This is an interview with Thetis Mangahas, Chief Technical Adviser and Programme Manager of the International Labour Organization Mekong Sub-Regional Project to Combat Trafficking in Children and Women, ILO-IPEC's largest technical cooperation project on trafficking in the Asian Region. She is co-organizer of The Mekong Children's Forum on Human Trafficking which took place in Bangkok, Thailand, in October 2004. Subtitled "Poverty and the Attractions of a Consumer Lifestyle Are Major Factors in more...

The Mekong Regional Indigenous Child Rights Home (MRICRH) is an NGO based in northern Thailand that provides a half-way house and protective services for indigenous children vulnerable to human trafficking. The group works with 14 hill tribes, including the Akha, Lau, Hmong, Karen, Mabralee, Thai yai
Thai Leu and Khog Min Tang (Jin Hor),as well as indigenous groups from China,
Myanmar, Nepal, Vietnam, Cambodia, Lao PDR, and Malaysia. Around 90 children per year receive shelter at the MRICRH more...

This impressive research report (pdf) was commissioned by Physicians for Human Rights and published in June 2004. Subtitled "Health and HIV/AIDS Risks for Burmese and Hill Tribe Women and Girls," it contains thorough background on the legal status of indigenous hill tribe women and girls in Burma and Thailand. It describes how indigenous hill tribe women, who are denied citizenship in both Burma and Thailand, are put at risk of unsafe migration when they leave their villages because they lack more...

The International Cancun Declaration of Indigenous Peoples was issued during the 5th WTO Ministerial Conference in Cancun, Quintana Roo, Mexico, 12 September 200. The declaration sought to draw attention to the impact of global trade agreements on indigenous people, especially to food insecurity, worsening poverty and loss of land, culture and identity. Signatories to the declaration represented a wide range of indigenous peoples, including Asian Indigenous Women's Network, Cordillera Peoples A more...

The focus of this paper "Sustainable Tenancy for Indigenous Families: What Services and Policy Supports Are Needed?" looks at patterns of homelessness for aboriginal women in Western Australia as a way to understand housing concerns for indigenous families. Examining the concepts of home and homelessness from an indigenous perspective, the authors assert that there is incompatibility between the indigenous concept of 'home' and cultural norms such as sleeping, cooking and eating in public spaces more...

The PEP Project aims to empower young women and girls who are not part of the formal education system but who represent one of the most vulnerable groups in Togo. The project works in two cities in the Maritime Region of southern Togo: Lomé and Vogan.

The first World Forum on Human Rights, supported by UNESCO, was held in Nantes, France, from 16-19 May, 2004. The three main themes for the meeting were Terrorism and Human Rights; Globalization and the Struggle Against All Forms of Discrimination and Exclusion; and Poverty as a Violation of Human Rights. This is the forum's homepage for background.

El 4, 5 y 6 de Marzo de 2004, tuvo lugar este Taller en Formosa, Argentina. Se trabajó en torno a la adecuación de la legislación medio ambiental vigente con los derechos de los pueblos indígenas. Se insistió en la necesidad de asegurar una participación plena y efectiva de las comunidades en los procesos de formulación de proyectos realizados o a realizarse en territorios indígenas, para un pleno y efectivo co-manejo del ambiente y sus recursos naturales. Resultado del Taller fue la ela more...

This speech (word file) by Mirian Masaquiza was presented in New York in February 2004 as part of the NGO / DPI Panel. The theme of the UN Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues in New York from May 10-22, indigenous women have always been part of the indigenous peoples struggles, whether nationally or at international fora.

Extracto de la intervencion realizada para las Organizaciones No-Gubernamentales de la ONU, organizada por el Departamento de Publicacion e Informacion de la ONU.New York, Febrero 5 del 2004