By Angela Martinez and Luminita Cuna
As 2017 marks the 10th anniversary of the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP), the 16th session of the UN Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues (UNPFII) focused on the achievements and challenges of implementing the Declaration. Although UNDRIP has been integrated at regional, national and international levels, the UNPFII and the Expert Group Meeting on the implementation of UNDRIP in January 2017 showed that there are still many gaps that need to be addressed.
Violence Against Indigenous Peoples is Rampant
The Special Rapporteur on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, Vicky Tauli-Corpuz, noted in January this year that there are still “very serious retreats in how rights are implemented”. She has witnessed herself many instances where lands from Indigenous Peoples have been grabbed by the private sector and extractive industries. One critical situation still unravelling is the stigmatization, persecution and criminalization of Indigenous Peoples and their protests. She pointed out that in the 2015 Global Witness report, On Dangerous Ground, that out of the 185 killings related to land and environmental defense, 40% of the victims were Indigenous Peoples. According to the 2016 Frontline Defenders, Annual Report of Human Rights Defenders at Risk, 281 rights defenders were murdered in 25 countries, 49% of these defenders were struggling to defend land, indigenous and environmental rights.
![Photo:Luminita Cuna](https://internationalfunders.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/IMG_20170424_112636-300x300.jpg)
Photo:Luminita Cuna