EDITORIAL
Juana Raymundo from Guatemala was only 25 years old when her life was cut short. Juana was an indigenous rights defender, a nurse and a coordinator at CODECA, a human rights organization promoting the rights of indigenous farmers - in particular to their lands. She disap- peared on the evening of 27 July 2018. Her body was found the next day.
Billy’s body has never been found. He was arrested in 2014 after collecting honey in one of Thailand’s national parks, Kaeng Krachan. Bil- ly and his wife are Karen, a group of indigenous peoples who live along the borders of the park. Billy was a well known indigenous rights activist, who passionately documented injustices against his community.
Before his disappearance, Billy had photographed camp guards burning down the houses of the Karen peoples. His 32-year-old wife Phinnape, a mother of five, believes that his photographs, documenting the violence against his people, are the real reason that he was arrest- ed. No one has been held responsible for Billy’s disappearance.
Billy and Juana are just two of the hundreds of indigenous rights activists who are killed or disappeared every year.
Over the last 33 years, The Indigenous World has documented an increasing trend towards harassment and criminalisation of indigenous peoples and communities. While the situation varies considerably be- tween regions and countries, many indigenous peoples around the globe face similar issues, including: lack of recognition as collective rights holders; exclusion from decision-making processes; overall dis- crimination by mainstream society; lack of tenure security and there- fore loss of land and resources; gross human rights violations; lack of access to justice; lack of institutional capacities; and lack of freedom of expression and/or access to media.
Throughout 2018, there has been an increase in the documenta- tion and reporting of illegal surveillance, arbitrary arrests, travel bans to prevent free movement, threats, dispossession and killings. We have witnessed instruments which are meant to protect indigenous peoples being turned against them, through the use of legislation and the jus- tice system, to penalise and criminalise indigenous peoples’ assertion of their rights.
