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As we celebrate the 72nd anniversary of International Human Rights Day, we recognize that Indigenous Peoples' resiliency and dignity continue to persevere, despite ongoing assimilation, genocide, violent attempts to dismantle Indigenous lifeways, and the theft and destruction of Indigenous lands. This is the case for the Sunuwar communities of Nepal who are battling unwanted hydroelectric development on their sacred rivers. As they defend their traditional lands and territories, Indigenous Peoples across the world face disproportionate rates of murder and violence: recent data shows 40% of land defenders murdered were Indigenous, despite representing 6.2% of the global population.
At Cultural Survival, we make it a priority to track and denounce violence towards Indigenous human rights defenders across the globe. Earlier this year, we documented 28 cases of Indigenous human rights defenders murdered in Latin America. We continue to investigate and condemn these cases as well as new incidents of violence in 2020, including the 4 Garifuna men disappeared in Honduras, who remain missing today.
As a piece of our COVID-19 response work, we are tracking the virus in Indigenous communities as well as human rights violations related to the pandemic via Google Maps technology. In 2020, we submitted 8 reports to UN human rights monitoring mechanisms holding governments accountable for Indigenous Peoples' rights violations in the United States, Japan, Solomon Islands, Paraguay, Australia, Nepal, Mexico, and Central America. We continue to support human rights education through our grant programs, ensuring that Indigenous communities are aware of international human rights frameworks, as in the case of the Sunuwar Peoples in Nepal shown in the video above.
Despite our efforts, the number of attacks against Indigenous human rights and land defenders is steadily rising, especially in a global pandemic. While Indigenous human rights and land defenders get little attention, Cultural Survival is one of just a few organizations who document and publicize this violence, where we harness global attention in the pursuit of justice. For over 48 years, we have committed to supporting Indigenous communities to assert and exercise their rights. Every day at Cultural Survival, we work to make these rights a reality, through Indigenous-led grant-making, advocacy, and capacity building by supporting grassroots Indigenous solutions, uplifting Indigenous women's and youth leadership, and amplifying Indigenous voices through our Community Media and Indigenous Rights Radio programs about international human rights.
In observance of Human Rights Day and in honor of the Indigenous communities we work with, we invite you to join us as we collectively advance Indigenous rights worldwide. You have brought us halfway to our $80,000 end of year fundraising goal, and for those that have already donated-- thank you! If you haven’t yet, we call on to you, our community, to help us reach our full goal! Join us in the fight to advance and defend human rights and support Indigenous human rights and land defenders by making a generous gift to Cultural Survival today!
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