Rosatom subsidiary plans for lithium mining on the Kola Peninsula

Production of lithium compounds could start by 2030 in both Murmansk and Irkutsk regions with an estimated amount of 50 thousand tons annually. The world’s hunger for lithium-ion batteries is sky-rocketing as the car industry rapidly changes from combustion engines to electric powertrains. A…

Former dam executive found guilty in the killing of Berta Cáceres

The alleged ringleader of the 2016 killing of environmental and Indigenous rights activist Berta Cáceres was convicted of murder by a Honduran court on Monday. Roberto David Castillo Mejía, the ex-head of the dam company Desa, was found guilty of participating in the assassination…

If you don’t know treaties and sovereignty, you don’t know history

Sovereignty is sovereignty, treaties are treaties, and nation to nation is between and among sovereigns There’s a widespread notion that “tribal sovereignty” and “Indian treaties” are legal, historical, practical and correct terms. Actually, sovereignty is sovereignty, and treaties are treaties, nation to nation is between and…

Indigenous people are the world’s biggest conservationists, but they rarely get credit for it

More than 30 percent of the Earth is already conserved. Thank Indigenous people and local communities. In a lush swath of tropical forest on the eastern coast of Mindanao, the second-largest island in the Philippines, you can glimpse the brilliant plumage of the rare…

A decade of the Ruggie Principles: World events and looming legislation are forcing investors to step up on human rights

RI’s human rights specialist Gina Gambetta reflects on recent developments on the 10th anniversary of the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights June marks 10 years since the UN Human Rights Council unanimously endorsed the Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights (UNGPs),…

Ground Temperatures Hit 118 Degrees in the Arctic Circle

The ongoing climate crisis is not going to spare Siberia. Newly published satellite imagery shows the ground temperature in at least one location in Siberia topped 118 degrees Fahrenheit (48 degrees Celsius) going into the year’s longest day. It’s hot Siberia Earth summer, and it certainly won’t be…

Maya Peoples of Belize Win Lawsuit against Belize Government for Violating Land Rights

On June 16, 2021, the Supreme Court of Belize ruled in favor of Maya land rights, upholding the community of Jalacte’s right to Free, Prior and Informed Consent (FPIC) on their customary lands. The court issued a decision in the case, Jalacte Village vs. the…

Siberia, Protest and Politics: Shaman Alexander in Danger

In 2021 a modest long-haired Sakha man named Alexander Gabyshev was arrested at his family compound on the outskirts of Yakutsk in an unprecedented for Sakha Republic (Yakutia) show-of-force featuring nine police cars and over 50 police. For the third time in two years, he was…

Inuit-a unique experience of development

BATANI FOUNDATION June 30, 2021, at 10 am New York time, will be held an international webinar “Inuit-a unique experience of development”, organized by the International Indigenous Fund for development and solidarity “BATANI”. The Inuit are the indigenous people of the Arctic who live in four countries…

Dialogues about Rights

Director of the Batani Foundation Pavel Sulyandziga discusses the 30-ty years process of negotiations between the Udege indigenous community and authorities on the creation of the «Bikin» natural park in Primorsky Krai. The guest of the YouTube broadcast «Dialogues about Rights» is a prominent…