New report reveals UN involvement in violent eviction of Indigenous people from World Heritage Sites
A recent report by Survival International has implicated the United Nations (UN) in the violent eviction of Indigenous people from six World Heritage Sites in Africa and Asia. These sites are often ancestral lands of Indigenous peoples that have been forcibly taken from them through intimidation and violence.
The report highlights several examples, including the Ngorongoro Conservation Area in Tanzania, where the Maasai population has faced arrests, torture, and theft of their cattle. The Maasai have also reported that the government has cut off health services in an attempt to force them off the land. Despite UNESCO’s 2010 decision that the Maasai population should remain within the capacity of the property, the Indigenous community continues to be subjected to human rights abuses.
In the Democratic Republic of Congo, UNESCO urged officials to remove illegal occupants from Kahuzi-Beiga National Park, resulting in the forced eviction of Indigenous Batwa people. A subsequent report revealed allegations of rape, murder, and brutal treatment of the Batwa by Congolese soldiers. The Indigenous community has expressed their determination to remain in their ancestral forest despite the violence and threats they face.
Similar evictions were also documented at Odzala-Kokoua National Park in the Republic of Congo, Kaziranga National Park in India, Chitwan National Park in Nepal, and Kaeng Krachan Forest Complex in Thailand. UNESCO has responded to these reports by stating that it upholds the rights of Indigenous people in managing World Heritage Sites but more action is needed to protect their rights.
Survival International director Caroline Pearce called for UNESCO to revoke World Heritage Status from any sites where such abuses are occurring. She emphasized that greater accountability is needed to ensure that indigenous peoples’ human rights are protected within these sites.
This new report sheds light on ongoing human rights violations faced by Indigenous communities living near or within World Heritage Sites around Africa and Asia. It calls for immediate action and greater accountability from both governments and international organizations like UNESCO to protect their rights and end these abuses once and for all.
Despite UNESCO’s claims about protecting indigenous peoples’ rights within these sites, this new report raises serious concerns about how these protections are being implemented on ground level.