{"id":5278,"date":"2026-06-03T18:09:47","date_gmt":"2026-06-03T16:09:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/unsr.albertbarume.org\/site?p=5278"},"modified":"2026-06-04T18:13:58","modified_gmt":"2026-06-04T16:13:58","slug":"indigenous-peoples-gravely-vulnerable-to-ebola-epidemic-warn-un-independent-experts","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/unsr.albertbarume.org\/site?p=5278","title":{"rendered":"Indigenous Peoples gravely vulnerable to Ebola epidemic, warn UN independent experts"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"node-news__body\">\n<div class=\"wysiwyg-content field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item\">\n<p><strong><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\" wp-image-4823 alignleft\" src=\"https:\/\/unsr.albertbarume.org\/site\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/logo-sp-en-1.jpeg\" alt=\"\" width=\"174\" height=\"171\" srcset=\"https:\/\/unsr.albertbarume.org\/site\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/logo-sp-en-1.jpeg 350w, https:\/\/unsr.albertbarume.org\/site\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/logo-sp-en-1-300x294.jpeg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 174px) 100vw, 174px\" \/>GENEVA<\/strong>\u00a0\u2013 UN human rights experts* today expressed deep concern over the resurgence of the Ebola virus in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and Uganda, warning that the deadly virus predominantly impacts Indigenous Peoples.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDeclared a public health emergency of international concern by the World Health Organisation, the Ebola outbreak is most prominent within or near Indigenous Peoples\u2019 territories,\u201d the experts said.<\/p>\n<p>Highlighting the Pygmy Indigenous Peoples, the experts note that they often face structural exclusion. \u201cThese communities, whose way of life is mobile, depend closely on their territories and natural resources for their subsistence, identity and well-being. Moreover, their limited access to health services makes them particularly exposed to this epidemic.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The experts welcomed ongoing initiatives by concerned States to contain the outbreak. They called on other States, the international community and United Nations agencies engaged in this effort to ensure equitable and non-discriminatory access to healthcare, as well as to strengthen targeted support for Indigenous Peoples affected or at risk from this epidemic.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cResponses to Ebola must be guided by international standards relating to the rights of Indigenous Peoples, including their rights to health, equal protection and cultural identity. The particular vulnerability of Indigenous Peoples to this epidemic must be recognised and integrated into response strategies,\u201d the experts said.<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"node-news__text-block\">\n<div class=\"field field--name-field-components-list field--type-entity-reference-revisions field--label-hidden field__items\">\n<div class=\"field__item\">\n<div class=\"paragraph-bg-color paragraph para-text container paragraph--type--text-component paragraph--view-mode--default\">\n<div class=\"para-text--description wysiwyg-content\">\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 10pt; color: #808080;\"><strong>*The experts:<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<ul type=\"disc\">\n<li><span style=\"font-size: 10pt; color: #808080;\"><strong>Tlaleng Mofokeng<\/strong>,\u00a0<a style=\"color: #808080;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.ohchr.org\/en\/special-procedures\/sr-health\">Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health<\/a><\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-size: 10pt; color: #808080;\"><strong>Albert K. Barume<\/strong>,\u00a0<a style=\"color: #808080;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.ohchr.org\/en\/special-procedures\/sr-indigenous-peoples\">Special Rapporteur on the rights of Indigenous Peoples<\/a><\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 10pt; color: #808080;\">The Special Rapporteurs, Independent Experts and Working Groups are part of what is known as the\u00a0<a style=\"color: #808080;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.ohchr.org\/fr\/special-procedures-human-rights-council\">Special Procedures<\/a>\u00a0of the Human Rights Council. Special Procedures, the largest body of independent experts in the UN Human Rights system, is the general name of the Council\u2019s independent fact-finding and monitoring mechanisms that address either specific country situations or thematic issues in all parts of the world. Special Procedures\u2019 experts work on a voluntary basis; they are not UN staff and do not receive a salary for their work. They are independent from any government or organisation and serve in their individual capacity.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 10pt; color: #808080;\">UN Human Rights, country page \u2013\u00a0<a style=\"color: #808080;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.ohchr.org\/en\/countries\/democratic-republic-congo\">Democratic Republic of the Congo<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 10pt; color: #808080;\">For inquiries and media requests, please contact: Lilia Petrosyan,\u00a0<a style=\"color: #808080;\" href=\"mailto:Lilia.Petrosyan@un.org\">Lilia.Petrosyan@un.org<\/a><\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"font-size: 10pt; color: #808080;\">For media inquiries related to other UN independent experts, please contact Maya Derouaz (<a style=\"color: #808080;\" href=\"mailto:maya.derouaz@un.org\">maya.derouaz@un.org<\/a>) or Dharisha Indraguptha (<a style=\"color: #808080;\" href=\"mailto:dharisha.indraguptha@un.org\">dharisha.indraguptha@un.org<\/a>)<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 10pt; color: #808080;\">Follow news related to the UN\u2019s independent human rights experts on X:\u00a0<a style=\"color: #808080;\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/UN_SPExperts\">@UN_SPExperts<\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>GENEVA\u00a0\u2013 UN human rights experts* today expressed deep concern over the resurgence of the Ebola virus in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and Uganda, warning that the deadly virus predominantly impacts Indigenous Peoples. \u201cDeclared a public health emergency of international concern by the World Health Organisation, the Ebola outbreak is most prominent within\u2026 <span class=\"read-more\"><a href=\"https:\/\/unsr.albertbarume.org\/site?p=5278\">Read More &raquo;<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":4823,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[385,386,387],"class_list":["post-5278","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-press-releases","tag-ebola","tag-health","tag-republica-democratica-del-congo"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/unsr.albertbarume.org\/site\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5278","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/unsr.albertbarume.org\/site\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/unsr.albertbarume.org\/site\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/unsr.albertbarume.org\/site\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/unsr.albertbarume.org\/site\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=5278"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/unsr.albertbarume.org\/site\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5278\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5279,"href":"https:\/\/unsr.albertbarume.org\/site\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5278\/revisions\/5279"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/unsr.albertbarume.org\/site\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/4823"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/unsr.albertbarume.org\/site\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=5278"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/unsr.albertbarume.org\/site\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=5278"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/unsr.albertbarume.org\/site\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=5278"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}