Cultural Rights

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Country: 
India
Working Group(s) / Area(s) of Work: 
Women & ESCR
Social Movements & Grassroots Groups
OP-ICESCR

March 14th is the international day of action for rivers and against dams.  ESCR-NET’s member MAB (Movement of Dam-Affected People), several other social movements and leading international organizations are taking action in over 40 countries to demand improvement in the policies and practices of decision makers in regards to dam constructions and the forcible displacement of families.

Country: 
Brazil
Country: 
United States of America
Working Group(s) / Area(s) of Work: 
Women & ESCR
Corporate Accountability
Strategic Litigation
Economic Policy
OP-ICESCR

Sandra Lovelace, a Maliseet Indian, lived on the Tobique Reservation with her parents until she married a non-Indian man. The marriage ended, and Ms. Lovelace returned to the reservation to live with her parents, however, she could not purchase a home on the reserve because the council prioritized housing for members of the group.

In the 1970s, the Kenyan government evicted hundreds of Endorois families from their land around the Lake Bogoria area in the Rift Valley to create a game reserve for tourism.  The Endorois, an indigenous people, had been promised compensation and benefits, but these were never fully implemented, and the community's access to the land was restricted to the discretion of the Game Reserve Authority. This prevented the community from practicing their pastoralist way of life, using ceremonial and religious sites, and accessing traditional medicines.

Country: 
Ireland
Working Group(s) / Area(s) of Work: 
OP-ICESCR
Country: 
United Kingdom
Working Group(s) / Area(s) of Work: 
Strategic Litigation
OP-ICESCR

In 1998, the Aboriginal Communities Association Lhaka Honat filed an action with the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) against the State of Argentina. The communities living in Salta province denounced violations of their right to ancestral land, to cultural integrity and to a safe environment, following the State’s decision to build an international bridge and carry out an urban development plan in their territory, which would significantly alter their way of life.