The article below was published by the Dhaka Tribune: In the 1997 Chittagong Hill Tracts Peace Accord, the government in power at the time did not acknowledge the identity of the people of the hill tracts as indigenous, and their leaders had to identify their peoples in the accord as tribal instead. Parbatya Chattagram Jana Samhati Samiti (PCJSS) President, Jyotirindra Bodhipriyo Larma, popularly...
In a press briefing ahead of the International Day of the World’s Indigenous Peoples, UNPO Member Parbatya Chattagram Jana Samhati Samiti (PCJSS) highlighted the problematic categorization of the...
Below is an article published by Human Rights Watch (HRW): Bangladesh authorities made a series of new arrests in their crackdown on the right to free speech, Human Rights Watch said today [17...
The article below was published by Dhaka Tribune “Disappearing Roots,” a solo exhibition by freelance visual artist Samsul Alam Helal, is a story of people forced out of their...
Article published by Dhaka Tribune Following a government decision in 2017, the National Curriculum and Textbook Board took the long overdue decision to publish primary school textbooks in indigenous...
The article below was published by the Business News 24 bd: The cabinet today [22 January 2019] in principle gave the final approval to “The draft of the Chittagong Hill Tracts (Land Acquisition)...
The article below was published by The Laboratory Equipment: Bangladesh is the most densely populated nation on Earth. But in the southeastern border region near Myanmar and India, it has perhaps its...
Click here to download the Press Statement. Photo courtesy of UN Women Asia and the Pacific
The below article was published by Arab News: “Life in the hills is very tough. We need to work hard to maintain the livelihood here since challenges are there in every step, like agriculture, health,...
The choice of the 2018 Nobel Peace Prize Laureates came in a year that has been marked by repeated calls for women’s empowerment throughout the world. Dr Denis Mukwege and Ms Nadia Murad’s...
The article bellow was published by The Daily Star: Two Tripura girls, aged 12 and 17, were allegedly raped by two members of Border Guard Bangladesh in Lama upazila of the district on Wednesday night...
The article below was published by UCA News: People in Bangladesh's southeast hill region remain panic-stricken after two gun attacks left seven locals dead, with condemnation for the merciless killings...
A case that has prompted many questions for the frequent missing of information as well as indications of threat and oppression against people who testified the assault, it was hardly a rare incident....
Below is the article orginally posted by United News of Bangladesh http://www.unb.com.bd/bangladesh-news/SUST-indigenous-students-launch-demo-demanding-safe-road/77073 Sylhet, Aug 5 (UNB) – The...
The following press release was published by the Kapaeeng Foundation: On 28 July 2018, a minor indigenous Tripura girl (10) was brutally killed after rape at Noimile area under Dighinala upazila in Khagrachari...
This article was originally published by Daily CHT: In January-June 2018, at least 70 human rights violations incident on indigenous peoples both in plain and CHT have been observed. A...
The article blow was published by thedailystar.net: Unrestrained stone extraction in at least 200 streambeds strewn across the hills of Bandarban is jeopardizing the livelihoods of 11 ethnic groups and...
The 17th session of the United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues (UNPFII) urged the Government of Bangladesh (GoB) to declare roadmap for implementation of the Chittagong Hill Tracts (CHT) Accord,...
Below is an article published by dhakatribune.com A total of 58 women and girls from ethnic minority communities suffered sexual assault in 48 separate incidents across Bangladesh last year [2017], a...
The article below was published by the New Internationalist: What would happen if Meghan Markle was attacked by London’s Metropolitan police while she visited hospital patients? Would there...
On January 22, 2018, two sisters aged 19 and 14 from the indigenous Marma community were allegedly raped by members of security forces in the Rangamati district within the Chittagong...
The letter below was published by Amnesty International: Bir Bahadur Ushwe Sing MP State Minister Ministry of Chittagong Hill Tracts Affairs Government of the People’s Republic of Bangladesh ENSURE...
Below are articles published by New Age and The Daily Star: A fact-finding committee formed by the National Human Rights Commission to probe into the allegation of rape and sexual assault of Marma sisters...
The following article was published in Al Jazeera Rights groups as well as ordinary people have staged protests in Bangladesh to demand justice for the alleged rape of two teenaged girls belonging to...
Two Marma sisters, who were undergoing treatment at Rangamati General Hospital reportedly being raped and molested by security forces on January 22, were picked up from the hospital allegedly by law enforcers...
Report published by Bangladesh Indigenous Women's Network: On 22 January 2018, at about 2:30 am, an indigenous Marma girl, 19, was raped at her own home at Orachari village of Farua Union...
The following statement is a press release made by the PCJSS: Dear Media Friends, Parbatya Chattagram Jana Samhati Samiti (PCJSS) extends heartiest wishes on the occasion of the 20th Anniversary...
The following article was published in The Daily Star: Jyotirindra Bodhipriya Larma, popularly known as Santu Larma, yesterday [29 November 2017] alleged that the government did not take effective steps...
Twenty years after the signing of the Accord, the official position of the Government of Bangladesh is that 48 out of 72 provisions of the text have been implemented, whereas evidence demonstrates that...
Below is an article from the DailyStar Leaders of Parbattya Chattagram Jana Samhati Samiti (PCJSS) Bandarban unit yesterday demanded the unconditional release of its arrested leaders and activists. They...
The article below was published by The Daily Star: In the morning of June 10 this year [2017], 30-year-old widow Sukhia Robidas was raped in her own home in Sutang Bazar of Habiganj and then...
Below is an article published by Parbatya Chattagram Jana Samhati Samiti: Incessant rains associated with heavy thunderclaps over several days led to wide scale landslides in Rangamati, Bandarban...
After a long struggle, the indigenous Jumma people compelled the government of Bangladesh to engage in negotiations which resulted in the signing the 'CHT Accord' on 2nd December 1997 in order...
This article was published by the Dhaka Tribune: On the 21 anniversary of women rights activist Kalpana Chakma’s abduction, prominent human rights activists held a remembrance at Dhaka Reporters...
Photo Courtesy of PCJSS Over the past few days, the Bangladeshi army and allegedly army-backed settlers intensified persecutions and atrocities on indigenous Jumma people in the region of the Chittagong...
This article has been published by IP News BD: The Chittagong Hill Tracts (CHT) is virtually choked under military rule, anti-Jumma multi-faceted conspiracy and widespread slanderous propaganda....
Below is a press release by the Kapaeeng Foundation: On 6 May 2017 a 14-member civic rights team comprising human rights defenders, journalists, social activists and advocates was barred from...
Please find below an article by CHT News Services: A 19-year old Jumma student was killed in a brutal torture of army in Naniarchar under Rangamati district. The victim was identified as Romel...
Below is an article published by The Daily Star: 'Boisabi Utsab' is a symbol of unity among the Paharis (indigenous) and Bangalee people living in the region. The festival is widely called Boisabi...
Below is a press release by Parbatya Chattagram Jana Smahati Samiti (PCJSS): In a press release signed by information and Publicity Secretary of Parbatya Chattagram Jana Smahati Samiti (PCJSS) dated 1...
The article below was published by the Daily Star: The recent transfer of a police official to the Chittagong Hill Tracts (CHT) on February 23 (2017) shocked the people of CHT, and those on the...
This year, the Council of the EU promises to engage in facilitating the participation of indigenous peoples’ representatives in meetings of relevant UN bodies. This certainly underpins the work that...
The article below was published by Kapaeeng Foundation: Kapaeeng Foundation (KF) launched Human Rights Report 2016 on Indigenous Peoples in Bangladesh. The launching and dissemination program...
The article below was published by Dhaka Tribune: The government’s move to provide pre-primary textbooks in only five indigenous languages will not suffice to ensure the right to receiving...
Below is an article published by bdnews24.com: Tamina M Chowdhury used unexplored archival sources in her ‘Indigenous Identity in South Asia’ to explore how the concepts of ‘territory’,...
According to the World Report’s emphasis, the most egregious human rights violations against indigenous populations in 2016 can be seen in the crackdowns on Oromo in Ethiopia, the lingering human...
Below is an article published by The Daily Star: The hearing of the no-confidence petition in Kalpana Chakma abduction case will start in the district today. On November 28 last year, Kalpana...
The article below was published by the Dhaka Tribune: There is an alarming presence of forced religious conversion of indigenous children at the hands of radicals in Bandarban. Muslim fanatics seduce...
Below is an article published by the Kaepeeng Foundation: To mark the 19th anniversary of the signing of the Chittagong Hill Tracts (CHT) Accord 1997, Bangladesh Indigenous Peoples...
The following article was published by Parbatya Chattagram Jana Samhati Samiti: Jyotirindra Bodhipriya Larma, President of Parbatya Chattagram Jana Samhati Samiti (PCJSS) declared to continue...
In his opening remarks, Marino Busdachin, General Secretary of UNPO, shed a light on the fact that since the independence of East Timor, the UN has failed to advance the fulfilment of the right...
The article below is courtesy of Counter Currents: Vidya Bhushan Rawat In Conversation with Chakma MK from CHT, Bangladesh Chakma MK is a Human Rights activist working with indigenous people in the Chittagong...
Below is an article posted by the Dhaka Tribune: Md Sagor Hossain was arrested in Khagrachhari for posting a fake photo and a provocative statement regarding an indigenous student leader Police...
Below an article published by Newshour: In an effort to making a difference in the livelihood of people living in remote areas of the Chittagong Hill Tracts, the ECHO funded FAO project undertook actions...
Below is an article published by the Daily Star: Ministry of Chittagong Hill Tracts Affairs has decided to cancel the proposed special tourism zone project at Alutila in Khagrachhari. "We're...
Below is an article published by Parbatya Chattagram Jana Samhati Samiti: Jatiya Sangsad (JS) adopted the Condolence motion over the death of Manabendra Narayan Larma (M N Larma) − the pioneer...
The article below is courtesy of Mongabay Bordering Myanmar and the Indian states of Tripura and Mizoram, the Chittagong Hill Tracts (CHT) is characterized by semi-evergreen forest that is considered...
Below is an article published by Kapaeeng Foundation: Government plans to acquire 700 acres of land for establishment of Special Tourism Zone at Alutila hills in Khagrachari which leads to eviction...
Below is an article published by UCA News: Activists at a nation-wide seminar on indigenous rights have called on Bangladeshi authorities to end discrimination towards indigenous groups...
Below is an article published by The Daily Star: Government's inaction has left the implementation of Chittagong Hill Tracts (CHT) Peace Accord uncertain, according to leaders of the indigenous...
Below is a statement published by the Information and Publicity Department of PCJSS Since the declaration of the schedule for Union Parishad (UP) Election-2016, the local Awami League (AL) leadership...
The 1997 Accord between the Government of Bangladesh and the Parbatya Chattagram Jana Samhati Samiti (PCJSS - United People’s Party of the CHT), the main political party representing the interests...
These Peace Accords, which came after years of conflict and negotiations, include a number of provisions that the Bangladeshi Government was to implement to better protect the rights of the indigenous...
© Virginie Nguyen Opening the conference, Urmas Paet MEP (ALDE) stressed the need to put the issue of minority and indigenous rights on top of the political agenda – not just in South...
14 June 2016 | 9:30 – 16:00 | Room PHS7C050 | European Parliament | Brussels, Belgium Despite South East Asia being a conglomerate of myriads of distinct ethnic, cultural, religious and...
Photo courtesy of Amnesty International. Below is an Amnesty International initiative published on My Unseen Sister: In the early hours of 12 June 1996, Kalpana Chakma, an activist from...
Below is an article by The Daily Star: Rui Mon Mro, aged over 80, began to worry about her five grandchildren after her family living in a remote area of Bandarban had run out of food. She experienced...
Below is an article published by the PCJSS. The CHT crisis could be resolved properly through proper and full implementation of CHT Accord including devolution of all departments and institutions...
Below is an article published by bdnews24.com: The PCJSS chief, better known as Santu Larma, said this at the foundation-stone laying ceremony of the Chittagong Hill Tracts building in...
Below is an article published by Youth Ki Awaaz: There has been no easing of the full weight of night. Parched eyes, aching hearts are yet to find their moment of deliverance. Move forward; the...
Below is an article by the New Age Bangladesh: The indigenous people of the Chittagong Hill Tracts will celebrate their ‘Baisabi’ festival this year on Tuesday [12 April 2016], beginning...
Below is an article published by Dhaka Tribune: Rights activists have expressed serious concerns over the persistent violation of human rights of the indigenous peoples living in the CHT and the...
Photo courtesy of The Daily Star. Below is an article published by The Daily Star: Organisations of ethnic minority women from both the hills and the plains should come together to fight...
This article was published by The Daily Star. The Chittagong Hill Tracts (CHT) includes some of the most inaccessible and remotest areas of Bangladesh. There are places surrounded by thick mountainous...
Below is an article taken from Parbatya Chattagram Jana Samhati Samiti.org In context of the speech delivered by Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina in the Jatiya Sangsad (Parliament) while answering...
Below is an article published by The Financial Express: CHITTAGONG, Feb 10: Over 56,000 refugees of Chittagong Hill Tracts (CHT) who returned from Tripura of India 18 years back...
Below is an article published by the Daily Star: Indigenous people organised programmes in different districts yesterday demanding adequate steps to protect the rights of indigenous people. Indigenous...
Chittagong Hill Tracts has huge potentials for flourishing as a tourism sector, and producing a number of high-value agricultural products like fruits, off-season vegetables and seeds, stated a report...
Below is an article published by Kapaeeng Foundation: On 10 December 2015, a national seminar titled “Indigenous Peoples in Bangladesh: Human Rights and Sustainable Development Goal (SDG)”...
Below is an article published by The Daily Star: The government must set a definite road map for effective implementation of Chittagong Hill Tracts (CHT) Peace Accord and eliminate frustrations of the...
Click here to sign a petition calling for the implementation of the 1997 Chittagong Hill Tracts Accord. Below is an article published by Green Left Weekly: Fadang Randal is a representative...
The below article was published by New Age: Daylong boycott of offices in the three hill districts enforced by Parbatya Chattagram Jana Samhati Samiti passed off peacefully on Wednesday. Witnesses...
The below article is from the Parbatya Chattagram Jana Samhati Samiti: Pahari Chatra Parishad (PCP) (Hill Students Council) and Hill Women’s Federation (HWF) expressed deep concern...
Below is an article published by Prothom Alo Bangladesh: The programme for ‘Promotion of Development and Confidence Building in the Chittagong Hill Tracts’, implemented by...
Please click on the image above or here to sign the petition and advocate for Jumma’s human rights! You can also read more about the indigenous communities of the Chittagong Hill Tracts by checking...
Full execution of Chittagong Hill Tracts (CHT) Peace Accord is needed for peace, stability and overall sustainable development in CHT, United Nations Resident Coordinator Robert D. Watkins told the journalists...
Find below the statement: Parbattya Chattagram Jana Samhati Samiti (PCJSS) protests against detention and physical torture on 8 members of PCJSS including its vice president of Bilaichari branch Mr. Chandra...
The academic life of about 16,000 students of 228 primary schools of the Chittagong Hill Tracts area hangs in the balance as the schools are on the verge of closing down. The students, guardians and teachers...
The human rights violation on indigenous women and girls in Bangladesh has turned into a matter of grave concern over the years. As a part of its sustained work, Kapaeeng Foundation monitored and...
Below is an article published by The Daily Star The indigenous communities across the country yesterday observed the International Day of the World's Indigenous Peoples, demanding equal rights and dignity...
Bangladesh Indigenous Peoples Forum (BIPF) urged the government of Bangladesh to enact Bangladesh Indigenous Peoples Rights Act as drafted by Parliamentary Caucus on Indigenous Peoples aiming to...
On 19 June 2015, 10 women and children were injured in a gang attack in Reservepara Tila of Madhyam Talbaria village, under Mirsharai upazila of Chittagong district. We have learnt that, on that...
Below is the full text of the resolution: Resolution The multi-lingual indigenous peoples of the Chittagong Hill Tracts (CHT) of Bangladesh, who collectively identify themselves as the Jumma...
Below is an article published by The Daily Star: National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) will hold a dialogue with the newly appointed army chief to establish trust among the stakeholders...
Below is an article published by Al Jazeera: When I was growing up in Bangladesh's port city of Chittagong, the Hill Tracts, just a two-hour drive away, were not a place you visited. The Shanti...
Below is an article published by The Daily Star: International Chittagong Hill Tracts Commission (CHTC) yesterday called "absurd" the claim of investigators that indigenous women's leader Kalpana...
Below is an article published by The Daily Star: Chittagong Hill Tracts (CHT) has been one of the most underdeveloped, deprived and backward areas of Bangladesh. Home of 'small ethnic entities'...
Below is an article published by The Daily Star: The last two days of Chaitra (the last month of the Bengali calendar) and the first day of Boishaki (Bengali New Year's Day), makes the three...
Below is an article published by The Daily Star The government is going to lift a recently imposed restriction, allowing foreign tourists to visit Chittagong Hill Tracts (CHT) without permission...
Below is an article published by Dhaka Tribune: Jyotirindra Bodhipriya “Santu” Larma has said people of Chittagong Hill Tracts will begin a fight for full implementation of the CHT...
Below is an article published by the Dhaka Tribune: Two hundred and ten indigenous families fled Bangladesh in 2014 after being threatened or dispossessed of their land, a human rights...
Below is an article published by Dhaka Tribune: A three-member European Union Parliamentary delegation will arrive in the capital tomorrow to observe the human rights situation in Bangladesh...
Below is a statement publsihed by the Parbatya Chattagram Jana Samhati Samiti (PCJSS): The Parbatya Chattagram Jana Samhati Samiti (PCJSS) strongly protests and condemns the decisions...
Below is an article published by the Kapaeeng Foundation: On 31st January 2015, Bangladesh Indigenous Women’s Network (BIWN) organised a press conference to share the situation of...
Photo courtesy of jankie@flickr Below is an article by The Daily Star: Since the government ignored demands to refrain from opening Rangamati Science and Technology University before the Chittagong...
Below is an article published by The Daily Star: Before taking up big "development" projects such as establishing a medical college in the Chittagong Hill Tracts, the government should discuss the matter...
Below is an article by The Daily Star: Photo courtesy of Md. Ismail@flickr The Rangamati district administration organised a “peace procession” in the town yesterday noon [Tuesday 13...
Below is an article published by The Daily Star: At least 50 houses and several shops of indigenous people were torched and vandalized in Burighat union of Naniarchar upazila on Tuesday,...
Below is an article published by The Daily Star: The government should ensure the full implementation of the Chittagong Hill Tracts (CHT) Peace Accord, 1997 before frustration among the indigenous...
Below is an article published by The Daily Star: Since the 1997 signing of the Chittagong Hill Tracts peace accord, 156 indigenous families have been evicted while their ancestral land in six Bandarban...
This article is taken from World Organisation Against Torture. On August 25th, 2014, Hana Shams Ahmed, a vocal advocate for women’s human rights and Coordinator of the International Chittagong Hill...
Below is a story published by The Daily Star Rape has become a most pervasive crime against indigenous women in the Chittagong Hill Tracts, and the perpetrators in majority of the cases are Bangalee settlers,...
Below is an article published by the Financial Express: CHITTAGONG: Organisations of indigenous people in Khagrachari hill district demanded Sunday [06 July 2014] the immediate arrest of those who attacked...
Below is an article published by BD NEWS 24: The commission made the observation while briefing reporters about the human rights situation in the CHT region at the end of its three-day visit to Khagrachari...
Below is an article by Chris Chapman, Amnesty International’s Indigenous Rights Researcher/Adviser This month marked 18 years since Kalpana Chakma was forcibly disappeared – taken from her...
Below is an article published by The Daily Star; Democracy does not mean only elections but what happens afterwards and how accountably the system functions, UNDP Regional Director for Asia and the Pacific...
Below is an article published by The Daily Star: Uncertainty looms large over a ruling from the Supreme Court on the fate of the Chittagong Hill Tracts Regional Council, as the lawyers concerned are yet...
Below is an article published by The Daily Star: Lately neither the ruling Awami League nor the BNP want unity among indigenous people, said Chittagong Hill Tracts Regional Council (CHTRC) Chairman Jyotirindra...
Below is an article published by The Independent Bangladesh Differences have surfaced between Parbattya Chattagram Jana Samhati Samity (PCJSS) and the government over the latter's decision to expand the...
Below is an article published by The Daily Star: The International Chittagong Hill Tracts Commission yesterday [18 February] condemned the killing of indigenous woman Sabita Chakma and demanded justice...
Below is an article published by The Independent Bangladesh. As elections to the three hill district councils (HDC) were not held in the last 21 years, the councils are now being run by people ‘hand-picked’...
Below is an article published by The Daily Star: European Union (EU) Envoy to Bangladesh William Hanna has said full implementation of Chittagong Hill Tracts (CHT) peace accord is needed for peace, stability...
Below is an article published by The Daily Star: Lawmaker and vice-president of Parbatya Chattagram Jana Sanghati Samity (PCJSS) Ushatan Talukdar yesterday [4 February 2014] said the government...
Below is an article published by The Daily Star: Lawmaker and vice-president of Parbatya Chattagram Jana Sanghati Samity (PCJSS) Ushatan Talukdar yesterday [4 February 2014] said the government...
Below is an article published by The Daily Star: Lawmaker and vice-president of Parbatya Chattagram Jana Sanghati Samity (PCJSS) Ushatan Talukdar yesterday [4 February 2014] said the government...
Below is an article published by the DhakaTribune: Elections to Rangamati constituency in the Chittagong Hill Tracts on Sunday [5 January 2014] was fair and transparent with over 55% turnout when there...
Below is an article published by the Dhaka Tribune: The slow implementation of 1997 CHT accord that had ended a two decade-long insurgency, armed conflict and bloodshed in the Chittagong Hill Tracts region...
More than 20 representatives of nine Members (Uyghurs, Sindh, Khmer Krom, Ahwazi, Assyria, Chin, Chittagong Hill Tracts, Tibet and Ogaden) attended the sixth Session of the Forum on Minority Issues held...
Below is an article published by The Daily Star: Chairman of Chittagong Hill Tracts (CHT) Regional Council Jyotirindra Bodhipriya Larma yesterday [10 November 2013] said the existence of the Jummo people...
Below is an article published by The Daily Star: Chairman of Chittagong Hill Tracts (CHT) Regional Council Jyotirindra Bodhipriya Larma yesterday [10 November 2013] said the existence of the Jummo people...
Below is an article by the Daily Star: Kathin Chibar Dan, one of the largest annual religious festivals of the Buddhist community in Chittagong Hill Tracts, was celebrated at a temple, Ajita Mahathero...
Below is an article by the Daily Star: The indigenous people of Buddhist faith in Bandarban will start to celebrate the three-day Probarana Purnima, the second largest festival in the religion, today...
Parbatya Chattagram Jana Samhati Samiti (PCJSS) observes with grave concern that despite the tenure of the 9th Parliament is almost reaching to its ending phase, the Parliamentary Standing Committee on...
Below is an article by the Dhaka Tribune: The dream of indigenous children completing their primary education in their native languages has not come to fruition in line with the Awami League’s promise...
Below is article published by the Dhaka Tribune: The National Education Day was observed on Tuesday in the hill districts of Rangamati and Bandarban with a call to introduce primary education to the indigenous...
Below is an article published by the Dhaka Tribune: At least five people, including two teachers, were abducted on Saturday from different villages of Laxmichhari upazila in Khagrachhari district, Chittagong...
Below is an article published by the Daily Star: The people of Khebukpara village in Sadar upazila under the district are still deprived of basic civic amenities including safe water and sanitation although...
Below is an article from dhakatribune.com: Justice for the victims of the Taindong attack in the Chittagong Hill Tracts is being demanded by civil society representatives, law-makers and journalists....
Below is an article published by the Dhaka Tribune: Representatives of International Chittagong Hill Tracts Commission and parliamentary caucus on indigenous affairs Monday visited the hill villages at...
Below is an article published by the DkahaTribune.com: In a recent article published in its official blog, the AI also claimed that about 90,000 people of the ethnic minority communities still remain...
Below is an article published by the Information and Publicity Department of PCJSS: On 5 August 2013 at 10:30 am the Parbatya Chattagram Jana Samhati Samiti (PCJSS) formed human chain in Rangamati...
Below is an article published by The Daily Star: Some indigenous people, who had fled their homes in Matiranga on Saturday [3 August 2013] to escape communal attacks, returned home from Indian bordering...
Below is an article published by the Dhaka Tribune: The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) chairman, Prof Mizanur Rahman, believes that there is an “atmosphere of mistrust”...
Below is an article published by the Dhaka Tribune: The Chittagong Hill Tracts Commission Sunday [7th July] expressed concerns over the “questionable role” of law enforcement...
Below is an article published by the Dhaka Tribune: Political leaders of ten different parties yesterday [29 June 2013] said the recent amendment of the Chittagong Hill Tracts (CHT) Land Dispute...
Below is an article published by the Dhaka Tribune: Bangladeshi refugees, who returned from India following the Chittagong Hill Tracts Peace Accord 1997, have expressed their frustration over the...
Below is an article published by Amnesty International: The Bangladeshi government’s failure to address rights to traditional lands in the eastern Chittagong Hill Tracts region has left tens of...
Below is an article published by PCJSS: On 3 June 2013 at about 1:30 am, an armed group of terrorists numbering 25-28 persons led by Tapan Jyoti Chakma alias Barma of the UPDF group and Apan Chakma...
Below is an article published by Dhaka Tribune: The cabinet Monday [27 May 2013] approved a draft of the Chittagong Hill Tracts (CHT) Land Dispute Resolution Commission (amendment) Act 2013 to curb the...
Below is an article by the Financial Express Bangladesh: The Human Rights Forum Bangladesh (HRFB) on Monday [20 May 2013] demanded time-bound actions to implement the Chittagong Hill Tracts...
Below is an article published by bd4news.com Metrological Department on Thursday evening [16 May 2013] said the cyclone weakened after causing heavy downpour and was breezing past the Chittagong Hill...
Below is a press release letter by Kapaeeng Foundation The UPR Review of Bangladesh: state parties show concern for human rights issues of indigenous peoples and religious minorities of Bangladesh The...
Below is an article published by PCJSS CHT: On 29 April 2013 the Parbatya Chattagram Jana Samhati Samiti (PCJSS) organised public meeting in front of Deputy Commissioner’s office of Rangamati district...
Below is an article published by bdnews24: Islami Chhatra Shibir withdrew their Thursday shutdown in the three hill tracts of Chittagong – Rangamati, Bandarban and Khagrachhari – to allow...
Below is an article published by Gmanews Mobile phones are playing an important role in remote rural areas by helping the speedy diagnosis and treatment of malaria, a recent study in Bangladesh showed. The...
Below is an article published by BdNews 24: The organizers , which includes three local women groups - Women's Resource Network,Adibashi Nari Network and Durbar Network - are also demanding an...
Below is an article published by Parbatya Chattagram Jana Smahati Samiti: Recently the anti-CHT Accord terrorist group UPDF (United Peoples Democratic Front) and reformist group (Rupayan-Tanindra group)...
Concerned with the absence of action on behalf of the Government of Bangladesh regarding the implementation of the CHT Accord, the PCJSS has published a precise report establishing an inventory of all...
Below is an article published by The Daily Star: Kathin Chibar Daan, the biggest religious festival of the Buddhist people in Chittagong Hill Tracts (CHT), began on 22 November [2012] at Rajban Bihar...
Below is a PCJSS Press Release: Recently, an official letter stating to write “Khagrachari” in place of “Khagrachari Hill District” has been issued from the Office of the...
Below is an article published by BDNews24.com: The highest economic policymaking body of the Bangladeshi government on Tuesday 16 October approved a project involving a cost of Tk 3.20 billion for the...
Photo by Cedric Favero On the occasion of the 16th Session of the United Nations (UN) Universal Periodic Review (UPR), UNPO has submitted two reports denouncing the human rights violations in Bangladesh...
Below is an article written by Lelung Khumi: The 22nd of September 2012 was and will always be a traumatic day for the Indigenous people of Chittagong Hill Tracts. I went to Rangamati on that...
Below is an article published by The Irrawaddy: Rohingya Muslims from Burma have been blamed for a wave of religious violence that swept through Bangladesh’s Cox’s Bazar over the weekend. More...
Below is an article published by The Daily Star: The pall of gloom over the hill district of Rangamati has begun to fade away following a peace procession of hundreds of Bangalee settlers and indigenous...
Below is an article published by BdNews24: A citizen's platform has alleged that the recent unrest in Rangamati was planned and motivated. "Going by the way the violence spread, and the way...
Below is an article published by Indigenous Peoples Issues and Resources: Bengali settlers conducted communal attacks upon indigenous Jumma peoples in Rangamati on 22 September 2012. At...
Bellow is an article published by the Kapaeeng Foundation: On 26 August 2012 three Jumma viilagers including a woman were attacked by Bengali settlers at North Shantipur village under Panchari...
Below is an article published by Parbatya Chattagram Jana Samhati Samiti: On 4 August 2012 Bengali settlers attempted to commit communal attack on indigenous Jumma villagers at Kadamtali village...
Below is an article published by The Daily Star: The government has been asking Adivasis in the country not to observe the International Indigenous Day, raising questions about its will to implement the...
Below is an appeal published by Global Human Rights Defence, Jumma Peoples Network, Kapaeeng Foundation: The Chittagong Hill Tracts Peace Accord was signed in Bangladesh in 1997 to promote peace and to...
Below is an article published by Avaaz.org: Like indigenous communities worldwide, the “Jumma” peoples in Bangladesh are being targeted and evicted from their ancestral lands by the Government,...
Below is an article published by Kapaeeng Foundation: A keystone of poor conditions for indigenous peoples in Bangladesh is the continuing depletion of their natural resources, mainly through the expropriation...
Below is an article published by The Daily Star: Environmentalists, rights bodies and eminent persons have expressed deep concern over some provisions of The Wildlife (protection and safety) Act 2012,...
Below is an article published by Reuters: Days of rain in Bangladesh, some of the heaviest in years, have set off flash floods and landslides, killing at least 70 people and stranding about 200,000, police...
Below is an article published by the Kapaeeng Foundation: In the first ever National Indigenous Women Conference held in Dhaka, indigenous women leaders and representatives of indigenous women’s...
Below is a press release issued by Parbatya Chattagram Jana Samhati Samiti: http://indigenouspeoplesissues.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=15188%3Abangladesh-5th-meeting-of-the-cht-accord-implementation-committee-held-in-dhaka&catid=33%3Acentral-asia-indigenous-peoples&Itemid=66&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+IndigenousPeoplesResources+%28Indigenous+Peoples+Issues+%26+Resources%29 On...
Below is an article published by The Daily Star: While his classmates prepare for upcoming exams, critically injured Jibon Chakma lies on a hospital bed trying to come to terms with the fact that his...
Below is an article published by the Financial Express: Prime Minister (PM) Sheikh Hasina Tuesday [22 May 2012] directed the authorities concerned to expedite the implementation of the ongoing development...
Below is an extract from UN News: Anmoy Chakma, speaking on behalf of Kapaeeng Foundation, Jaringan Orang Asal SeMalaysia, Jatiya Adivasi Parishad, Asian Indigenous Women’s Network, United Confederation...
Below is an article published by the Kapaeeng Foundation: On 2-3 May 2012 the third attempt to start illegal and one-sided hearing of land disputes by chairman of CHT Land Dispute Resolution Commission...
Below is an article published by the Daily Star: The three-day 'Boisabi Utsab', the biggest social festival of indigenous people of Chittagong Hill Tracts (CHT) begins today [12 April 2012] with various...
Below is an article published by the Daily Star: Destruction of forests has taken place due to industrialisation and population boom and was not compensated by reforestation. Its adverse impact on climate...
Below is an article published by New Age: Quorum crisis once again foiled the move to hear cases by Chittagong Hill Tracts Land Dispute Resolution Commission on Sunday as members of the commission from...
The Universal Periodic Review (UPR) is a process established by the United Nations Human Rights Council wherein states, UN agencies, and civil society can come together and comment on a wide range of human...
Below is an article published by the Kapaeeng Foundation : Decision was taken to amend the Chittagong Hill Tracts (CHT) Land Dispute Resolution Commission Act 2001 and all concerned authorities...
Below is an article by CHT News Update: On 1 March 2012 Chittagong Hill Tracts (CHT) regional chapter of Bangladesh Indigenous Peoples Forum (BIPF) organised human chain at the headquarters of three hill...
Below is an article published by The Daily Star: A hearing of the CHT Land Dispute Resolution Commission in its Khagrachhari district town office yesterday was suspended due to a quorum crisis as the...
Below is an article published by The Independent Bangladesh: Tension is brewing over a letter notifying that hearings on cases will be held to resolve decades-old land disputes in three Chittagong...
Below is an article published by the Daily Star: Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina was mistaken when, on January 15 [2012], she declared there were no human rights violations in Bangladesh. Had she...
Below is an article published by Eurasia Review: About 500 people attended a rally and discussion meeting yesterday [30 January 2012] at Khagrachhari in the southeastern Chittagong Hill Tracts...
Below is an article published by the Financial Express Bangladesh: Prime Minister (PM) Sheikh Hasina Thursday [19 January 2012] asserted that the Awami League (AL) government would surely implement the...
Below are extracts of a report published by Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre: Twenty years of armed struggle in the Chittagong Hill Tracts (CHT), pitting the armed forces and Bengali settlers...
The following press release was issued by the Kapaeeng Foundation Upazila Nirbahi Officer (UNO) of Naikhyangchari upazila (sub-district) Mr. Shaikh Saleh Ahmed is trying to reinstate 22 plots...
Below is an article published by the Daily Star: In a press statement issued on the 13th founding anniversary of UPDF, an anti-CHT peace treaty organisation, he urged stopping fratricidal clashes between...
Below is an article published by BDNews24: A half-day blockade on road and waterway has been observed peacefully in Dighinala upazila of Khagracharhi district and Baghaicharhi upazila of Rangamati district. Monday's...
Below is an article published by The Daily Star: The couple came under attack at Kobakhali of Dighinala in Khagrachhari as local Bangalee settlers were protesting on a road there following discovery...
Below is an article published by the Daily Star: Parliamentary Caucus on Indigenous People yesterday proposed to set up a “National Commission” under an act to ensure the rights...
Below is an article published by The Daily Star Many provisions of the Chittagong Hill Tracts Peace Accord could empower the indigenous people living in hills. But 15 years into the signing of the treaty,...
Below is an article published by The Daily Star: The dissident group of Parbatya Chattagram Jana Sanghati Samity (PCJSS) yesterday [1 December 2011] formed a 10- km-long human chain on Khagrachhari-Rangamati...
Below is an article published by Netherlands Aid: The insurgent leaders of the Mongoloid ethnic communities signed a peace accord after two decades of bush war, since then the implementation of the accord...
Below is an article by The Daily Star: Both Bangalees and hill people want an end to longstanding problems in Chittagong Hill Tracts (CHT) to create an environment of peaceful coexistence in the region,...
Below is an article published by the Daily Star: The European Union (EU) will encourage dialogue between political parties to end the current stalemate over the modus operandi of holding the next...
Below is an article sent to UNPO by the Kapaeeng Foundation As every year, the Chittagong Hill Tracts Development Facility (CHTDF), UNDP-Bangladesh is going to organise Cultural Diversity Festival 2011...
Below is an article by The Daily Star: Following the UN Millennium Summit in September 2000, world leaders agreed on a farsighted declaration to meet the needs of the world's poorest people. That declaration...
Below is an article published by IRIN News Ethnic minority children in Bangladesh from the southeast Chittagong Hill Tracts are among the country's least literate and at heightened risk of dropping out...
Below is an article published by IRIN: Ethnic minority children in Bangladesh from the southeast Chittagong Hill Tracts are among the country's least literate and at heightened risk of dropping out of...
Below is an article published by Survival International: The CHT, in southeastern Bangladesh, are home to eleven tribes, known collectively as Jummas. In the last four months, the Kapaeeng Foundation...
Below is an article published by New Age: Four of the victims were killed, four were raped and two children were molested, the rights watchdog said. The ‘Lama killing’ shocked...
Below is an article by published by the Kapaeeng Foundation: It is learnt that tribal students of Chittagong Hill Tracts (CHT) region are confronting discrimination in submitting resident certificate...
Below is a press-release issued by the co-chairs of the CHT Commission In the face of increasing allegations of human rights violations of indigenous people, the CHT Commission would like to remind...
Below is an article published by Indigenous Peoples Issues and Resources: The lands of indigenous Khiyang community at Gungru Mukh Para under Kuhalong Mouza in Bandarban district of Chittagong Hill Tracts...
Below is an article released by Kapaeeng Foundation: In reply to the letter of CHT Commission co-chair Honourable Lord Avebury dated 31 August 2011, Vice-President of the European Commission Catherine...
Below is an article published by The Daily Star: The government is sitting on thousands of complaints about land ownerships in the hills as the Chittagong Hill Tracts Land Dispute Resolution Commission...
Below is a statement released by the CHT Commission The CHT Commission would like to clarify some of the allegations that were made by His Excellency Abul Kalam Abdul Momen, Ambassador and Permanent Representative...
Below is an article published by CHT news. It is reported that the Government of Bangladesh has decided to erase the term ‘indigenous’ from all the laws, policies, documents and publications...
Below is an article published by the Independent. DHAKA, AUG 8: Chairman of the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) Prof Dr Mizanur Rahman on Monday said human rights situation in the CHT region is...
Below is an article published by The Daily Star: Leaders of some indigenous and left-leaning political parties demanded amendment to the constitution to recognise indigenous people. Refusing to recognise...
Below is an article published by The Daily Star. The leaders made the demand at a press conference in the National Press Club organised by the Bangladesh Forum for the Indigenous People, ahead of the...
Below is an article published in CHT News Update: The General Segment of the United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC), whose session started on 22nd July, ended yesterday (29th) in Geneva,...
Below is an article published by The Daily Star: Chakma Raja Devasish Roy yesterday [27 July 2011] in a written statement refuted Foreign Minister Dipu Moni's claim that non-Bangalee hill-people of the...
Below is an article published by bdnews24 Rangamati/Khagrachharhi, July 21 (bdnews24.com) — The United People's Democratic Front (UPDF) continues to block roads and waterways in Rangamati and Khagrachharhi...
Below is an article published by BDNews24: The United People's Democratic Front (UPDF) continues to block roads and waterways in Rangamati and Khagrachharhi for a second day. No river vessels left Rangamati...
4Below is an article published by Indigenous Peoples Issues PCJSS protested against terming indigenous peoples as ‘Bengali’ and non-recognition of indigenous peoples and Chittagong Hill Tracts...
Mr. Soren, accompanied by the Assistant Secretary for Youth Affairs of PCJSS Advocate, Bidhayak Chakma, made the statement on Monday’s [12 July 2011] sitting of the EMRIP, emphasising the current...
JusticeMakers Bangladesh Trust (JMBangladesh), along with Global Human Rights Defence (GHRD), The Hague, The Netherlands have [provided a report of their recent] fact finding investigation into the arson...
Below is an article published by The Daily Star: The reformist group of Parbatya Chattagram Jana Sanghati Samity (PCJSS) yesterday [insert date] called upon all regional political parties for a united...
Below is an article published by Bangladesh’s First Online Newspaper: Indigenous community leaders have expressed anguish and frustration over the amended constitution not acknowledging...
Below is an article published by Indigenous Peoples Issues and Resources: Civic groups demanded specific provisions in the Constitution of Bangladesh enshrining civil, political, cultural and land rights...
The following article was published by bdnews24: Parbatya Chattagram Jana Sanghati Samiti (PCJSS) has rejected the proposals made for amending the constitution and demanded constitutional recognition...
Below is an article published by bdNews24: Law minister Shafique Ahmed has reiterated that there are no 'indigenous people' in the country. Shafique's remarks follow his earlier claim made on June...
Below is an article published by BD News 24: The law minister [Shafique Ahmed] has said the government will insert an article in the constitution for the wellbeing of indigenous people. “Article...
Below is an article published by the Kapaeeng Foundation: On 3 June 2011 Bangladesh Adivasi Forum (BAF) and Bangladesh Adivasi Odhikar Andolon (BAOA) organised human chain in front of National Museum...
Tenth session of the United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues (UNPFII) was held at UN headquarters in New York on 16-27 May 2011. This session was attended by following representatives from...
Below is an article published by BD News: The Human Rights Commission chairman has said it would be the violation of international laws if the indigenous people are not recognised constitutionally. ...
UNPO Members were well represented at this year’s United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues (UNPFII). The Ahwazi Arabs, Chittagong Hill Tracts, Cordillera, Crimean Tatars, Degar...
Below is a press release published by Tebtebba:It was attended by large numbers of Jumma people from Bangladesh who now live in the United States. Also in attendance were Bengali people living...
10th Session of the United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous IssuesMay 16-27, 2011New YorkAgenda Item 7: Future work of the Permanent Forum, including issues of the Economic and Social...
Below is an article published by the UN Department of Public Information: At a Headquarters press conference today [24 May 2011], human rights activists urged the United Nations to play a greater role...
Below is an article published by Cathnews India: Four activists of the United People’s Democratic Front, including one of its leaders, were gunned down on Saturday in Rangamati district.The...
Below is an article published by: IRIN Asia."The challenge that the villagers are now facing is the lack of available seeds due to non-cultivation for two years," Christa Rader, country director...
Below is an article published by Irin News: Farmers in parts of Bangladesh's southeastern Chittagong Hill Tracts (CHT) face a seed crisis that is undermining the food security of thousands, the World...
Below is an article published by Irin: The Bangladesh Jumma Buddhist Forum has called for the demilitarization of Bangladesh's Chittagong Hill Tracts (CHT) in a statement addressed to the UN Secretary-General...
Below is an article published by Eurasia Review: Bangladeshi indigenous (tribal) people have been holding meetings, human chains and rallies frequently in different parts of the country, demanding...
Below is an article published by: Kapaeeng Foundation.This declaration was made by Indigenous Peoples along with civic groups of mainstream population in the public gathering held on 29 April 2011...
Below is an article published by Integrated Regional Information Networks (IRIN): The accord ended a 25-year low-intensity guerrilla war between 11 indigenous groups (Jumma) and the government and was...
Below is an article published by Bdnews24.com: Water drenched, tropical sweat-soaked while celebrating Songkrant festival just north of Chiang Mai, Thailand, my phone started getting clogged with...
Below is a public statement published by: Amnesty International.The Bangladeshi authorities must also provide proper accountability for deaths and destruction caused in this incident.The latest...
Below is an article published by India Vision: Indian Chakma tribals have urged Dhaka to protect the rights of their fellow tribals in the Chittagong Hill Tracts (CHT) in Bangladesh, tribal leaders...
Below is an article published by: Two Circles. At least four people were killed and six villages of ethnic Buddhist minority tribals were burnt over a land dispute in south-eastern Bangladesh,...
Below is an article published by Daily Star: Indigenous people of different communities in Tangail district yesterday [April 6, 2011] formed a human chain and held a press conference to press for their...
Below is an article published by The Daily Star: Rights of indigenous women in Chittagong Hill Tracts (CHT) area are not established as the CHT peace accord was not properly implemented, speakers...
Below is an article published by The Daily Star: Land disputes and other problems involving indigenous communities in the Chittagong Hill Tracts cannot be resolved unless those people...
Below is an article published by The Daily Star: Chittagong Hill Tracts (CHT) Commission has urged the government to use the term "Adivasi" instead of "small and ethnic groups" in recognising the indigenous...
Below is an article published by Indigenous Peoples Issues and Resources: On 19 March 2011 indigenous peoples of Bangladesh organised human chain across the country demanding constitutional recognition...
Below is an article published by New Age: The parliamentary special committee for constitutional amendment on Tuesday [March 15, 2011] agreed to recognise the ethnic minority groups (Khudro...
Below is an article published by The Indigenous Portal: The forthcoming census scheduled for mid-March will have no scope for people of more than 40 distinct small ethnic groups to categorise themselves...
Below is an article published by AsiaNews: Two villagers of the Jumma tribal people - majority animist, Christian and Buddhist - were injured and at least 23 houses destroyed in an attack by Muslim...
Below is an article published by Survival International: This weekend marks the first anniversary of a vicious attack on Jumma tribal people by settlers and soldiers in the Chittagong...
Below is an article published by Cathnews India: Students and rights organizations in an area of Bangladesh have demonstrated on the streets against the alleged rape of a tribal Catholic woman. Emarung,...
Below is an article published by The Daily Star: The British government should stand ready to help Bangladesh in solving weighty problems, in the spirit of friendship, said Vice-chair of the All Party...
Below is a press release published by PCJSS: Over the last few decades, the Jumma, a group of 11 indigenous communities in CHT, have lost land to Bengali settlers brought in by the government...
Below is an article published by Irin Asia: Over the last few decades, the Jumma, a group of 11 indigenous communities in CHT, have lost land to Bengali settlers brought in by the government...
Below is an article published by the Daily Star: The fire on Wednesday night [10 November 2010] totally destroyed the palace of Chakma Circle Chief Raja Debashi Roy. The fire fighters could save nothing...
Below is an article published by Indigenous Portal: Co-chairman of Special Parliamentary Committee for Constitution Amendment (SPCCA) Mr. Suranjit Sengupta, MP, said the rights of the...
Below is an article published by The Daily Star: The Chittagong Hill Tracts (CHT) Peace Accord has not been implemented even 13 years after it was signed due mainly to lack of commitment...
Below is a publication by the Parbatya Chattagram Jana Samhati Samiti (PCJSS): On 22 September 2010 at 11.00 a.m. a meeting on amendment of CHT Land Dispute Settlement Commission 2001...
Below is an article published by The Daily Star: Indigenous people demanded constitutional recognition of the ethnics at a rally in celebration of the International Day of the World's...
Below is an article published by The Daily Star: Chairman of Chittagong Hill Tracts Regional Council (CHTRC) Jyotirindra Bodhipriya Larma yesterday [July 14] said not a single clause of the CHT peace deal...
Below is an article published by the Bangladeshi New Nation The rate of poverty among ethnic minorities in Chittagong Hill Tracts (CHT) is apparently more acute than that of the people in the...
Below is an article published by bdnews24 :The report, sent to the prime minister, mentions the commission's concern over the 'tense situation' in Baghaihat-Gangarammukh area of...
Below is an article published by United News of Bangladesh:Replying to a question of AKM Rahmatullah, he said political, social, cultural, educational and economic rights of the Chittagong...
Below is an article published by The Daily Star: Political leaders, influential people and unscrupulous businessmen are involved in razing the hills. Some one lakh people are exposed to hill...
Below is an article published by the Daily Star : A member of Pahari Chhatra Parishad (PCP) was killed and another injured in a gun attack allegedly by the activists of United People's...
Below is an article published by the Daily Star (Bangladesh):A leader of Parbatya Chattagram Jana Sanghati Samity (PCJSS) was killed and another injured in a gun attack in Rajasthali upazila of Rangamati...
Below is an article published by Bdnews24.comBandarban, May 10 (bdnews24.com) -- The chairman of CHT Land Dispute Resolution Commission has blamed Parbatya Chattagram Jana Sanghati Samity chief Santu Larma...
Below is an article published by the Daily Star :Chairman of Chittagong Hill Tracts (CHT) Land Dispute Resolution Commission Justice Khademul Islam Chowdhury yesterday [26 April 2010] urged...
Below is an article published by The Daily Star The existence of the Chittagong Hill Tracts Regional Council for over a decade is under threat as the High Court yesterday declared the CHT Regional...
Below is an article published by The Daily Star : Urging people from all sections to come to the commission with applications about the disputed lands, he said, "Giving a 60-day...
Below is an article published by The Daily Star: Chairman of the Chittagong Hill Tracts Land Dispute Resolution Commission (CHTLDRC) Justice Khademul Islam Chowdhury at a view...
Below is an article published in New Age: Members on the Chittagong Hill Tracts Land Commission have censured the unilateral decision of the commission chairman to invite applications...
Below is an article published in New Age: Members on the Chittagong Hill Tracts Land Commission have censured the unilateral decision of the commission chairman to invite applications for settling disputes...
Below is an article published by The Daily Star:Two visiting members of the Japanese parliament met Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina yesterday and urged her to fully implement the 1997 Chittagong...
Below is an article published by: BD News 24.comThe applications, which can be filed from 9am to 5pm every day, should reach the commission's chairman in the next 60 days, the public relations...
Below is an article published by Organiser:Brutal killings of hapless Chakma Buddhists living for centuries in Chittagong hill tract and burning of of their houses and pagodas by powerful gangs of...
Below is an article published by: Kolkata—CHT Support Groups Kolkata Reports One Photo Exhibition was also organized in the same venue with the photographs of recent atrocities...
Below is an article published by: Indian Express.comAround 50 members of the CHT support group, Kolkata, assembled to highlight the plight of the community and garner support for their cause. They...
Below is an article published by Survival International: Calm is returning to the Chittagong Hill Tracts in Bangladesh after last week’s attacks on the Jumma tribal people...
Below is a press statement published by the European Union: "The EU strongly condemns the acts of violence that took place in the Chittagong Hill Tracts (CHT) in Bangladesh on 19 and 20...
Below is an article published by: The Times of India Seven houses in Golabari, the tribal neighbourhood and five houses of Bengali-speaking settlers in Mollah Para and Ganj Para were set on...
Below is an article published by Scoop World :Reliable sources report that at least six Jumma tribal people were killed, and hundreds of houses burnt to the ground, in an attack by soldiers and settlers...
Below is a request for urgent action published by Chittagong Hill Tracts United Peoples’ Party: On 19-20 February 2010 massive communal attack on Jumma villages was made by military...
Below is a press release published by Parbatya Chattagram Jana Samhati Samiti (PCJSS): On 30 January 2010 protest meetings and processions against the cowardly attacks on top indigenous leaders...
Below is an article published by: bdnews24.comOn reaching Khagrachharhi, Jyotirindra Bodhipriyo Larma, popularly known as Santu Larma, in a press conference expressed concern over the attack despite...
Below is an article published by New Age: Rights activists and politicians on Sunday strongly condemned the attack on Sanjeeb Drong, general secretary of the Bangladesh Indigenous...
Below is an article published by bdnews24: They say the Rice Bank can give them the chance to prepare as rodents threaten another spell of destruction of crops including paddy...
Below is an article published by The Daily Star:On the 26th death anniversary of PCJSS founder president Manabendra Narayan Larma (MN Larma), PCJSS organised a memorial meeting at Shilpakala...
Below is an article published by PCJSS CHT: Besides, among others, State Minister for Ministry of the CHT Affairs (MoCHTA) Mr. Dipankar Talukdar, MP; Chairman of the CHT Development Board Mr. Bir...
Below is an article published by bdnews24 : Hill Tracts leaders on Monday met Sajeda, also the convenor of the National Committee on Implementation of the CHT Peace Accord, on aspects...
Below is an article published by The Daily Star: The High Court (HC) yesterday appointed two senior lawyers as amicus curiae (friends of court) for expert opinions during the hearing on the...
Below is an article published by The Daily Star: Chairman of Chittagong Hill Tracts Refugee Affairs Taskforce Jatindra Lal Tripura today [5th October] said they will review the list...
Below is an article published by: The Daily StarThe Chittagong Hill Tracts (CHT) Commission yesterday expressed grave concern over the violations of human rights of the indigenous people at Sajek in Rangamati...
Below is an article published by The Daily Star:Santu Larma [chairman of Chittagong Hill Tracts Regional Council] has a point. And those of us who believe that values have a place in life cannot but agree...
Article below published by The Daily Star: Members of the International Commission for Chittagong Hill Tracts (CHT) will meet Prime Minister (PM) Sheikh Hasina next week [August 2009]after completing...
Below is an article published by Kapaeeng Foundation:On 19 July 2009 Sachetan Nagorik Samaj organised a human chain demanding the cancellation of all illegal leases in Chittagong Hill Tracts (CHT)...
Below is an article published by the English People’s Daily Online: The tribal children who live in Bangladesh's remote Chittagong Hill Tracts are receiving pre-school education...
Below is an article published by the Daily Star:Indigenous people in Bangladesh suffered due to government policies while Bangla-speaking settlers continued to capture their land with the behind-the-scene...
Below is a memorandum issued by the Association for Land Reform and Development (ALRD) and Kapaeeng Foundation at the National Press Club:Honorable Prime Minister,Greetings! We, on behalf of citizens...
Below is an article published by The Daily Star : A public university will be set up in Rangamati to facilitate higher education for indigenous people living in the Chittagong Hill Tracts region,...
Below is an article published by: The Daily Star Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina yesterday [18 Feb 2009] said problems of the Chittagong Hill Tracts (CHT) will have to be resolved politically as these...
Below is an article published by: The New Nation Since 2007, unusually large numbers of rats have been flooding out of the forests of the Chittagong Hill Tracts (CHT), causing major...
Below is an article published by: The New Nation The government will form a land commission to resolve land problem issues for all aboriginal communities in Chittagong Hill-Tract...
Below is an article published by : The Daily Star Eliminating poverty alone cannot ensure human rights in a country, rather bodies like judiciary, national human rights commission (NHRC),...
Below is an article published by the Daily Star: Rangamati Textile Mill (RTM), the lone industry in the Chittagong Hill Tracts (CHT), is closed for several months, leaving hundreds of...
Below is an article published by: The Daily Star Law Minister Shafique Ahmed yesterday [01 February 2009] said the government is weighing measures to settle the land disputes...
Below is an article published by: Thaindian News The Bangladesh government plans to amend the Chittagong Hill Tracts (CHT) Land Commission to ensure a better deal for the...
Below is an article published by: Survival International Ranglai Mro, leader of the remote Mro (or Mru) people of the Chittagong Hill Tracts, was released on bail today after almost two years...
Below is an article published by the Mission Network News: Compass Direct News reports the […] killing of an outspoken Christian defender of minorities in Sajek, Bangladesh. Ladu Moni...
Below is an article published by bdnews.com:The first-ever US-funded bilateral environmental programme in the Chittagong Hill Tracts (CHT) was rolled out on Tuesday [18 November 2008]. US ambassador...
Speakers at a discussion on Wednesday [24 September 2008] had some suggestions for the government to uphold and encourage the cultural practices and heritages of 11 ethnic communities in Chittagong...
Below is an article published by The Kapaeeng Watch:The ethnic minority leaders and academics at a discussion on Tuesday [26 August 2008] called upon the government to be respectful to the ethnic minority...
The International Secretariat of the World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT) has issued a report on the continuing violence faced by Jumma groups in the Chittagong Hill Tracts, and called for action...
The Universal Period Review (UPR) is a scheme under which the Human Rights Council of the United Nations endeavours to review the human rights records of its members. As per General Assembly resolution...
Below is an article published by Scoop New Zealand: A Jumma man Ladu Moni Chakma was [killed] on Tuesday [26 August 2008] by a group of Bengali settlers at his home in the Sajek area of the Chittagong...
Below is an article published by Daily Star:Indigenous people in many remote villages in Chittagong Hill Tracts (CHT) will have to suffer from lack of food grains for at least two more months until the...
Below is an article published by the Daily Star: The Chittagong Hill Tracts Commission (CHTC) yesterday [14 August 2008] called on the government to speed up the implementation of the 1997 peace treaty...
Below is part of the report presented by the UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights and fundamental freedoms of indigenous peoples. The full report can be accessed here .BangladeshAllegation...
Below is an article published by The Daily Star: A delegation of the newly reconstituted Chittagong Hill Tracts (CHT) Commission today [8 August 2008] begins a five-day visit to the three hill districts...
Below is an article published by The Daily Star : Indigenous people in the Chittagong Hill Tracts (CHT) are now under threat from large-scale displacement due to land grabbing, setting up of parks and...
Below is an article published by The Daily Star: The government will relax the minimum educational requirement for recruitment of primary school teachers in three Chittagong hill districts to solve the...
Tens of thousands of people in Bangladesh's southeastern region are being given food aid after a plague of rats devoured rice crops earlier this year [2008], the United Nations' food agency said...
Government of Bangladesh declares district and session judge's courts in the CHT to be functioned from July 2008. The Government of Bangladesh announced that District Judge Courts would be functioning...
Below is a press release issued by Kapaeeng Watch: On occasion of 12th abduction anniversary of Kalpana Chakma, on 12 June 2008 Hill Women's Federation (HWF) organised human chain at Dhaka University...
SAJEK’S BURNT VILLAGES: CITIZEN’S TEAM CALLS FOR INQUIRY AND URGENT RELIEF A group of citizens conducted an on-site inquiry on 28th and 29th April 2008 in Sajek Union, Rangamati District,...
Below is an article written by Srabantee Shegufta and published by the Daily Star: Under The Wild Life (Preservation) (Amendment) Act-1974 in 1996, part of the West Bhanugach Reserved Forest was declared...
Below is a press release issued by Survival International: A representative of the Bawm people, one of the eleven ‘Jumma’ tribes of the Chittagong Hill Tracts of Bangladesh, spoke to British...
Below is an article published by The Daily Star: The April 20 [2008] arson attack on villages of indigenous communities in Baghaichhari of Rangamati was well orchestrated and pre-planned, and the government...
On 20th April 2008 as the United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues gathered in New York to hold its seventh session, hundreds of illegal plain settlers attacked seven indigenous Jumma villages...
Below is an article published by Agence France Presse: Rampaging Bengali settlers have razed seven tribal villages to the ground in Bangladesh's Chittagong Hill Tracts region, the rights group...
Below is an article written by Mark Dummett and published by the BBC: Sangram, a rat catcher in the remote Bangladeshi village of Theihkyong, has never been busier and nor has his work been as important...
Bangladesh’s record came under US scrutiny and once again little progress has been shown on land and resource rights. Below is an excerpt from the US State Department’s Bangladesh Country...
A daylong conference on Indigenous Peoples rights was organised by the European Commission, UNDP and Bangladesh Indigenous Peoples Forum. Below is an article published by Kapaeeng Watch: On 19...
Although primary education in indigenous language is guaranteed by the regional government many children are losing the opportunity to speak it on a day to day basis. Below is an article written by Pinaki...
Prominent Bangladeshis expressed grave concern for the Jumma tribal peoples of the Chittagong Hill Tracts after a fact finding trip to the region. Below is an article published by Survival...
Delegates have put together a 17-point plan designed to protect and promote the unique cultures and languages in the Chittagong Hill Tracts. Below is an article published by the Daily Star: Speakers...
A fact-finding mission has uncovered poor land management by local authorities as ordinary people await implementation of 1997’s peace treaty. Below is an article published by New Age National: Flawed...
The United States has called on Dhaka to promote human rights issues, talks with political parties, and ethnic group exchanges. Below is an article published by Independent Bangladesh: The US chargé...
Illegal rock extraction and lack of government scrutiny is leading to increased erosion and flooding, threatening lives and livelihoods. Below is an article published by Jasim Majumder in The Daily Star: Illegal...
Despite Bangladesh denials of violations on human rights, there have been reports of continued abuses on the indigenous people of the Chittagong Hill Tracts. Below is an article published by Reuters: Bangladesh...
Representatives of the Jumma people have put pressure on the Government to investigate what is seen by many as illegal, military-orchestrated settlement operations, depriving the indigenous population...
Recent reports suggest an increase in what is viewed as illegal settlement by non-indigenous groups on indigenously owned land. Furthermore, there are fears that the 1997 Peace Accord may be declared invalid...
Despite its obligations and promises, the Bangladeshi government is yet to provide indigenous communities with primary education in their mother tongue. Below is an article written by Jasim Majumder...
A Chittagong Hill Tracts land rights leader has been sentenced to 17 Years in Prison after protesting against forced evictions. Below is an article published by The Progress Report Ranglai Mro,...
The government of Bangladesh is going to activate the Chittagong Hill Tracts Land Commissions in order to settle land-related disputes. The commission had remained inactive for more than 3 years....
The Chittagong Hill Tracts affairs advisory committee is to hold its third meeting in seven years with the objective of achieving the full implementation of the 1997 peace accord. Below is an article...
An outbreak of polio has led Bangladesh to announce a vast vaccination programme for the Chittagong Hill Tracts. All children under five are to be vaccinated before 1 July 2007. Below is an article published...
Below is an article published by The Daily Star: Speakers at a recent meeting emphasised the importance of purveying primary level education in the students' own languages. This view was expressed...
Below is a statement by the Peace Campaign Group on the situation in the Chittagong Hill Tracts. State of Emergency in Bangladesh and Political Repression of Indigenous Leaders in CHT. Bangladesh...
Below is an excerpt from an article published by UNICEF: The UK Department for International Development (DFID) and UNICEF signed an agreement worth US$ 62.8 million to support the Government of Bangladesh...
Below is a report published by Peace Campaign Group: Peace Campaign Group (PCG) welcomes the resignation of the Bangladesh’s president Ijasuddin Ahmed from his post of Chief Advisor to then Caretaker...
Below is an article published by Daily India: Of the women, the two 'begums', as the Western media calls former Prime Ministers Khaleda Zia and Sheikh Hasina, are themselves contesting five and four...
Below is an abstract of an address by Suhas Chakma, Director of the Asian Centre for Human Rights at South Asia Foreign Correspondent Club: SAARC Human Rights Report 2006: Address by Suhas...
Dhaka, Sept. 9 (PTI): With greater emphasis on democratic governance and poverty alleviation, Bangladesh and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) have signed an agreement to support Dhaka's...
Below is a press release from the Human Rights Monitoring Cell, United Peoples’ Democratic Front (UPDF): One Jumma villager sustained injuries on Sunday 27 August when a group of Bengali settlers...
Violence continues against the Jumma tribal people of Bangladesh. On 12 July a Jumma shopkeeper was arrested by the army in Mahalchari. He was severely beaten and tortured, and was given electric shocks....
Thousands of 'outsiders' have been enrolled in the voter list while permanent residents of the three Chittagong Hill Tracts (CHT) districts are left out, Chairman of CHT Regional Council Jyotirindra Bodhipriya...
The speakers at the sixth regional dialogue in hill town Rangamati yesterday demanded withdrawal of what they said was unofficial martial law, full implementation of the peace accord, and land rights for...
Bahauddin Nasim was released on bail on 6 January after the High Court declared his detention illegal. Dr Mohiuddin Alamgir was released on bail on 18 September 2002. There were credible reports that both...
Members of the Chittagong Hill Tracts Regional Council (CHTRC) raised their voices Wednesday against what they said the government's continued apathy towards full implementation of the...
Dhaka, Bangladesh (AHN) - The World Food Program (WFP) and UNICEF have launched a collaborative project in three districts of Chittagong Hill Tracts (CHT) in Bangladesh. Under the pilot initiative...
Over two dozen Chakma and Marma tribals have been injured when their villages at Joy Sen Para, Nuapara and Massyachara under Khagrachari district of Chittagong Hill Tracts of Bangladesh were attacked...
Indigenous leaders yesterday urged the government to stop illegal grabbing of their land across the country and to recognise their traditional land rights. They also demanded introduction of...
Asian Centre for Human Rights (ACHR) urged the government of India to raise systematic persecution of the minorities and indigenous tribal peoples in the discussion with Bangladeshi Prime Minister...
Journalists in Rangamati have demanded cell phone network to connect Chittagong Hill Tracts (CHT) with rest of the country. The demand was made at a view exchange meeting between local journalists...
A total of 479 kilometers border area of the three hill districts of the country is unprotected through which illegal arms are brought inside the country. This was revealed at a meeting of the...
On 13 March 2006, Jumma Net, Japan has sent the following letter to the government of Bangladesh in protest of illegal land grabbing in the Chittagong Hill Tracts, violent arrest of indigenous...
A Government-ADB-UNDP team visited Chittagong Hill Tracts to observe the programme "Promotion of Development and Confidence Building in the Chittagong Hill Tracts" run by Bangladesh...
Deputy Minister for Chittagong Hill Tracts (CHT) Affairs Moniswapon Dewan urged officials of United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), Asian Development Bank (ADB) and NGOs to take...
Eminent Bangladeshi director Tanvir Mokammel's documentary on the plight of Chakma and other tribal groups in Chittagong Hill Tracts, which has been banned by authorities of that country, received...
Traditional and customary 'laws' followed by indigenous people in Chittagong Hill Tracts (CHT) should be given some sort of legal cover to ensure their access to justice, CHT Regional Council...
The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) has prepared a six million dollar project for development of Chittagong Hill Tracts (CHT) and employment creation by utilising local resources....
The visiting EU Troika delegation today expressed serious concern over human right violations of the minorities and Bangladesh apprehended that it might intensify in the pre-election period. The...
Long-term steps towards mainstreaming development in the Chittagong Hill Tracts (CHT) was set in motion when the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) signed its largest ever project with...
The Bangladeshi government and the UN Development Programme (UNDP) have agreed to invest $50m in the south-eastern Chittagong Hill Tracts. Rebel groups there have been fighting for autonomy...
PCJSS (Parbatya Chattagram Jana Samhati Samiti) Kalyanpur, Rangamati-4500, Chittagong Hill Tracts Bangladesh Tel+Fax: +880-351-61248 Website: pcjss.org Monthly Report of November 2005 Innocent...
Untitled Document Chakma tribe members of Tripura and Chittagong Hill Tract (CHT) of southern Bangladesh raised a voice against the Khaleda Zia-led administration following steps...
Untitled Document Ethnic minority leaders and civil society members in Bangladesh have issued an appeal for reducing levels of discrimination against indigenous people and ensure...
Untitled Document In the first week of June 2005, the government of Bangladesh decided to continue to provide “free food rations” to 28,000 plain settlers of the Chittagong...
Untitled Document Impunity was a key factor in the government’s failure to stem a tide of violence. Among the main victims of the violence were members of minority communities...
Untitled Document On 7 June 2005, the United Peoples Democratic Forum (UPDF), a political party of indigenous Jumma peoples, will reportedly hold a protest rally at Khagrachari,...
Untitled Document In the night of 10-11 May, five Chakma tribals were massacred in remote Jorendrapara and Madanjaypara villages under Raisyabari police station in Dhalai district by NLFT...
A public meeting foiled by army personnel in Baghaichari On 4 April 2005 at around 12.00 a.m. PCJSS of local union branch of Baghaihat under Baghaichari called a public meeting on the...
24 March, speakers at a conference called for constitutional recognition of the rights of indigenous peoples as they are being deprived of various facilities. They also criticized the government...
On 23 March, eights indigenous people from Naniachar under Rangamati Hill district were kidnapped by armed cadres belonging to the United People Democratic Front (UPDF), a pro-government organization...
Untitled Document Two groups of Bangladesh Army personnel have been sent out of Barracks to Mohajanpara and Khagrapur, which are two parts of Khagrachari Hill District Headquarters,...
Untitled Document State Minister for Home Lutfozzaman Babar on Thursday said in the Jatiya Sangsad that the present government since formation of the Rapid Action Battalion (RAB)...
Untitled Document On 3 January 2005 a BDR person named Shahjahan was killed while an armed group of UPDF (United people's Democratic Front) and a patrolling party of Bangladesh Rifles...
Speakers at a seminar Wednesday stressed the need for creating responsible leadership in the Chittagong Hill Tracts (CHT) through imparting quality education. Organised by the CARE Bangladesh,...
Untitled Document Implementation of Chittagong Hill Tracts (CHT) accord is impossible without establishing a democratic and progressive government, said the speakers at a discussion...
The World Bank and the Asian Development Bank jointly held a consultation on Sunday with the representatives of the indigenous people in the Chittagong Hill Tracts areas as part of the process...
Untitled Document Speakers at a seminar yesterday asked all to take the problem of the Chittagong Hill Tracts (CHT) as a national issue, blaming rulers' communal attitude for...
Untitled Document Seven years after the signing of the Chittagong Hill Tracts (CHT) peace accord on December 2, 1997, discontent persists in the region as the government did not...
Untitled Document Bangladesh is one of the signatories of the Convention on Biological Diversity. Nevertheless, the three types of forests existing in the country -- the evergreen...
Untitled Document Speakers at a memorial meeting in the city yesterday reiterated their demand for full implementation of the Chittagong Hill Tracts Accord with a view to protect...
Untitled Document As part of its hidden policy in the Chittagong Hill Tracts (CHT) and dictatorial rule designed for it, the four-party coalition government of Bangladesh led by...
Untitled Document World Food Programme (WFP) officials in Dhaka said they had already planned to build and expand its current rehabilitation activities of the second Rural Road Maintenance...
Untitled Document The government of Norway has expressed its keen interest to invest in the Chittagong Hill Tracts (CHT) areas to promote socio-economic conditions of the area by...
align="justify">On 18 October 2004 the Govt. decided to withdraw 900 Police personnel from 15 camps of three Hill Districts and these will be replaced by Army personnel. Of course, the army replacement...
In a meeting held on 16 October 2004 the Parliamentary Standing Committee on the Environment & Forest Ministry decided to amend the CHT Accord of 1997 for the protection of forest resources of the CHT,...
CHT already has Militay Administration in the name of "Operation Uttoron" i.e. "Operation Uliftment” and now going to have another Force with mighty powers. Most important...
Untitled Document The law enforcing agencies killed 111 people across the country in the last nine months between January 1 and September 30, said a report from Odhikar, a human...
Untitled Document Indigenous people in Bangladesh are on the verge of extinction as their rights are being frequently trampled upon, claimed experts and tribal leaders. According...
On 3 August 2004, Muslim Bengali settlers from Kalabanya of Aimachara Union under Barkal Thana slain an indigenous family of Dhandachara village of Bhushanchara Union under Barkal Thana in...
On 2 August 2004 at 4.00 a.m. Bangladesh military led by Major Aziz from Sindukchari camp under Guimara brigade conducted an operation in Natun Para village of Lubramaram mouza under Guimara of Matiranga...
On 1 August 2004 at 11.00 a.m., a group of Muslim Bengali settlers from the College Gate area of Rangamati municipality committed a violent communal attack on indigenous people in the College...
n the mid of this July the government of Bangladesh started setting up a new army camp over the land recorded in the name two indigenous people at Ghilachari Mukh Talukdarpara near the Panchari...
he PCJSS of the Rangamati Branch organized a two-day a meeting from 22 to 23 July 2004 at Rangamati Town Hall to discuss the current situation in the CHT. The President of PCJSS Rangamati...
Untitled Document Speakers at a training programme yesterday called on the government to enact and enforce law to safeguard the universal human rights of ethnic groups. The existing...
Untitled Document Greeting from Bangladesh Indigenous people and may thanks for giving me the floor for presenting the present situation of Indigenous People in Bangladesh. I am...
Untitled Document The government has announced the framing of rules for Chittagong Hill Tracts Regional Council and to make the Hill District Councils effective. The decision was...
Untitled Document More than 100 new Muslim settler families arrived in Lalchari area under Ramgarh sub-division in Khagrachari hill district in the Chittagong Hill Tracts (CHT) in...
The human rights situation in the Chittagong Hill Tracts (CHT) has significantly worsened after taking over the office by a four-party coalition government led by the Bangladesh Nationalist...
The human rights situation in the Chittagong Hill Tracts (CHT) has significantly worsened after taking over the office by a four-party coalition government led by the Bangladesh Nationalist Party...
On 26 August, nine women from tribal communities in the Chittagong Hill Tracts were reported to have been sexually assaulted by Bengali settlers who attacked Jumma villages and set fire to hundreds...
Untitled Document Supporting Human Rights and Democracy: The U.S. Record 2003-2004 is submitted to the Congress by the U.S. Department of State. In their report they cover...
Jyotirindra Bodhipriya Larma, president of Bangladesh Forum for Indigenous People, could not leave for the USA as the government has barred him from leaving the country. He failed to join the third...
4/22/2004 United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) undertook a massive five-year development programme in three districts of Chittagong Hill Tracts that also aims at building confidence...
Untitled Document The government yesterday decided to delegate the authority to oversee development in the Chittagong Hill Tracts (CHT) region to its regional council in line with ...
Untitled Document Report on military atrocity Attack on Jumma people by Bengali settlers in Baghaichari: On 10 April 2004 the Bengali settlers led by the following BNP leaders...
The four-party alliance Government of Bangladesh led by Prime Minister Begum Khaleda Zia is contemplating to review Chittagong Hill Tracts Peace Treaty, which brought an end to over two decades...
Deputy Head of Mission of Royal Danish Embassy Tan B Hansen stated that peace is the prime prerequisite to the development of Chittagong Hill Tracts (CHT). He was speaking at a function held at...
Army tortured 3 PCP workers in Ruma On 26 February 2004 three Pahari Chatra Parishad (PCP) members of Ruma Thana Branch including Mr. Uhla Ching Marma (22) and Mong U Ching Marma were severely...
A report on the atrocious attack by the Bengali settlers with the full backing of the local Army personnel on the Indigenous Jumma villages of Mahalchari Upazila under Khagrachari district in the...
The 8th national parliamentary election was held on 1 October 2001, by which Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP)-alliance government came to the state power of Bangladesh. Since the signing of the...
“There was a consensus that peace and security at home are essential prerequisites for poverty reduction. The development partners encouraged that this should include follow up of the Chittagong...
Input received from Priti Bindu Chakma, Coordinator CHT Humanity Concern The Chittagong Hill Tracts (CHT), comprising Rangamati, Khagrachari and Bandarban hill districts of the south-eastern part...
The Unrepresented Nations and Peoples Organization (UNPO) is an international, nonviolent and democratic membership organisation. Its Members are indigenous peoples, minorities, unrecognised States and occupied territories that have joined together to defend their political, social and cultural rights, to preserve their environments and to promote their right to self-determination.