Statement of
Dr. Albert Kwokwo Barume
Special Rapporteur on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples at the
Meeting with the European Parliament Sub-committee on Human Rights
Brussels 14 May 2025
Introduction
Esteemed Members of the European Parliament
It is an honour to be able to address you and let me start by commending the EU and its institutions’ contribution to implementation of Indigenous Peoples’ rights over the years.
In this briefing-note Statement, I would like to touch upon the following 4 points:
- Global human rights context and Indigenous Peoples
- Criminalisation of Indigenous Peoples
- Transition minerals and rights of Indigenous Peoples
- Short overview of my work as UN Special Rapporteur on the rights of Indigenous Peoples
1.- Human rights global context: Indigenous Peoples likely to pay a heavy price
Indigenous Peoples’ rights do not exist in vacuum. My mandate comes at a time, when fundamental human rights principles of equality, non-discrimination, self-determination and friendly international relations are under attack. Conceived after the Second World War, these principles are the foundation of the rule-bound world order that guarantees for all persons, Nations and States the right to exist and to be treated with dignity, regardless of their wealth, skin colour, religious beliefs, gender, culture, population size or geographical location. These principles bind all humans, Peoples and States together as one big human family of over 8 billion members who care for one other, as proclaimed in the Preamble of the United Nations Declaration on Human Rights: “…recognition of the inherent dignity and of the equal and inalienable rights of all members of the human family constitutes the foundation of freedom, justice and peace in the world.”.
Today, these human rights principles are still standing, but we begin to see the contours of the chaos that would arise if these were to collapse and humanity becoming disunited. If these global values and principles were to collapse, humanity would be disunited and left as a mosaic of Peoples, Nations, States and individuals fighting each other and vulnerable to exploitation by more powerful actors. In such a global context, social weaker groups like Indigenous Peoples would pay the highest price. An African proverb says that when elephants are fighting, little trees pay most of the price.
I see an opportunity in this challenge; it is time to stand up for the fundamental human rights principles that we may have taken for granted; it is time to reaffirm the centrality of human rights in international relations; and it is time to establish strong alliances and partnerships, and to urge those with influence and resources to REINVEST in human rights at all levels.
The European Union has a key role to play in making this wake-up call. I call upon the EU to lead on calling European States and the World to RECOMMIT TO and INVEST IN HUMAN RIGHTS, with particular attention to Indigenous Peoples.
2.- Criminalisation of Indigenous Peoples and reprisals against Indigenous human rights defenders
The criminalization of Indigenous Peoples is increasing at an alarming rate in many regions. Individuals and entire Indigenous Nations asserting their rights are being labelled as adversaries or threats to States and investment opportunities.
Indigenous People are frequently arrested, detained, sentenced, and even killed. The 2023/2024 Front Line Report indicates that 13% of the human rights defenders killed in 2023 were Indigenous peoples. This is alarmingly disproportionate considering that Indigenous Peoples represent around 5% of the World’s population.
I am particularly concerned about the labelling of Indigenous Peoples as “terrorists”, “extremists”, or “enemies of States”. This reflects a triple victimisation of Indigenous Peoples. First, Indigenous Peoples in remote areas are victims of State neglect; secondly, they become victims of occupation by extremist groups, insurgents, or criminal gangs; thirdly, they become victims of criminalization by the State.
My call is for States to change the paradigm and see the opportunity to work with Indigenous Peoples as partners for peace and international security, including against climate change.
There is potential in building on Indigenous Peoples’ rights to self-determination and work with them as partners to address and counter extremism, radicalism, criminal networks and depletion of livelihoods that exposes youth to recruitment by negative forces. Indigenous Peoples’ detailed traditional knowledge of terrains and the resilience of their traditional institutions are untapped potentials for the protection of territories. Indigenous Peoples could become the FIRST LINE of international security and diplomacy infrastructure. I call for a Security Council’s Resolution on Indigenous Peoples and international security, with a particular attention to Indigenous women and girls. After all, the UN Declaration was adopted to positively reshape the relationship between States and Indigenous Peoples.
3.- Indigenous Peoples’ rights to lands and resources, climate change, businesses and transition minerals
Indigenous Peoples’ rights to lands and resources differ from the typical property rights recognized by many other groups and individuals. For Indigenous Peoples, lands and resources are not viewed as mere commodities that can be acquired, mortgaged, or exchanged.
Indigenous Peoples’ rights to lands and resources are grounded in their right to self- determination and the binding norm of non-racial discrimination under international law, as reaffirmed by Article 2 of the UNDRIP:
“Indigenous peoples and individuals are free and equal to all other peoples and individuals and have the right to be free from any kind of discrimination, in the exercise of their rights, in particular that based on their indigenous origin or identity.”
Lands and resources are the bedrock for Indigenous Peoples’ cultural identities and livelihoods. Several court rulings have even established a connection between Indigenous Peoples’ land rights and their members’ right to life. Due to this importance, lands and resources for Indigenous Peoples are protected by a procedural right known as Free, Prior and Informed Consent (FPIC).
FPIC consists of the right to give or withhold consent; and as a safeguard right it raises significant concerns when implemented in the absence of the substantive rights it intends to protect. FPIC extends beyond mere consultation; it requires engaging in genuine and meaningful negotiations conducted in good faith, recognizing Indigenous Peoples as rights holders likely to be affected by a project or initiative. Without FPIC Indigenous Peoples’ rights are at great risks of violation.
Over the past few months, I have already received information about numerous cases of violations of Indigenous Peoples’ rights in the context of business activities.
The history of violations of Indigenous Peoples’ rights because of economic and business interests is long and has been unfolding in all regions in both colonial and post-colonial times.
Sadly, many of the contemporary violations are occurring in the context of green transition, as the world tries to counter the devastating effects of climate change.
The paradox here is four-fold:
- Indigenous Peoples have contributed the least to climate change, because of their sustainable livelihood practices, yet
- They are among those most affected by climate change given their direct dependency on land and natural resources;
- They still manage and protect ecosystems (such as forests and grasslands) that are critical for mitigating climate change, and now;
- They are being forced to absorb many of the negative consequences of the green transition.
The latter occurs, when large-scale energy projects are located on Indigenous Peoples’ lands, or when transition minerals are extracted without consent or benefits. We already see the proliferation of conflicts – and these will only increase in coming years, as we know that 50% of transition minerals are found on Indigenous lands [1]. In the worst cases, we see Indigenous human rights defenders losing their lives in the struggle to defend their territories.
We know what it takes, to reverse this situation: we need strong and human rights-based regulatory frameworks that require respect for the rights of Indigenous Peoples to self- determination, including FPIC. Such regulatory frameworks is the only way to create the enabling environment that will allow us to work with Indigenous Peoples as partners in our efforts to mitigate climate changes.
In this context, I want to commend the EU for passing legislation that may provide more options to Indigenous Peoples who suffer human rights and environmental impacts caused by companies linked to the EU:
- The EU Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (CSDDD)[2] , which requires large companies based in or operating in the EU to conduct human rights and environmental due diligence, by identifying, assessing and addressing human rights and environmental impacts linked to their value chains – including impacts on the rights of Indigenous Peoples as enshrined in UNDRIP and specifically highlighting the right to Free, Prior and Informed Consent.
- The EU Deforestation Regulation (EUDR)[3] , which places conditions on the sale in the EU of commodities closely linked to deforestation.
Let me in this context mention the EU Critical Raw Materials Act [4] , which has a specific article, requiring that projects with the potential to affect Indigenous Peoples develop a plan for meaningful consultation about minimisation of adverse impacts, compensation as well as “measures to address the outcomes of the consultation” [5.]
What is notably absent from this new EU standard, is a clear obligation to seek and obtain the free, prior and informed consent of Indigenous Peoples – as required under the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. Indigenous Peoples, including from the European Union, have already reached out to me, underlining this shortcoming of the Critical Raw Materials Act.
This carries the risk that strategic projects to extract critical raw materials do not comply with international standards of Indigenous Peoples’ rights, and would be in violation of ILO Convention No. 169, which has been ratified by a number of EU member states [6]. Moreover, this omission will undoubtedly perpetuate the historical situation of mistrust and conflict between Indigenous Peoples, companies and States, rather than providing the basis for the partnerships needed for a just transition.
Let me therefore recommend that the EU aligns its regulations with the standards enshrined in the UNDRIP which, as states in article 43, constitute: the minimum standard for the survival, dignity and well-being of the Indigenous Peoples of the world.
4.- Short overview of my Mandate as the UN Special Rapporteur on the rights of Indigenous Peoples
I took on the mandate as Special Rapporteur in January 2025, following my appointment by the United Nations Human Rights Council. The Special Rapporteur mandate is designed to amplify the voices of Indigenous Peoples; to convey their claims and concerns and to insist that States comply with their international human rights obligations – and also to assist them in doing so, by offering technical guidance and recommendations.
Allow me to highlight some of the priorities that I will focus on in the coming months:
Thematic studies
As Special Rapporteur, I produce two thematic annual reports, one to the UN General Assembly and another to the UN Human Rights Council. This year, my first report will be on recognition of Indigenous Peoples as rights-holders by States. One would think that nearly 20 years after the adoption of the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, we would no longer have to discuss who Indigenous Peoples are. Yet, across the globe, there are governments who are hiding behind this question, with a view to denying Indigenous Peoples the recognition of the rights , which are remedial measures to overcome the historical injustices and discrimination they have suffered.
The term “Indigenous Peoples” is a human rights concept devised to redress racial discriminations used as tools to dispossess certain peoples of their lands and annihilate their cultures. These concerned historical injustices tend to demean the victims and their cultures as racially or culturally inferior, backwards and unable to govern themselves or enjoy sovereign rights over their lands, territories and resources. These pernicious injustices have affected not only the bodies but also the minds, and the trauma caused is transgenerational; altering Indigenous Peoples’ self-esteem; making them feel worthless and, in many cases, pushing them into alcohol or drug abuse, high rate of suicide and homelessness. In many countries, Indigenous Peoples were and continue to be considered incapable of bringing up their own children and still, Indigenous children are often ridiculed at schools; they drop out of studies at early stage; and are forced into feeling ashamed of their cultural identity, names and languages. Indigenous women were, and continue to be, particularly vulnerable as they suffer from multiple discriminations, including forced sterilisation. Although these injustices have caused disproportionately high poverty rates among Indigenous Peoples, it is crucial to recognize that Indigenous Peoples have endured far more destructive and insidious harm than mere poverty.
Most groups that self-identity as “Indigenous Peoples” were victims of external colonisation; but there are also those who became victims of similar situations of domination in post-colonial States. The focus is therefore no longer exclusively on “who inhabited first a given land or territory” or “who was colonised”; but on the particular historical suffering that Indigenous Peoples have experienced.
In Africa for instance, the African Commission Human and Peoples’ Rights (the Regional Human Rights mechanism) concluded also that not all African traditional communities or minorities can claim to have suffered or continue to suffer from such dispossession of ancestral lands grounded in racism against their being and cultures. It therefore concluded that in Africa the term “Indigenous People” : (1) is a human rights concept; (2) it does not mean being first inhabitant of a given land or country in exclusion of other groups; (3) it refers to a limited number of traditional communities, mostly hunter-gatherers and nomadic pastoralists, that suffer from racially-tainted particular discrimination; and (4) it does not mean any minority or marginalised community.
My second report will be on registration, demarcation and titling of Indigenous Peoples’ lands.
It is my hope that these reports will be technical tools that EU Member States and institutions can refer to, including as they engage in human rights dialogues with countries that are yet to recognise Indigenous Peoples’ rights.
In conclusion, I would like to make the following recommendations the to the European Union:
- Introducing into its Critical Raw Materials Act strong unequivocal provisions guaranteeing the right to Free, Prior and Informed Consent (FPIC) for Indigenous Peoples.
- Leading on recognition and protection of Indigenous Peoples in its global programmes and strategies, including on climate change.
- Update its policy on Indigenous Peoples, taking into consideration recent evolutions and regional trends on Indigenous Peoples’ rights.
- Reinvest in human rights in general and those of Indigenous Peoples in particular.
I, once more, thank you for this opportunity and look forward to a continuing interaction with your Institution, the European Parliament, on Indigenous Peoples’ rights.
I THANK YOU
***
NOTES:
[2]Available here: https://eur-lex.europa.eu/eli/dir/2024/1760/oj
[4] Available here: https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=OJ:L_202401252
[5] Full article: Article 7.1.(j): for projects with the potential to affect indigenous peoples, a plan containing measures dedicated to a meaningful consultation of the affected indigenous peoples about the prevention and minimisation of the adverse impacts on indigenous rights and, where appropriate, fair compensation for those peoples, as well as measures to address the outcomes of the consultation.
[6] See relevant article here: https://www.thebarentsobserver.com/news/eus-raw-materials-plan- an-attack-on-indigenous-land-and-culture-says-saami-council/427712
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