Good governance and the advancement of human rights go hand in hand, as practical examples documented in the publication released by the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) illustrate.

The handbook includes 21 case studies of innovative governance reforms that have helped better protect human rights around the world, in developed as well as developing countries.

The studies explore the links between good governance and human rights in four different areas: democratic i more...

This paper discusses the implementation of the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP). The paper was presented at a summit in Japan and pays particular attention to the G8 and the role they can play. It is stressed that the UNDRIP should be the framework to guide the G8 in everything they do which impacts directly on indigenous peoples. As climate change, the global food crisis, financial instability and the present day conflicts are mainly caused by the economic and politic more...

From refugee to human rights activist - Binota Moy Dhamai, a Tripura from Bangladesh.

Impacted Indigenous Peoples

The A’ingae, or Cofan people, have lived between the Aguarico and Guamués rivers for centuries, long before the foundation of the Republics of Ecuador and Colombia, from the Azuela river up to the middle section of the Aguarico basin, and up to present-day Puerto Asís. The Cofan territory was next to the communities of the Siona and Tetetes nations. Long ago, the Cofan people amounted to 15,000 inhabitants (Ingita Gi A'indeccu'fa, 2002), and now, according to t more...

Indigenous peoples' traditional ownership and use of land and resources has often been eroded by protected areas. Their consent has rarely been sought for establishing protected areas on their lands, nor have they received adequate compensation. But are conservation organisations and government protected area agencies beginning to recognise the important role these peoples can play?

'There are more than 5,000 different indigenous peoples living in some 70 countries in the world. About 70 per cent of them are in Asia and the Pacific, mostly in rural areas. They often lack control over land and resources and face high levels of discrimination and poverty. ILO Online reports from the Philippines where indigenous peoples were able to organize themselves to have a stronger voice.'

'This paper highlights the problems and challenges faced by indigenous peoples. Based on IFAD's past experiences, it also makes suggestions on how to expand and deepen partnerships with governments and others in order to protect and promote indigenous peoples' rights.'

Indian tribes today vowed to fight to the death rather than leave their sacred mountain as the Supreme Court of India gave the go-ahead for controversial FTSE 100 Company Vedanta Resources to mine bauxite, from their home, the Niyamgiri hills in southern Orissa.

These stories are excerpts from the life experiences of four indigenous leaders who participated to the 2007 Spanish version of the OHCHR Indigenous Fellowship Programme. They wanted to share their story and a day of their lives just before they met: a day in the jungle, the mountains, the city and the desert. A day in which each of them devoted energy, passion and joy -the whole of their lives- to the protection of their rights.

A glance at media stories or listening to political discussion on indigenous affairs would suggest decades of policy have produced a quagmire of failure, where wellmeaning ideas battle with political ideologies and nobody wins. The truth, though, is somewhat more complicated — especially when use is made of historical official statistics.