Young activists protest about smog being created by deforestation in the Amazon, on day six of Cop28 at Expo City Dubai. Chris Whiteoak / The National
Young activists protest about smog being created by deforestation in the Amazon, on day six of Cop28 at Expo City Dubai. Chris Whiteoak / The National
Young activists protest about smog being created by deforestation in the Amazon, on day six of Cop28 at Expo City Dubai. Chris Whiteoak / The National
Young activists protest about smog being created by deforestation in the Amazon, on day six of Cop28 at Expo City Dubai. Chris Whiteoak / The National

We remain invisible: Indigenous people say vital land rights issue remains unresolved


Ramola Talwar Badam
  • English
  • Arabic

Live updates: Follow the latest news on Cop28

Indigenous people representing forest communities in 24 nations have asked that the crucial issue of ancestral land rights, demarcation and safeguarding protected areas are mentioned clearly in the Cop28 global stocktake.

Community leaders from the Amazon and Congo basins, Indonesia and Mesoamerica said indigenous people must be involved in negotiations on the loss and damage fund, adding that the money should be distributed directly to communities to be more effective.

This, they say, is because they are on the front line of the damage caused by climate change.

Countries are not taking into account indigenous people
Levi Sucre,
a leader of the Bribri indigenous people of Costa Rica

At a press conference on Tuesday, the leaders asked for a seat at the table during the main negotiations so indigenous voices are included.

“We are worried because it’s as if the indigenous people are still invisible, budgets are going to other areas and we are very lightly mentioned in the global stocktake,” said Levi Sucre, a leader of the Bribri indigenous people of Costa Rica.

Another concern is that while many countries agreed at global events such as the UN climate change conference to consider their demands, there was no action on the ground at home where deforestation and contamination of land and water due to mining continued unabated.

Mr Sucre asked for tighter scrutiny so indigenous peoples' rights to ancestral land can be secured and targeted funding reaches forest areas.

“Countries are not taking into account indigenous people,” he said.

“It seems they are deaf to our concerns. We are directly facing the effects of climate change and cannot live as we used to.

“We will not give up our rights to our forests, our homes.”

He said a major concern was a proposal to drop monitoring indigenous peoples' rights at global gatherings and leaving implementation to individual governments.

“We already know from our experience that our governments do not want to include the full rights of indigenous people in their policies, so renouncing the right to keep following up and monitoring that our rights are recognised is a big worry,” he said.

“There is also no direct investment in our communities – you can give and commit a lot of millions of dollars to fight climate change, as many countries have in previous years but, as the studies keep saying, these funds are not reaching our communities.

“They don’t understand that we represent the forests, we protect the forests and we are not included. It will affect the whole of humanity.”

There are about 370 million indigenous people globally that represent more than 5,000 cultures but very few countries recognise their land rights.

Even where people have legal title deeds to their land, these are still often leased by the state to mining companies or for logging concessions without indigenous communities' consent resulting in thousands of people being evicted, the UN says.

Aissatou Oumarou, of the network of local populations of forests in Central Africa, said indigenous people were being robbed of their dignity and struggling to live in increasing poverty.

She shared a stark message on the displacement communities such as hers experienced.

“Imagine you are asleep and all of a sudden someone comes and takes everything – your bed, your mattress, your home, everything – that is what we experience and they still expect us to breathe.”

Community leaders said they were key to preserving the environment.

“We don’t want to only be the beneficiary, but [we want] have an actual voice,” said Kleber Karipuna, leader of the Karipuna people from Brazil.

“The funding mechanism should be that it actually supports the indigenous people directly and at the local level.”

The specs

Engine: 1.5-litre turbo

Power: 181hp

Torque: 230Nm

Transmission: 6-speed automatic

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What the law says

Micro-retirement is not a recognised concept or employment status under Federal Decree Law No. 33 of 2021 on the Regulation of Labour Relations (as amended) (UAE Labour Law). As such, it reflects a voluntary work-life balance practice, rather than a recognised legal employment category, according to Dilini Loku, senior associate for law firm Gateley Middle East.

“Some companies may offer formal sabbatical policies or career break programmes; however, beyond such arrangements, there is no automatic right or statutory entitlement to extended breaks,” she explains.

“Any leave taken beyond statutory entitlements, such as annual leave, is typically regarded as unpaid leave in accordance with Article 33 of the UAE Labour Law. While employees may legally take unpaid leave, such requests are subject to the employer’s discretion and require approval.”

If an employee resigns to pursue micro-retirement, the employment contract is terminated, and the employer is under no legal obligation to rehire the employee in the future unless specific contractual agreements are in place (such as return-to-work arrangements), which are generally uncommon, Ms Loku adds.

TOUR DE FRANCE INFO

Dates: July 1-23
Distance: 3,540km
Stages: 21
Number of teams: 22
Number of riders: 198

RACE CARD

4.30pm: Maiden Dh80,000 1,400m
5pm: Conditions Dh80,000 1,400m
5.30pm: Liwa Oasis Group 3 Dh300,000 1,400m
6pm: The President’s Cup Listed Dh380,000 1,400m
6.30pm: Arabian Triple Crown Group 2 Dh300,000 2,200m
7pm: Wathba Stallions Cup Handicap (30-60) Dh80,000 1,600m
7.30pm: Handicap (40-70) Dh80,000 1,600m.

Specs

Engine: Duel electric motors
Power: 659hp
Torque: 1075Nm
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Price: On request

The specs

Price, base / as tested Dh960,000
Engine 3.9L twin-turbo V8 
Transmission Seven-speed dual-clutch automatic
Power 661hp @8,000rpm
Torque 760Nm @ 3,000rpm
Fuel economy, combined 11.4L / 100k

Key findings of Jenkins report
  • Founder of the Muslim Brotherhood, Hassan al Banna, "accepted the political utility of violence"
  • Views of key Muslim Brotherhood ideologue, Sayyid Qutb, have “consistently been understood” as permitting “the use of extreme violence in the pursuit of the perfect Islamic society” and “never been institutionally disowned” by the movement.
  • Muslim Brotherhood at all levels has repeatedly defended Hamas attacks against Israel, including the use of suicide bombers and the killing of civilians.
  • Laying out the report in the House of Commons, David Cameron told MPs: "The main findings of the review support the conclusion that membership of, association with, or influence by the Muslim Brotherhood should be considered as a possible indicator of extremism."
Five healthy carbs and how to eat them

Brown rice: consume an amount that fits in the palm of your hand

Non-starchy vegetables, such as broccoli: consume raw or at low temperatures, and don’t reheat  

Oatmeal: look out for pure whole oat grains or kernels, which are locally grown and packaged; avoid those that have travelled from afar

Fruit: a medium bowl a day and no more, and never fruit juices

Lentils and lentil pasta: soak these well and cook them at a low temperature; refrain from eating highly processed pasta variants

Courtesy Roma Megchiani, functional nutritionist at Dubai’s 77 Veggie Boutique

COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Kumulus Water
 
Started: 2021
 
Founders: Iheb Triki and Mohamed Ali Abid
 
Based: Tunisia 
 
Sector: Water technology 
 
Number of staff: 22 
 
Investment raised: $4 million 
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BELGIUM%20SQUAD
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ABU DHABI ORDER OF PLAY

Starting at 10am:

Daria Kasatkina v Qiang Wang

Veronika Kudermetova v Annet Kontaveit (10)

Maria Sakkari (9) v Anastasia Potapova

Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova v Ons Jabeur (15)

Donna Vekic (16) v Bernarda Pera 

Ekaterina Alexandrova v Zarina Diyas

 

 

UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Sole survivors
  • Cecelia Crocker was on board Northwest Airlines Flight 255 in 1987 when it crashed in Detroit, killing 154 people, including her parents and brother. The plane had hit a light pole on take off
  • George Lamson Jr, from Minnesota, was on a Galaxy Airlines flight that crashed in Reno in 1985, killing 68 people. His entire seat was launched out of the plane
  • Bahia Bakari, then 12, survived when a Yemenia Airways flight crashed near the Comoros in 2009, killing 152. She was found clinging to wreckage after floating in the ocean for 13 hours.
  • Jim Polehinke was the co-pilot and sole survivor of a 2006 Comair flight that crashed in Lexington, Kentucky, killing 49.
Specs

Engine: 51.5kW electric motor

Range: 400km

Power: 134bhp

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Director: Matty Brown

Stars: Nadine Labaki, Ziad Bakri, Zain Al Rafeea, Riman Al Rafeea

Rating: 2.5/5

GAC GS8 Specs

Engine: 2.0-litre 4cyl turbo

Power: 248hp at 5,200rpm

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Updated: December 06, 2023, 4:53 AM`