What Are the United States of Kailasa? The self-proclaimed Hindu religious leader Nithyananda Paramashivam claims to be the founder in 2019 of the United States of Kailasa. Kailasa is said to be located in Latin America, on an island near the Galapagos archipelago in Ecuador, according to a report by the BBC. Vistazo magazine in…
Mining represents a serious threat to indigenous communities in the state of Oaxaca, Mexico. In the Central Valleys, 12 communities have organized to confront this problem and to defend their territories and dignity. However, despite presenting evidence, testimonies, and records, and in violation of the communities’ right to self-determination, the federal government, through the Mexican Ministry…
On November 28th, various social sectors, social organizations, and citizens took to the streets to celebrate the Supreme Court’s ruling of unconstitutionality of Mining Law 406. Over a month of resistance and street protests by different sectors positioned social sectors against mining extractivism due to a series of consequences in economic, environmental, human rights and…
After a long hiatus, Awasqa is on its way to a new phase. Based on its original objectives of promoting linguistic justice and participatory communication for indigenous peoples in Abya Yala, at Awasqa we took the initiative to redesign its website. This will allow us to create a more collaborative process to make Awasqa a…
SOURCE: http://aidesep.org.pe/node/13825, originally posted on March 4, translated to English by Awasqa. Declaration by the Asociación Interétnica de Desarrollo de la Selva Peruana (AIDESEP) The Peruvian Constitutional Court’s recent ruling on Case 03066-2019-PA/TC disregards its own jurisprudence and appears to be a mere opinion, with no more than two lines worth of legal or factual basis.…
FROM THE EDITORS: Please find below an interview with Carlos Goncalvez, radio journalist at Cáritas about the current situation in Paraguay of evictions and criminalization of peasant and indigenous communities. AWASQA: Carlos, what is the current situation in Paraguay with a president linked to agribusiness and laws that generate social conflicts CARLOS GONCALVEZ: Maiteí (greeting in Guaraní),…
Awasqa: You participated in COP26. Tell us a little about your experience as a member of the organizations Andrés Tapia: We participated as part of COICA (Coordinadora de las Organizaciones Indígenas de la Cuenca Amazónica) as part of the nine countries that represent the Amazon basin, that is, we were able to participate in COP26…
Representatives of indigenous organizations continue to fight to have their voices and perspectives heard during the COP26 negotiations and climate crisis solutions. Civil and environmental organizations have denounced that governments and large corporations have left them out of many of the most important decisions, such as the carbon market and financing structures for climate adaptation…
FROM THE EDITORS: Last April, the House of Representatives approved reforms to Mexico’s Health Law to regulate traditional and complementary medicine. Several indigenous and civil society groups have rejected the reforms, calling the law unconstitutional for violating the right of indigenous people to free, prior, and informed consent. Traditional indigenous medicine and practices, including midwifery,…
Nicaragua faces a human rights crisis that is particularly bitter towards indigenous nations. From April 2018 to August 2021, there have been 32 murders of indigenous peoples. According to the Center for Legal Assistance to Indigenous Peoples (CALPI), the most recent incident was the massacre of at least 15 indigenous Miskitos and Mayangnas on August…