Below is an article published by Human Rights Watch: This week [24 June 2019], Rwandan President Paul Kagame sat down for a joint France 24 interview with the European Union’s development commissioner to discuss some of his country’s efforts to eradicate poverty. But soon, the conversation – which took place on the margins of the European Commission’s European Development...
In the context of the 2019 European Development Days, Rwanda’s President Paul Kagame sat down with EU Development Commissioner Neven Mimica for a joint interview to discuss Rwanda’s development...
Below is an article published by Renaissance ACTU: On May 3, 2019, Marasa Umubano Hotel in Kigali held the launch of the findings of the Baseline study on the Status of Inclusion and Involvement...
Below is an article published by The Washington Post: Twenty-five years ago this month [April 2019], extremists from the Hutu ethnic group in Rwanda mounted a genocide that killed 800,000...
The following article was published by GoFundMe AIMPO (African Initiative for Mankind Progress Organisation) needs to raise $10,000 to buy land for a school for Batwa children in Rwanda and I am writing...
The following article was published by the Daily Monitor A woman in a black skirt and a red and black jacket despite the hot sun emerges out of a soot-coated house with no door. With half of a cabbage...
The article blow was published by intercontinentalcry.org: During the night of June 27, 2018, a Batwa neighborhood in the southern province of Rwanda was ambushed by a neighboring town, leaving one dead...
This article was originally published by New Vision: Three decades after being displaced, the Batwa and Benets also known as indigenous people are still landless. Today, climate change has created benefits...
This article has been published by The Kampala Post Scola Tumwebaze,21 is a second-year student at Bishop Baham University in Kabale District. A Mutwa by tribe, one of the minority ethnicities in Uganda,...
This article has been published by Minority Voices. In 2016-2017, African Initiative for Mankind Progress Organisation (AIMPO) conducted out survey on Batwa with disabilities, thanks...
In the context of post-genocide Rwanda, raising the topic of the rights of the Batwa is always sensitive, and even forbidden in public spaces. However, this part of the country’s population, representing...
Below is an article found in Chwezitraveller: Emmanuel Tezimana sits quietly on a tree root, looking sad and depressed. The father of two is not wearing a shirt, and his trousers are in tatters. Three...
The article below was published by: Reuters Sixteen-year-old Elisée Nyanokonzo used to be afraid to walk alone around the streets of Mbandaka, the crumbling provincial of Équateur Province...
Below is an article by SPIEGEL Christian Nakulire was shot to death on the morning of August 26. He was walking in Kahuzi-Biéga National Park in eastern Congo with his father, looking for plants...
Below is an article published by Mongabay An organization that advocates on behalf of forests and forest peoples, Forest Peoples Programme (FPP), says that a key land reform issue is to blame for...
“Fog of Bwindi” tells the story of the Batwa, who for thousands of years lived peacefully as hunter-gatherers in the Bwindi forest within the southwestern region of Uganda. In 1991, the...
This 24-minute film traces the struggle of the Batwa pygmies in Bwindi Forest following their eviction from their ancestral forest lands. Director Anna Bohlmark, a columnist and narrative movie...
The article below was published by Ecofin Agency: In Burundi, the Batwa ethnic minority denounces its exclusion from land ownership, as compared to Hutu and Tutsi majorities. An injustice...
The following article was published by The Hindu: The next time you marvel at the mountain gorillas at the national park in Uganda, you would do well to do a bit of soul searching. Laudable...
The article below was published by New Vision: “Cry not fellow countrymen for the lost forest,” the minister of state for tourism consoled the Batwa community in Bwindi Impenetrable Forest....
The article below was published by Survival International: A Batwa “Pygmy” man is facing up to five years in prison for hunting a small antelope inside Uganda’s Bwindi Impenetrable...
The following article was published by AllAfrica: Joseph Ngizwenimana is from the Rubavu district of Rwanda. He belongs to the Batwa community which is considered among the Marginalised...
The following article was published by Intercontinental Cry: In 1992, as pressure from international conservation groups to protect the great forests of Uganda mounted, the indigenous...
Below is an article published by UNICEF: “My life has been so hard. I have been living in fear all the time. Since the beginning of the previous war in 1993, me and my family had to move from one...
Below is an article published by the Minority Rights Group International: Minority Rights Group International (MRG) welcomes the recent decision of the High Court of Gitega in Burundi to enforce a 1975...
The article below was published in BBC News: Two decades ago Batwa pygmies were thrown out of their native forests in Uganda to make way for the country's mountain gorilla tourism. Tommy Trenchard...
Below is an article published by All Africa. Expulsion of Rwanda’s Batwa people from their forest habitat has forced them to live as beggars and put them in danger of “extinction,”...
Below is an article by the AllAfrica: According to the Minority Rights Group International (MRG), marginalised groups around the world have been adversely affected by exploitation of the resources...
Below is an article published by the United Nations. In 1994, more than 800,000 people were systematically murdered throughout Rwanda. The vast majority were Tutsi, but moderate Hutu, Twa...
During the mission, thanks to the collaboration of the Young Women Christian’s Association (YWCA), one of UNPO’s partners in Rwanda, the Secretariat’s representative had the chance to...
Below is an article published by This is Africa: A man, Kihanga, had three sons named Katutsi, Kahutu and Katwa. One day he called his three sons and gave each of them a gourd full of milk....
Below is an article published by Daily Monitor: The Batwa (pygmies) from Bwindi forest in south western Uganda have asked government to grant them slots in Parliament one of the special interest...
Below is an article published by All Africa: To say that the Batwa people, a pygmy tribe in Uganda, are struggling seems an understatement. Driven from its ancestral forest in 1992, the tribe...
The Batwa (known, pejoratively as “pygmies” in the west because of their height) are one of the oldest surviving tribes in Africa, but their culture, identity and language are under increasing...
Below is an article published by Vice News: Perched on a ladder made of branches leaning against a large tree, the pygmy hunter slowly raises his bow towards the thick canopy of the equatorial...
The Guardian published a video outlining the dire situation faced by the Batwa.
Below is an article published by Uganda Radio Network: They are described as, "Easy to maintain," because they do not ask for or need soap, vaseline and other modern amenities. You do...
Below is a press release by Minority Rights Group International: As Rwanda commences its week of mourning [week of 7 April 2014] to mark 20 years after the genocide, Minority Rights Group International...
Violence against women takes many forms – physical, psychological, economic and sexual – and not only does it affect the health of the concerned women, it also diminishes their ability...
Below is an article published by UN OHCHR: The Batwa, who make up approximately 1 per cent of the Burundi population, have historically lived as hunters and gatherers in the equatorial forests of Africa,...
Below is an article published by NewVision: Agnes Kacho comes from Kengoma village, about eight hours’ walk from Bwindi. At 16 months, she was brought to Bwindi Community Hospital (BCH) with muscle...
On Friday August 9th a demonstration was held on the Dam square in Amsterdam to raise awareness about the abuse of indigenous people all over the world. Several indigenous people were present at this demonstration...
Below is an article published by AllAfrica: Following his recent visit to Namibia, members of the African caucus to the UN Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues (UNPFII) met with the UN Special Rapporteur...
Below is an article published by NTV: The Batwa appear to be hanging on a very thin string as the deadly HIV/Aids threatens to wipe out the people also referred to as the little people. NTV visited the...
Below is an article published by Indian Country For thousands of years the Batwa people lived in the Impenetrable Forest of Uganda. Hunters and gatherers who are often derisively referred to as pygmies,...
Below is an article published by Voice of America 20 years ago Uganda's Batwa, or pygmies, were evicted from the forest to make way for a national park. But now the impoverished Batwa are being allowed...
Exclusion and Discrimination of Minorities: The Experience of the Batwa 10 December 2012, 12.30-16.00 Ground Floor, External Cooperation Info Point European Commission, Rue de la Loi 43 1049...
Below is an article published by Al-Jazeera: Rwanda along with Australia, Argentina, South Korea and Luxembourg has won a seat on the UN Security Council, despite accusations by a UN...
UNPO has submitted an alternative report to the 50th Pre-sessional Working Group of the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (CESCR) ahead of the consideration of Rwanda’s initial report....
Below is an article published by One World: It has been a year since the G8 promised to “make poverty history” and cancelled the multilateral debts of 34 African states. In that year,...
Below is an article published by NewVision: The government has been asked to return portions of national parks to indigenous communities like the Batwa, evicted following the gazetting of such...
Below is an article published by Ultimate Media: The government has been asked to recognize the Batwa and pastoralists as indigenous people and make appropriate legislative provisions...
On July 13 2012 Ms. Raquel Rolnik, the UN Special Rapporteur on the Rights to Adequate Housing concluded her official mission to Rwanda. At a press conference following her return she presented her preliminary...
Below is an article published by AllAfrica: Indigenous rights organisations representing Bambuti and Batwa people who live in the Great Lakes sub-region, consisting of the eastern parts of the Democratic...
Below is an article published by Coast Week: Like the Brakumin of Japan, the Untouchables of India and the Gypsies of Europe, the Batwa of central Africa are also regarded as low class people...
Below is an article published in New Vision: A study on the Batwa in Kanungu district has shown serious socio-economic and political constraints among their community. The Batwa are a minority group...
Below is an article published by New Vision: A revamped trail in Mgahinga Gorilla National Park will allow tourists to explore cultural sites in the footsteps of the Batwa tribe in southwest Uganda. ...
Below is an article published by The Grove Examiner One local teenager is hoping to make a difference in a small African community this summer with a few bricks, a bit of ‘soul,’ and a lot...
Below is an article published by the AllAfrica: Having sex with a pygmy woman is a cure for backache. This is one of the many superstitions held by people living in Virunga National Park in the eastern...
On 14 March 2012, during the 19th session of the Human Rights Council, Independent Expert on Minority Issues Rita Izsák presented the report that was written following the visit of the former Independent...
Below is article published by The Voice Of America: Researchers say indigenous people are among the most vulnerable to climate change. They’re studying how extreme weather events can trigger...
Below is an article published by The Observer: It’s a humbling moment listening to 41-year-old Steven Barahirwa recite the Batwa golden days in the jungle. It is a moment that leaves you torn...
This article has been published by Africa Review: Near the town of Kisoro, in the far south-west of Uganda, lies the Mgahinga Gorilla National Park. The dense forests at the foot of the Virunga Mountains...
Below is an article by Sierra Express Media: Survival is releasing ten tribal rights abuses ahead of UN Human Rights Day this Saturday [10 December 2011], to expose violations that still pass largely...
Below is an article published by 3News: Gorillas are lazing in the sun in the lush mountains of Rwanda's Volcanoes National Park. They might seem relaxed, but as the climate is heating up these great...
Below is an article published by The Independent (Uganda): Ibyejo ni ibyabejo,” remarks Jean Pierre Ndagijimana, a construction worker in Nyarugunga village, Kicukiro district. The expression,...
Below is an article published by Daily Monitor: They don’t want to visit hospitals, go to school or even attend prayers with other tribes. This is the story of the Batwa community, who although...
Below is an article published by New Vision: The Batwa community, a minority group living in Kisoro district, have asked the Government to give them land and houses. This follows their eviction from Bwindi...
Below is an article published by IRIN Global The government maintains that such ethnic self-identification is unconstitutional and undermines the reconciliation process of a country that has just...
Below is a report published by Minority Rights Group: MRG’s partner organisations in Rwanda and Uganda selected violence against Batwa women as the theme for their research. Anecdotal evidence suggested...
Photograph "17th Session- Human Rights Council" courtesy of the United Nations Information Service under a Creative Commons license UNPO Programme Coordinator Caroline de Bruin delivered her statement...
Below is an article published by Survival:The admission came after hundreds of Twitter users responded to Survival’s condemnation of the destruction of Batwa Pygmy houses, which has left...
Below is an article published by Nola.com Scott Kellermann was a successful family doctor with a medical practice in Nevada City, Calif. At age 55, he could have easily retired and gone golfing. But...
Below is an article published by baycitizen.org In Rwanda, a week-long commemoration of the 1994 Genocide of the Tutsis has come to an end, though the people of Rwanda continue to remember, mourn, and...
Below is an article published by: Ekklesia.Survival International has warned that a Rwandan government programme to destroy all thatched roofs in the country is leaving thousands of Batwa ‘Pygmies’...
Below is an article publish by Survival International A Rwandan government programme to destroy all thatched roofs in the country is leaving thousands of Batwa ‘Pygmies’ homeless. Hundreds...
UNPO has generated widespread discussion and greater awareness of the situation of the indigenous Batwa people of Rwanda following a visit in late 2010 and ongoing advocacy and awareness work. UNPO Programme...
Below is an article published by The News Tribune: Tacoma and the town of Bwindi, Uganda, are now firmly linked, thanks to innertubes, bottle caps and artistic enthusiasm. Nine local artists, including...
During the visit to Rwanda, the UNPO Programme Manager confirmed the poor living standards and economic situation of the Batwa, or the pygmies of Rwanda. Visits to communities surviving on the margins...
Below is an article published by the Rwanda News Agency: The UN Human Rights Council has dispatched a senior expert to Rwanda on mission to see how the different ethnic communities live with each other...
Below is an article published by New Vision: Against overwhelming odds, Alice Nyamihanda graduated with a diploma in Development Studies, the first in her community, from Bugema University. She is part...
Below is an article published by All Africa.com: Elias Habyarimana, 44, stands a few inches tall on the smooth floor at Lubowa International School, before an audience of mostly white...
Below is an article published by the Daily Monitor: Batwa children in several primary schools in Kabale, Kisoro and Kanungu are being discriminated and harassed by children and administrators...
Below is an article published by OneWorld.net: Africa’s indigenous Batwa women experience shocking levels of violence, with in some cases 100 percent of women saying they had faced...
Below is an article published by the Sydney Morning Herald:The road from the Rwandan border to north Kivu province in Congo is serpentine, a sinuous climb around hundreds of emerald hills farmed and tamed...
Below is an article published by the United Nations Human Rights Council:Joseph Kanani and his extended family live as squatters in extremely poor conditions in Musigati, a village north of Burundi’s...
Below is an article published by the New Vision:Kampala claims the [Ugandan] Government should adopt a comprehensive affirmative action plan that would be able to transform minority communities,...
Below is an article published by Voa News :Minority children in Africa and much of the developing world are denied education, according the London-based group Minority Rights Group International (MRG)....
Below is an article published by Voice of America:Minority children in Africa and much of the developing world are denied education, according the London-based group Minority Rights Group International...
Below is a statement issued by People and Planet:The provinces of Northern and Southern Kivu are amongst those most affected by deforestation and soil degradation in the Democratic Republic of Congo,...
Below is an article published by the: Relief Web While Rwanda's recent history was stained by "massive violations of civil and political rights", a system based on the rule of law...
Below is an article published by The New Vision: The Batwa population is reducing faster than that of other minority communities in western Uganda. The executive director of the World...
Below is an article published by IPS News:The debate over reducing greenhouse gas emissions from deforestation is dominating the United Nations Climate Change Conference taking place...
Below is an article written by Emmanuel Kajubu and published by AllAfrica.com :The Batwa in Bundibugyo district have demanded for recognition from the Government [of Uganda]. King Nzinto said unlike other...
Below is an article published by BBC: Just after dawn, as the fog slowly leaves the slopes of the Muhabura volcano, some Batwa people make their way to the neighbouring farms hoping to get...
Dispossessed, marginalized, and uncompensated, the Batwa deserve international support to regain their self-sufficiency and respect. Below is an article written by Salome Alweny and published by All Africa: Uganda's...
One of the worst droughts to hit the Horn of Africa is spreading and with it the risk that millions of lives may be at risk. Below is an article published by IRIN News: Up to 14 million people in the...
Conservationists rush to buy land while the Batwa and Mapuche are just two examples of populations discovering the dark side of conservation movements. Below is an article written by John Vidal and published...
Batwa people, the indigenous people living in the forest of Rwanda, have seen their situation changed with the increase of aid and protection on indigenous minorities, changing from their excluded previous...
A new law in the Democratic Republic of Congo is waiting approval for effectively and legally protecting indigenous people whose rights are often violated. Below is an article published by YubaNet: NGOs...
Mrs Louise Arbour will visit the Great Lakes Region between the 13 and 25 May. She will visit Rwanda where UNPO member Batwa originates. Human Rights as well as economic, cultural and social rights will...
Forced out of their ancestral homes in the early 1990s, the Batwa now demand land and aid to the Ugandan government. Below is an article published by All Africa.com: The Batwa have appealed to the Government...
Batwa defender Pierre Claver to receive Martin Ennals Award 2007 for his courageous work against human rights violations. Below are extracts from an article published by Earth Times: WASHINGTON, 3 May...
In a bid to improve their situation, various African delegates endeavor to reinforce the rights of central Africa’s indigenous populations who are being expelled from their dwellings as protected...
Rwanda has come a long way since the dark days of the 1994 genocide. Now, more than ten years after those terrible events, many people are looking forward to the future as opposed to mulling over the terrible...
CHOMBO, 13 September (IRIN) - The forest people of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), marginalised at the best of times, were easy targets for the marauding soldiers and militiamen that reduced the...
After queuing for hours to mark her ballot paper in Congo's first multiparty elections for four decades, Salome Ndavuma confesses she had a little dance. "I just never thought the day would come," she...
Hunger could wipe out the Batwa ethnic group in Uganda unless urgent intervention is enforced, researchers have said. "Many Batwa are dying of hunger because they do not know how to survive outside...
Bundibugyo district leaders have asked Energy Minister Mr Daudi Migereko to apologize to the Batwa tribute (pygmies) for alleging that they were a threat to the extension of electricity to the district....
NEWS February 13, 2006 Posted to the web February 13, 2006 By Irene Nabusoba Kampala THE United Nations (UN) has urged government to tailor programmes to help children of minority groups...
A Low Fog Envelopes the steep and remote valleys of southwestern Uganda most mornings, as birds found only in this small corner of the continent rise in chorus and the great apes drink from clear...
Four tribes in Southwestern Uganda have accused government of neglecting them. While making presentations during the National Non Government Organisation (NGO) Social Forum conference last weekend,...
I am an indigenous citizen of Uganda, born more than 50 years ago. My grandfather, Ndabahimye, was a servant of the great prince Nyindo of Rwanda and because of his loyalty; he was allocated land...
Untitled Document By Nathan Mugume Down in the rural areas, the Batwa communities continue to languish in absolute poverty. They have witnessed their traditional set up and rights'...
Untitled Document By Raphael Okello Originally, the Batwa pygmies migrants from Congo's Ituri forest were bushmen whose lives depended chiefly on hunting and gathering in Semliki ...
Untitled Document Eleven years after the genocide Rwanda faces many challenges, the most prominent of which is bringing to justice those who are suspected of playing a part in the 1994...
A British NGO has donated £40,000 (US $75,960) to a human rights organisation in the Republic of Congo (ROC) to help it lobby for the establishment of a law protecting and promoting the interests...
More than 800 Burundians have arrived in neighbouring Rwanda in the last two weeks, citing threats and fears of violence surrounding a recent referendum. The new arrivals – some 600 Tutsis...
Untitled Document The Adventist Development and Relief Agency (ADRA) office in Uganda has completed the Ntandi Pygmy Primary School rehabilitation and construction project in Bundibugyo...
Untitled Document BUJUMBURA, 10 November (IRIN) - Youth representatives of the Batwa, a group of indigenous people found across central Africa, have asked the governments of Burundi,...
Untitled Document Countrywide registration of voters began on Saturday in the Central African Republic with the country's Independent Mixed Electoral Commission, or CEMI, setting...
Untitled Document The International Criminal Court (ICC) and the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) signed an accord on Wednesday allowing the court to begin investigations into...
Untitled Document Rwandan President Paul Kagame said Thursday he would fill the remaining six Senate vacancies with candidates from minority Batwa ethnic group and women early next...
Untitled Document About 29 Burundi opposition political parties have agreed to implement a refined power-sharing deal and holding elections. The agreement put to a halt long-running...
Untitled Document I would like to take the floor for the development of the Pygmie people in the DRC. I would like to congratulate you on your election and tell you about situation...
Untitled Document Those of you, who had the chance to attend and participate at the Working Group in the past 22 years, please accept my complementary note of acknowledgement. Your...
6 July - A dossier of evidence and testimonies of an attempt to "exterminate" the Batwa people ("Pygmies") of Congo Kinshasa (DRC) was today delivered to the International...
Untitled Document Italian NGO Cooperazione Internationale (COOPI) has embarked on a project to improve the socio-cultural image of a group of the minority Batwa people in the Central...
The Unrepresented Nations and Peoples Organization (UNPO) is an international membership-based organization established to empower the voices of unrepresented and marginalized peoples worldwide and to protect their fundamental human rights.
