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Creating New Human Right Standards Specific to IFIs The Need for New Standards We are very much in need of new human rights standards that apply directly and particularly to International Financial Institutions, especially multilateral development banks (MDBs). MDBs play a central role in the development and approval of large-scale, mega-development projects that have devastating effects on local communities. New...

On June 15, 2016, after nearly 30 years of advocacy and negotiation, the Organization of American States (OAS) adopted the American Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. The OAS is a regional intergovernmental organization of 35 member countries of the Americas, including the United States.The American Declaration offers specific protection for indigenous peoples in North America, Mexico, Central and...

The Center provides training and legal information in order to expand the number of Indian leaders and community members who participate in international human rights procedures. We help indigenous leaders to promote and defend their human rights, to use human rights law to change domestic law and to use their political power to change the United States’ policies concerning international...

Federal law concerning Indian and Alaska Native land—and Native nations in general—is terribly unjust and out of keeping with the Constitution and basic American values. Our Native Land Law project is focused on creating a fair and principled framework of law concerning the rights of Native Americans to their lands and resources—a framework consistent with the United States Constitution and...

The Indian Law Resource Center has been working for over 30 years to help the Mohawk Nation reclaim thousands of acres of land that is rightfully theirs. Nearly 200 years ago, the homelands of the Mohawk Nation were illegally taken from them by the State of New York, and the people were relegated to a remote reservation of only a...

We are continuing our work with the Yukon River Inter-Tribal Watershed Council. The number of indigenous governments joining the Watershed Council continues to grow, and there are now around sixty-five signatories to the treaty, an inter-tribal agreement committing indigenous governments from Alaska and the Yukon Territory to working together to clean up the River. Most of our work for the...

Multilateral development banks (MDBs) and some national development banks play a central role in the approval of large-scale development projects, such as dams and forestry initiatives, which have had devastating effects on indigenous peoples and other local communities. The Center works to ensure that these financial institutions respect the environment and human rights of indigenous peoples in all their development...

For more than 15 years, the Center has provided legal representation to the Assiniboine and Gros Ventre Tribes of the Fort Belknap Indian Reservation in their fight for environmental justice and clean-up of the contamination caused by the Zortman and Landusky gold mines adjacent to the Fort Belknap Reservation. Through lawsuits and public pressure, we helped the Tribes shut down...

Indian peoples constantly are engaged in a battle to maintain and protect traditional and cultural beliefs. They must have access to sacred sites and be allowed to practice their spiritual beliefs in peace. These are not merely cultural and spiritual concerns, but human rights that are identified and protected by international law. The Indian Law Resource Center helps Indian peoples...

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