Left to right: Rosas Duran, Land defender from Perú; Galina Angarova; Dimitry Berezhkov (Itelmen);
Avexnim Cojti; Mirtha Vasquez, Land defender from Perú.
 

 

In March of 2022, Cultural Survival’s Executive Director Galina Angarova (Buryat) and Director of Programs Avexnim Cojti (Maya K’iche’) traveled to Brussels, Belgium, to meet with Members of the European Parliament, environmental and civil society groups engaged in advocacy efforts around the new European Union battery regulation and the proposed horizontal due diligence law. Our deep gratitude to our partners in Brussels - European Environmental Bureau and CATAPA, for organizing the meetings, and providing ongoing support on the ground and Transport and Environment for joint advocacy and supporting our causes. Our goal was to advocate for the inclusion of references to Indigenous Peoples, the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP), and the Free, Prior and Informed Consent (FPIC) to ensure that the rights of Indigenous Peoples are secured during the transition to a green economy and that the same mistakes linked to the extraction of fossil fuels are not repeated. 

The EU is one of the largest markets in the world with over 700 million consumers and much of what is happening in the European Union is going to dictate how the raw materials for batteries are going to be sourced, processed, and traded globally. Understanding how Indigenous Peoples have historically been on the margins, and our voices not heard, it was important for us to deliver urgent messages to the parliamentarians about the direct impacts of transition mineral mining on Indigenous communities. 

Read more about the breakthrough outcomes of the trip.
 

 

Advocating for the Inclusion of Indigenous Peoples’ Rights in European Laws on Battery Regulation
In this podcast, we hear from: Malte Gallée, Member of the European Parliament; Galina Angarova (Buryat); and Dmitry Berezhkov (Itelmen), Indigenous activist, about Indigenous advocacy efforts around the new European Union battery regulation and the proposed horizontal due diligence law.



Dmitry Berezhkov on the Impact of Mining on Indigenous Communities in Russia
In this podcast, Cultural Survival's Director of Programs Avexnim Cojti (Maya K'iche') met with Editor in Chief of Indigenous Russia, Dmitry Berezhkov (Itelmen), and spoke about the impacts of mining on Indigenous communities.
 

Cultural Survival advocates for Indigenous Peoples' rights and supports Indigenous communities’ self-determination, cultures and political resilience since 1972. We envision a future that respects and honors Indigenous Peoples' inherent rights and dynamic cultures, deeply and richly interwoven in lands, languages, spiritual traditions, and artistic expression, rooted in self-determination and self-governance.