Victoria Tauli-Corpuz
Victoria Tauli-Corpuz
Victoria Tauli-Corpuz
Victoria Tauli-Corpuz
Victoria Tauli-Corpuz is the UN Special Rapporteur on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, a position she has held since 2014. An indigenous leader hailing from the Kankanaey Igorot community in the Philippines’ Cordillera region, she has been fighting for the rights of Indigenous Peoples and rural women since the 1970s, when she helped build an indigenous movement that successfully stopped major dam and logging projects in the Cordillera region.
Since then, Tauli-Corpuz has founded and managed several civil society organizations dedicated to the advancement of indigenous and women’s rights, including the Tebtebba Foundation, of which she serves as founder and executive director. In addition to her duties as UN Special Rapporteur, Tauli-Corpuz also serves as an expert for the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, an adviser for the Third World Network, and a member of the United Nations Development Programme Civil Society Organizations Advisory Committee.
In March 2018, Tauli-Corpuz was placed on a list of “terrorists” by the Philippine government, alongside hundreds of other indigenous and human rights defenders, as retaliation for speaking up against the Duterte administration’s human rights violations. She remains in exile from her native Philippines, and continues to fight for Indigenous Peoples, local communities, and women around the world.
Victoria Tauli-Corpuz is the UN Special Rapporteur on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, a position she has held since 2014. An indigenous leader hailing from the Kankanaey Igorot community in the Philippines’ Cordillera region, she has been fighting for the rights of Indigenous Peoples and rural women since the 1970s, when she helped build an indigenous movement that successfully stopped major dam and logging projects in the Cordillera region.
Since then, Tauli-Corpuz has founded and managed several civil society organizations dedicated to the advancement of indigenous and women’s rights, including the Tebtebba Foundation, of which she serves as founder and executive director. In addition to her duties as UN Special Rapporteur, Tauli-Corpuz also serves as an expert for the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, an adviser for the Third World Network, and a member of the United Nations Development Programme Civil Society Organizations Advisory Committee.
In March 2018, Tauli-Corpuz was placed on a list of “terrorists” by the Philippine government, alongside hundreds of other indigenous and human rights defenders, as retaliation for speaking up against the Duterte administration’s human rights violations. She remains in exile from her native Philippines, and continues to fight for Indigenous Peoples, local communities, and women around the world.
The Problem of Overlap: The Panamanian government stalls on indigenous land titling on protected areas
by Christine Halvorson
Rainforest Foundation US
The Problem of Overlap: The Panamanian government stalls on indigenous land titling on protected areas
by Christine Halvorson
Rainforest Foundation US
The Problem of Overlap: The Panamanian government stalls on indigenous land titling on protected areas
by Christine Halvorson
Rainforest Foundation US
The Problem of Overlap: The Panamanian government stalls on indigenous land titling on protected areas
by Christine Halvorson
Rainforest Foundation US
The Problem of Overlap: The Panamanian government stalls on indigenous land titling on protected areas
by Christine Halvorson
Rainforest Foundation US
Organization: Centro de Derechos Humanos de la Montaña
Community: Tlapa de Comonfort
Spokesperson Name: Abel Barrera
Organization: ONG Derechos Humanos y Medio Ambiente
Spokesperson Name: : Jose Bayardo Chata Pacoricona (10:50-18:16)
Testimonials
The Following individuals testified at the Special Rapporteur’s criminalization summit in Geneva in March 2018, or submitted written testimony for inclusion in this website. Click on each individual’s country name or photograph for photo, audio, and/or written testimony.
Jorge Nahuel
Confederación Mapuche de Neuquén
"We are not protesting or simply expressing our discontent. We are exercising a right."
Keikabile Mogodu
Botswana Khwedom Council
“When I come as an indigenous person, it’s very difficult for the government to listen to me.”
Inaye Gomes Lopes
Aty Guaso Kaiowa E Guarani
"There are a lot of people dying in Brazil. Well, not dying; they are being killed."
Aida Marina Vivas
ONIC (Organización Nacional Indígena de Colombia)
“I have a bulletproof vest, but I almost never use it. Why? Because I do not think that’s the solution that will allow me to live without having to wear one.”
Aura Lolita Chávez Ixcaquic
Consejo de Pueblos K’iche’ por la Defensa de la Vida, Madre Naturaleza, Tierra y Territorio (Council of K'iche' People for the Defense of Life, Mother Nature, Land and Territory)
“We are expected to reach an agreement with the perpetrators of these crimes.”
Alfred Brownell
Founder, Green Advocates
“It’s a lawyer's nightmare. You are trapped in this vicious circle of defending your clients against criminalization and there is hardly time to pursue their complaints in a judicial forum.”
Rodrigo Lauracio Apaza
ONG Derechos Humanos y Medio Ambiente
“Unfortunately, many organizations have—ironically—reached the conclusion that, unless some lives are lost, the state will not take action.”
José Bayardo Chata Pacoricona
ONG Derechos Humanos y Medio Ambiente
“Businesses can find ways to protect their own interests. But, what mechanisms do we have as Indigenous Peoples when our rights have been affected?”