Global: Violence against women, property rights most pressing indigenous issues

Violence against women and girls and the indiscriminate extraction of natural resources are among the most pressing issues that indigenous peoples face today, a United Nations human rights expert said. 'A recurring issue that has come to my attention in various contexts is that of violence against indigenous women and girls,' said the Special Rapporteur on the rights of indigenous peoples, James Anaya, in his statement to the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva. In the past year, Anaya has collaborated with various countries, UN agencies and indigenous peoples in several studies and country assessments on the challenges indigenous peoples face on a daily basis. He has also made recommendations to states of good practices and responded to cases of alleged human rights violations.