenas

La autonomía indígena es un derecho preexistente reconocido por el sistema interamericano. No es ni una concesión ni una cuestión otorgada por el Estado. Por eso, su reconocimiento constitucional no garantiza por sí mismo el autogobierno: la autonomía reside en la capacidad de un pueblo para decidir efectivamente sobre su territorio. En este especial, Debates Indígenas recoge las experiencias de los pueblos Naga de la India, Gunadule de Panamá y Arhuaco de Colombia. Además, repasamos los aprendizajes de Bolivia, México y Perú.


💬 Disponible también en inglés y portugués.

📲 Visita la web de Debates Indígenas https://bit.ly/3IUeDPg


Indigenous Debates | Special: Indigenous Autonomies

Indigenous autonomy is a pre-existing right recognised by the Inter-American System. It is neither a concession nor something granted by the State. Therefore, constitutional recognition alone does not guarantee self-government: autonomy lies in a people’s ability to exercise effective decision-making over its territory. In this special issue, Indigenous Debates brings together the experiences of the Naga Peoples of India, the Gunadule People of Panama and the Arhuaco People of Colombia. We also examine the lessons learned from Bolivia, Mexico and Peru.

💬 Also available in Spanish and Portuguese.

📲 Visit the Indigenous Debates website: https://bit.ly/4mXJvUk

22/10/2026

🙌Amazing!

IWGIA would like to congratulate PEREMPUAN AMAN on the successful completion of their General Assembly, that our senior advisor Signe Leth were gratefully invited to observe.

We wish Margareta Seting and the newly selected national council all the best for their coming tenure.

Devi Anggraini and her team has secured a strong foundation for the organization during their leadership in the past ten years.

We are highly impressed by the women who actively participated in the discussions and decision making processes during the general assembly.

As an organisation we remain in solidarity with Indigenous women in Indonesia and look forward to coming collaboration opportunities.

20/10/2026

No, thank you. 📢
A house bill establishing autonomy to the Indigenous Peoples of the Cordillera in the Philippines have been rejected by the Cordillera Peoples Alliance, CPA.

According to the CPA, the bill proposing the Cordillera Autonomous Region would give autonomy in name only - leaving decisive power with the President.

The CPA warns, the proposal risk dividing the Cordillera and opening ancestral lands to large mining and energy projects, without dismantling the legal structures that underminde Indigenous Peoples' rights.

"Autonomy that politicians impose from above, without recognizing our right to self-determination, is not autonomy at all," says CPA Secretary-General Sarah Bestang Dekdeken.

IWGIA supports the CPA's call for genuine regional autonomy rooted in a united Cordillera, recognition of Indigenous Peoples’ collective rights, and control over ancestral lands, territories and resources.

👉 What does real autonomy mean to you? Let us know in the comments!

19/10/2026

❗How can you usurp land that belongs to you?

In Honduras, Garífuna communities are being forcibly evicted and criminalised for defending their ancestral lands. Leaders and land defenders also face violent attacks – and sometimes even killed. This is reported by the UN Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (CERD).

"The Committee remained concerned about the high number of killings, reprisals, threats and acts of intimidation against human rights defenders, including Indigenous and Afro-Honduran leaders and community members, by both State and non-State actors, including organised crime groups and individuals linked to companies involved in disputes with these communities."

CERD has also raised alarm over the use of 'usurpation' charges against Indigenous and Afro-Honduran communities and called for a moratorium on forced evictions.

Ancestral land is not occupied land. States must recognise Indigenous Peoples’ collective land rights – and protect those who defend them.

Read the UN CERD findings here 🔗 https://www.ohchr.org/en/press-releases/2026/08/un-committee-elimination-racial-discrimination-publishes-findings-finland

17/10/2026

The tropical forests of Indonesia are shrinking fast.

It particularly affects the bodies of Indigenous women, who tend and care for their lands and communities every day.

In 2025, Indonesia’s Indigenous communities lost 3.8 million hectares of their ancestral territories.

Most of this loss occurred in Merauke, the site of a national food and bioethanol project that runs under military guard and threatens roughly two million hectares of rainforest and Indigenous Peoples’ rights.

Not only do damage to the ecosystem make women's work harder. It also correlates with disrupted menstrual cycles, skin infections, reproductive challenges, the ability to tend to sick family members and much more.

Click the link below to read more in the article on Indigenous Debates 👇
https://debatesindigenas.org/en/2026/09/01/indigenous-womens-struggle-facing-the-biodiversity-crisis-and-deforestation-burden-in-indonesia/

16/10/2026