The All-Party Parliamentary Group for Tribal Peoples was formed in 2007 by Martin Horwood MP, and aims to raise parliamentary and public awareness of tribal peoples.
The Group meets two or three times a year and one of its main objectives is to press for ratification of ILO Convention 169 on the rights of indigenous and tribal peoples.
APPG members have tabled an Early Day Motion expressing their concerns about Anglo American’s proposed ‘Pebble Mine’ in Bristol Bay, Alaska. EDM 1606 calls on Anglo American to respect the rights of the Bristol Bay residents, many of whom are indigenous, and forgo development of its open pit mine. APPG Chair Martin Horwood (Lib Dem) tabled the EDM, which is co-sponsored by fellow APPG members Peter Bottomley (Cons), Jeremy Corbyn (Lab), and Caroline Lucas (Green).
To find out more, see: http://ourbristolbay.com/
A delegation of Native people from Alaska will be meeting with members of the APPG on Tuesday 2nd November. With support from Earthworks Action, four Native people from Bristol Bay are travelling to London to raise awareness of their campaign to protect their land from a proposed gold and copper mine.
Members of the APPG have called on the new UK government to ratify the ILO Indigenous and Tribal Peoples Convention 169. Early Day Motion 610 calls on the government to ratify ILO 169 - the only international law for tribal peoples - without delay.
Caroline Lucas was elected Treasurer at the Group’s AGM on 30th June. Martin Horwood was re-elected Chair, and Andrew George as Vice-Chair.
A new Early Day Motion, EDM 1299, has been tabled by members of the APPG, calling on the UK government to sign ILO Convention 169 on the rights of indigenous and tribal peoples.
Vice-Chair Andrew George and Secretary David Drew with Davi Kopenawa
The APPG met Davi Kopenawa, Yanomami shaman from Brazil dubbed the ‘Dalai Lama of the rainforest’ at a reception held in parliament.
Davi told MPs and peers that the best way to save the world’s rainforests is to protect the rights of tribal peoples.
Davi Kopenawa, a Yanomami shaman from Brazil, dubbed ‘the Dalai Lama of the rainforest’ by the German Berliner Morgenpost newspaper, will be the special guest at a reception hosted by the APPG in June.
The APPG will host the premier screening of a short film about the Dongria Kondh tribe of India who are resisting plans by British mining company, Vedanta, to build a bauxite mine on their land.
The film, ‘Mine: story of a sacred mountain’, is narrated by Joanna Lumley and will be screened in parliament on 1st April.
Dongria Kondh woman, Orissa
The APPG held its AGM on 11th February. David Drew MP was elected as the group’s secretary and Harry Cohen as assistant secretary. Martin Horwood, Andrew George and John Bercow were re-elected.
Martin Horwood MP, Chair, with Victoria Tauli-Corpuz
Victoria Tauli-Corpuz, Chair of the UN Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues, met with members of the APPG on a recent visit to London.
