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18.06.2019

Video statement series launched: Indigenous partners demand ILO169 ratification

Last week Climate Alliance published a video message from Gregorio Mirabal, president of COICA, the umbrella organisation for indigenous peoples of Amazonia. In the video, Mirabal urges the German Government to ratify International Labour Organisation’s Convention No. 169 – as stipulated in German’s 2018 Coalition Government Agreement. "It is important for a European country like Germany, which is committed to a new vision of energy use, for the fight against climate change," stresses Mirabal.

The Convention is the only international norm to date that guarantees indigenous peoples legally binding protection and entitlement to a wide range of fundamental rights. The International Labour Organisation also calls on states such as Germany, where no indigenous peoples live, to ratify the Convention. Ratification helps protect indigenous peoples’ rights and raises awareness of these rights internationally while also contributing to climate protection.

This is the first of a number of statements that Climate Alliance will publish on the way to the International Day of Indigenous Peoples on 9 August.

Today, Climate Alliance and its indigenous partners are in Bonn to stand up for indigenous rights at the SBSTA, one of the most important preparatory meetings of the UN Climate Conference.

Further information

Photo: Gregorio Mirabal during the SBSTA in Bonn