News

Tribal Law and Order Act to Help Curb Epidemic of Violence
On July 30, 2010, President Obama signed the historic Tribal Law and Order Act into law. The Act is an important step towards ending the crisis of violence against Native women currently occurring on tribal lands.
U.S. Admits Violence Against Native Women is a Human Rights Issue

For the first time, the United States will participate in a Universal Periodic Report before the UN Human Rights Council.  The Universal Periodic Review (UPR) is a unique process to review the human rights records of all 192 UN member-states every four years.  Its ultimate goal is to improve...

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The Center Responds to Potential Policies Impacting Indigenous Peoples’ Human Rights

The International Finance Corporation (IFC) is the private sector lending arm of the World Bank.  It has some of the greatest impacts on indigenous communities around the world because it funds numerous multi-national companies and private actors.  The IFC is reviewing its processes in regards...

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Land Law Reform is Key to Finding Balance in Native Communities

A  few Indian nations have achieved  great wealth as a result of gaming enterprises, creating the impression that casinos can be a magic bullet for fixing the economic and social ills of Native communities.  But despite the  success of a few Indian nations, Indians continue to rank at the bottom...

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Native Lands Were Not Lost by "Discovery"

The idea that "discovery" of this continent by Europeans gave European countries ownership of Native lands is a myth that has been very detrimental to Indian and Alaska Native nations.  The Europeans did not discover this land, and they did not gain ownership of Native land by reason of...

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13th Anniversary of Guatemalan Peace Accords
Juanita Cabrera-Lopez, Indian Law Resource Center Program Assistant in our Washington, D.C. office, reflects on the 13th anniversary of the signing of the Peace Accords in Guatemala. Juanita is Maya Mam and was born in Guatemala.
IACHR celebrates 50th anniversary
The OAS held a special session on November 11th to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights
Anniversary of the UN Declaration: More must be done
A year ago, the international community at last officially recognized that indigenous peoples have a permanent right to exist as peoples, nations, cultures and societies when the U.N. General Assembly overwhelmingly adopted the U.N. Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples on Sept.13, 2007.
Declaration on Indigenous Rights Delayed.
During a meeting of the Third Committee of the United Nations General Assembly, Namibia sponsored a resolution asking for a delay in adoption of the declaration, saying it contradicted the national constitutions of a number of African countries.

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