Karayu traditionally live in the Fantalle district but many were evicted in 2006 for the creation of the Awash National Park and development projects such as the Metahara Sugar Factory and Upper Awash Agro-industry Enterprise. Karayu are also forbidden access to their only water source, the Awash River. Photo Credit: Flickr
Category: Ethnic Group
Kunama v. Nevsun Mining
Four Eritrean-Kunama refugees are in the middle of a judicial battle in the Canadian court system against a Canadian-based mining company for alleged human rights violations at the Bisha Mine in Eritrea. As a result of the case, other investors are becoming skeptical about moving to Eritrea. Photo Credit: Thomas Mukoya/Reuters
Afar in Djibouti
Afar are a pastoralist ethnic group in Eastern Africa. In Djibouti, they face harsh conditions and struggle to sustain their lifestyle. Photo Credit: Eric Lafforgue.
Mbenga vs. Development in the Dzanga-Sangha Forest
The Mbenga people have lived in the Dzanga-Sangha Forest of the Central African Republic for centuries. However, maintaining a traditional livelihood is now a challenge due to logging, poaching, poor health, and servitude to the majority Bilo who exploit local resources. Photo Credit: The Guardian
Baka vs. Nki National Park
Traditions and practices, such as hunting and fishing, are being lost, as landless Baka now must live outside of their ancestral home. Conservation and development now threaten their entire way of life. Photo credit: The Guardian.
Life of Batwa in Burundi
Batwa in Burundi, as elsewhere in the region, account for just one percent of the total population. Like other Batwa, they are viewed as inferior, and many live in poor conditions and face discrimination. Photo Credit: Mario Rizzolio (UN)
Basarwa/San vs. Central Kalahari Game Reserve
Basarwa/San are hunter-gatherers indigenous to southern Africa, traditionally living in the Kalahari Desert and Central Kalahari Game Reserve. Although the reserve was given to the group in the 1960’s, the Botswana government has forced them out over time to pursue mining development and tourism there instead. Photo Credit: SI
San in Angola
Photo Credit: Craig Davis
Rif vs. Jerada Mining
Jerada is a small mining town in the Al Hoceima region of Morocco. Rif people face horrible living conditions due to the government’s preference to allow extractive industries such as mining, rather than develop programs and services for Rif people. Photo Credit: Public Radio International
Amazigh vs. Violations in Algeria
Amazigh in Algeria face numerous violations of their rights in their quest for freedom of speech, language and cultural practices. Although the Algerian government passed UNDRIP, it still represses Amazigh freedoms.