Indigenous activists protest at the COP21 Solutions Concert. Image via indigenousrising.org
Mitch Paquette of the Intercontinental Cry reports that pressure from the United States, the European Union, and Norwegian delegates caused reference to the “rights of Indigenous peoples” to be cut from the binding portion of the Paris Agreement, leaving the only mention of Indigenous rights to the completely unbinding preamble.
“Indigenous Peoples saw the Climate Change Conference in Paris as an opportunity to push for stronger human rights wording not only in the preamble but also in the various articles of the agreement to ensure respect for Indigenous Peoples’ rights,” said UN Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues (UNPFII) Chair Megan Davis following COP21. “Sadly, the agreement asks States to merely consider their human rights obligations, rather than comply with them.”