Tala Alahmar
Pronouns: she/her
Research Mentor(s): Kelly Askew
Co-Presenter:
Research Mentor School/College/Department: DAAS/Anthropology / LSA
Presentation Date: April 20
Presentation Type: Poster
Session: Session 4 – 2:40pm – 3:30 pm
Room: League Ballroom
Authors:
Presenter: 12
Abstract
Despite humanitarian efforts to protect the rights of indigenous peoples in Africa, indigenous groups still struggle to access basic human rights. These rights include those to water and other essential resources, land ownership, literacy, cultural preservation, and gainful employment. Indigenous rights are often violated by foreign corporations, governments, and states, who benefit from indigenous groups’ lack of political representation. The goals of this project are to document cases of human rights violations in Africa and to raise awareness about them. Special attention is paid to violations that occur in connection with natural disasters, refugee crises, and social conflicts. Cases are continuously updated to ensure that they reflect new information and circumstances that are ongoing throughout the region. The project examines cases of indigenous rights violations across 22 countries in different regions of Africa; 69 indigenous groups are documented, as are 7 categories of rights violations. The cases utilize information from news articles, academic journals, documentaries, and consultation with experts in the field to curate a comprehensive database. The results of the research show that governments need to do more work to protect the rights of their indigenous populations like providing them with accommodations, preserving their land and culture and ensuring their access to employment. This database serves to enhance awareness of such violations and to encourage advocacy groups and human rights protection agencies to take action to preserve the rights of indigenous communities.
Arts and Humanities, Social Sciences
