The world’s indigenous peoples are making themselves heard in international arenas, and at the national level, where their growing mobilisation is translating into political muscle. But many challenges remain in the fight for recognition of all their rights.

RIGHTS-CHILE: Stop Violence Against Indigenous Children – UNICEF
By Daniela Estrada
SANTIAGO (IPS) – Reports of police violence against Mapuche children in the southern Chilean region of Araucanía prompted the country’s UNICEF representative, Gary Stahl, to express the agency’s deep concern at a meeting with three government ministers.
www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=49026

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RIGHTS: Govts Failing Indigenous Declaration, U.N. Expert Says
By Haider Rizvi
UNITED NATIONS (IPS) – A top U.N. expert on human rights law called Monday for governments to match their words with deeds and make good on promises to respect indigenous communities’ right to live as they wish.
www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=48920

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VENEZUELA: Indigenous People Killed, Injured in Land Dispute
By Humberto Márquez
CARACAS (IPS) – Two members of the Yukpa indigenous community in Venezuela were killed and others were injured in a firefight between supporters and detractors of a government initiative to distribute land to the ethnic group at the northwest tip of Venezuela, where the Yukpa are caught up in a long-running conflict over land with ranchers and mining companies.
www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=48893

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ECUADOR: Oil Giant Is Gone, Legal and Environmental Mess Remains
By Matthew Berger
WASHINGTON (IPS) – The story began almost 40 years ago, but when filmmaker Joe Berlinger “saw villagers eating canned tuna fish because the fish in their rivers were too contaminated to eat, [he] knew [he] had to do something”.
www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=49041

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BOLIVIA: Politics, a Risky Business for Women
By Franz Chávez
LA PAZ (IPS) – Taking an active part in politics in Bolivia can be a hazardous undertaking. Hundreds of reports of violence against women participating in politics attest to the risk. And while attacks go unpunished, a bill designed to protect the rights of women occupying public office has spent almost a decade in Congress waiting to be approved.
www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=49024

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PHILIPPINES: Storm-weary Farmers Suffer Huge Losses
By Prime Sarmiento
BAGUIO CITY, Philippines (IPS) – Café by the Ruins, a popular rustic restaurant situated in Baguio City, the Philippines’ famed mountain city resort, usually caters to tourists and residents who enjoy sipping their cups of brewed coffee while appreciating the artworks displayed on the café?s stone walls.
www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=48936

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GUATEMALA: Town that Suffered Military Terror Fights Reopening of Base
By Danilo Valladares
GUATEMALA CITY (IPS) – People in the town of Ixcán in northwestern Guatemala could relive the pain of the country’s 36-year civil war if the army reopens a military base in the area, where more than 100 massacres of indigenous villagers were committed during the armed conflict.
www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=48928

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RIGHTS-UGANDA: Female Circumcision Still a Vote Winner
By Wambi Michael
KAMPALA (IPS) – Over three decades ago a 14-year-old girl, her sister and a group of young teenagers from Bukwo headed to the River Amana for a ceremony that would change their lives forever.
www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=48915

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