The International Work Group for Indigenous Affairs (IWGIA) is an independent and non-profit international

human rights Human rights are universally recognized Morality, moral principles or Social norm, norms that establish standards of human behavior and are often protected by both Municipal law, national and international laws. These rights are considered ...

-based

membership organization A membership organization is any organization that allows people or entities to subscribe, and often requires them to pay a membership free or "subscription". Membership organizations typically have a particular purpose, which involves connecting p ...

, whose central charter is to endorse and promote the

collective rights Individual rights, also known as natural rights, are rights held by individuals by virtue of being human. Some theists believe individual rights are bestowed by God. An individual right is a moral claim to freedom of action. Group rights, also k ...

of the world's

indigenous peoples There is no generally accepted definition of Indigenous peoples, although in the 21st century the focus has been on self-identification, cultural difference from other groups in a state, a special relationship with their traditional territ ...

. Established in 1968, the IWGIA is registered as a

non-profit organization A nonprofit organization (NPO), also known as a nonbusiness entity, nonprofit institution, not-for-profit organization, or simply a nonprofit, is a non-governmental (private) legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public, or so ...

Denmark Denmark is a Nordic countries, Nordic country in Northern Europe. It is the metropole and most populous constituent of the Kingdom of Denmark,, . also known as the Danish Realm, a constitutionally unitary state that includes the Autonomous a ...

, with the head office of its secretariat based in

Copenhagen Copenhagen ( ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a population of 1.4 million in the Urban area of Copenhagen, urban area. The city is situated on the islands of Zealand and Amager, separated from Malmö, Sweden, by the ...

. IWGIA's work is primarily funded by the Nordic Ministries of Foreign Affairs and the

European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational union, supranational political union, political and economic union of Member state of the European Union, member states that are Geography of the European Union, located primarily in Europe. The u ...

. IWGIA holds consultative status with the

United Nations Economic and Social Council The United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) is one of six principal organs of the United Nations, responsible for coordinating the economic and social fields of the organization, specifically in regards to the fifteen specialized ...

(ECOSOC) and has observer status with the

Arctic Council The Arctic Council is a high-level intergovernmental forum that addresses issues faced by the Arctic governments and the indigenous people of the Arctic region. At present, eight countries exercise sovereignty over the lands within the Arctic ...

and with the

African Commission on Human and Peoples' Rights The African Commission on Human and Peoples' Rights (ACHPR) is a quasi-judicial body tasked with promoting and protecting human rights and collective (peoples') rights throughout the African continent as well as interpreting the African Char ...

History

The constitution of the IWGIA as a body was first proposed and initiated in August 1968, at the 38th

International Congress of Americanists The International Congress of Americanists (ICA) is an international academic conference for research in multidisciplinary studies of the Americas. Established August 25, 1875 in Nancy, France, the scholars' forum has met regularly since its incep ...

, held in

Munich Munich is the capital and most populous city of Bavaria, Germany. As of 30 November 2024, its population was 1,604,384, making it the third-largest city in Germany after Berlin and Hamburg. Munich is the largest city in Germany that is no ...

and

Stuttgart Stuttgart (; ; Swabian German, Swabian: ; Alemannic German, Alemannic: ; Italian language, Italian: ; ) is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Baden-Württemberg by population, largest city of the States of Germany, German state of ...

. Formed as a co-operative of academic

anthropologist An anthropologist is a scientist engaged in the practice of anthropology. Anthropologists study aspects of humans within past and present societies. Social anthropology, cultural anthropology and philosophical anthropology study the norms, values ...

researchers and human rights activists, the IWGIA was initially concerned with redressing the threats posed by the rapid development of settlements and industries to the indigenous groups living in the

Amazon Basin The Amazon basin is the part of South America drained by the Amazon River and its tributary, tributaries. The Amazon drainage basin covers an area of about , or about 35.5 percent of the South American continent. It is located in the countries ...

. A network for indigenous advocacy and activism was first established in

Brazil Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...

and

Paraguay Paraguay, officially the Republic of Paraguay, is a landlocked country in South America. It is bordered by Argentina to the Argentina–Paraguay border, south and southwest, Brazil to the Brazil–Paraguay border, east and northeast, and Boli ...

, with the IWGIA later expanding its activities and involvement to the concerns of indigenous American peoples generally. Subsequently, the IWGIA's working groups, advocacy support and research publications extended to cover indigenous issues across all continental regions of the globe. IWGIA was one of the first organisations to be established in support of indigenous peoples. It was founded in 1968 by anthropologists concerned at the atrocities being committed against Indians in South America. Within a few years, a small group of dedicated scholars working on a voluntary basis had managed to establish a documentation centre that became well-known to concerned people the world over. The project grew to encompass international human rights work, empowerment projects, publishing and information dissemination. Since the May 28, 2000 adoption of changes to its statutes, the IWGIA has been incorporated as a membership organization, whose base membership contributes an annual subscription fee towards the running of the organization and funding of its activities.

Directors

*1968–1971 Lars Persson, Helge Kleivan *1971–1981 Helge Kleivan *1981–1983 Collective leadership of Jørgen Brøchner Jørgensen, Diana Vinding, Elisabeth Nonell, Fiona Wilson and Teresa Aparicio *1983–1987 Andrew Gray, Teresa Aparicio and Jørgen Brøchner Jørgensen *1987–1989 Andrew Gray and Teresa Aparicio *1989–1994 Teresa Aparicio and Jens Dahl *1994–1998 Inger Sjørslev *1998–2006 Jens Dahl *2006–2013 Lola García-Alix *2014–2015 Orla Bakdal *2015–2017 Interim directors: Marianne Wiben Jensen (interim), Lola García-Alix, and Kathrin Wessendorf *2017–2019 Julie Koch *2020–Present Kathrin Wessendorf

Activities

2019 saw an improvement in the statistics and data surrounding Indigenous Peoples. The International Labour Organisation published a lower-bound estimate of 476 million Indigenous people globally. IWGIA's work was cited in the report, while the World Bank and ILO both acknowledge that despite Indigenous Peoples making up only 6% of the global population, they make up 15% of the world’s extreme poor. IWGIA support indigenous peoples' organisations through its regional and thematic programmes. As of December 2019, IWGIA has changed its institutional focus from three regional programmes - on

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent after Asia. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 20% of Earth's land area and 6% of its total surfac ...

Latin America Latin America is the cultural region of the Americas where Romance languages are predominantly spoken, primarily Spanish language, Spanish and Portuguese language, Portuguese. Latin America is defined according to cultural identity, not geogr ...

and

Asia Asia ( , ) is the largest continent in the world by both land area and population. It covers an area of more than 44 million square kilometres, about 30% of Earth's total land area and 8% of Earth's total surface area. The continent, which ...

- and one country programme, supporting indigenous peoples in the

Russian Federation Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

, plus a programme on climate change, supporting indigenous participation in international climate change processes and local activities and awareness raising related to national REDD+ strategies to four thematic programmes. The four thematic programmes IWIGA works with in 2019 are climate, land rights, Indigenous rights defenders at risk, and global governance. Alongside these thematic programmes are programmes on communications and documentation and alliances and engagement.

Publications

IWGIA's publications programme has been integrated into communications and documentation and includes the publication of IWGIA's yearbook "The Indigenous World", as well as a variety of books, human rights reports, briefing papers, manuals and videos mostly in

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Culture, language and peoples * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England * ''English'', an Amish ter ...

and

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many countries in the Americas **Spanish cuisine **Spanish history **Spanish culture ...

. However, IWGIA has also occasionally published in Danish,

Hindi Modern Standard Hindi (, ), commonly referred to as Hindi, is the Standard language, standardised variety of the Hindustani language written in the Devanagari script. It is an official language of India, official language of the Government ...

French French may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France ** French people, a nation and ethnic group ** French cuisine, cooking traditions and practices Arts and media * The French (band), ...

and other languages. Its regular publications have included the following: *''IWGIA Newsletter'' (quarterly magazine) 1968-1993 *''Indigenous Affairs'' (quarterly magazine) 1994-2010 *''IWGIA Yearbook'' (annual magazine and organizational report) 1986-1992 *''IWGIA Annual Report'' (organizational report) 1985-present *''The Indigenous World'' (annual magazine)) 1994-present

References

External links