News of Note 12/12/25: UN Sounds Alarm for Māori Rights, Climate-Impacted Tuvaluans Arrive in Australia, Ogiek Celebrate Court Decision

Top Stories

UN report sounds alarm over Māori rights in New Zealand (The Guardian)
“A United Nations committee has warned New Zealand is at serious risk of weakening Māori rights and entrenching disparities for the Indigenous population, in its most critical review of the country’s record on racial discrimination. [...] Its 14-page report, released on 5 December, expressed concerns over multiple government policies affecting Māori, including the disestablishment of the Māori Health Authority, cuts to public funding for Māori services and minimising the role of the Treaty of Waitangi – the country’s founding document that is instrumental in upholding Māori rights – in schools and governance arrangements.”

First climate migrants arrive in Australia from sinking Tuvalu in South Pacific (Reuters)
“The first climate migrants to leave the remote Pacific island nation of Tuvalu have arrived in Australia, hoping to preserve links to their sinking island home, foreign affairs officials said on Thursday. More than one-third of Tuvalu's 11,000 population applied for a climate visa to migrate to Australia, under a deal struck between the two countries two years ago.”

Ogiek celebrate Court decision: Kenyan government must “act without delay” (International Work Group for Indigenous Affairs)
“The African Court on Human and Peoples’ Rights issued a judgment on 4 December in favour of the Ogiek, ordering the Kenyan government to ‘take immediate steps and act without delay’ to fully comply with previous Court rulings. The Government of Kenya has not complied on any of the Court’s rulings from both the 2017 and 2022 decisions, including not paying any reparations, not implementing land demarcation and titling plans, and not fully recognizing the Ogiek as an Indigenous people, among other violations. The Court also ordered the government to fully respect its international obligations, which are paramount, and that national laws cannot be used by authorities to justify violations and non-compliance of Court orders or the African Charter.”

Debates Indígenas - December 2025

• Ecuador: Between Oligarchic Violence and Popular Majorities

• Two Models, One Same Paradox: Critical Minerals and Indigenous Self-determination in Sweden and Colombia

• Ñamnagün Mew Ta Pünon: Memories of Mapuche Women Relatives of the Detained-Disappeared

• When Sacred Land Meets the Law: Stories of Legal Resistance from Nepal and Colombia

• Political Victory for Challa: Bolivia’s New Autonomous Territorial Entity

• Diversity in Mexico: Towards an Intercultural Model

More News

• Gitxaala Nation Welcomes historic ruling on DRIPA and mineral tenure reform (CFNR Network)

• The Indigenous women changing the course of their communities (Mongabay)

• Defending Customary Territory: A Collective Conservation Initiative of the Daai Indigenous Peoples (International Work Group for Indigenous Affairs)

• Denmark will compensate Greenlandic women and girls who were forcibly given contraception (Associated Press)

• Indigenous Reindeer Herders in Sweden End Cooperation agreement with LKAB, Leaving Mining Plans Hanging in the Air (Gabna Sameby via Cultural Survival)

• Indigenous Guard across the Amazon unite forces to protect their territories (Reuters)

• The loggers and ranchers are closing in but still Brazil’s Kawahiva people wait for protection (The Guardian)

• Victorian government makes historic apology to Aboriginal people following signing of treaty (Australia Broadcasting Corporation)

• Republicans left tribes out of their $50B Rural Fund. Now it’s up to states to share (KFF Health News via ICT News)

• Louisiana is shrinking. Some tribes are fighting to protect what’s left of their communities (Associated Press)

• Hope, solidarity & disappointment: A familiar mix for Indigenous delegates at COP30 (Mongabay)