Just Transition: Indigenous Peoples’ Perspectives, Knowledge, and Lived Experiences
October 8-10, 2024
Geneva, Switzerland
Indigenous Peoples Principles and Protocols for Just Transition
I. INTRODUCTION
From October 8-10, 2024, 95 Indigenous Peoples’ representatives from all 7 socio-cultural regions met in Geneva, Switzerland, for the Indigenous Peoples’ Perspectives, Knowledge, and Lived Experiences Summit on Just Transition.
We, as Indigenous Peoples, were born to our ancestral lands, waters, and territories by the Great Creator in a sacred and spiritual way. We belong to our Mother Earth, and she belongs to us as a mother and child belong to each other. We are Earth, Earth is us. It was the Creator’s intent that we live on these blessed homelands in perpetuity. We remain.
We have lived our lives in the ways prescribed by the Creator from time immemorial, until our Indigenous worlds were shattered by intruder colonial and imperialist powers who claimed our lands, territories, and resources, subjecting us to unimaginable devastation. We have been murdered, raped, enslaved, plundered, criminalized, displaced, and generations of our relatives were stolen away, and our lands and territories militarized. We are still here.
We, as Indigenous Peoples, understand the intent of the Creator is supreme law, superseding man-made law. We rightfully maintain our belonging to our homelands. We are resolute in our inherent rights to know of all that is contemplated for our lands; we retain the authority to determine all that should occur to, with, on, and in our lands and territories. Nothing about us, without us.
During the Summit, we shared knowledge, lived experiences, concerns, and struggles related to the imposition in our homelands of development projects promoted by States and corporations as “green/clean energy”, supporting transition to a “green economy” and climate change mitigation. These include mining and extraction of “transition” and related minerals, and any other resources sought, that displace Indigenous Peoples and contaminate our lands, air, ice and waters where Indigenous Peoples are no longer able to live or gather foods due to this new form of land grabbing and water grabbing in the name of investment and conservation.
We affirm that these activities carried out in Indigenous territories without free, prior and informed consent violate our inherent and recognized rights and do not constitute a transition, but rather a form of modern genocide against our worldviews, ways of life, and territorial governance systems.
We also have noted solutions and good practices, based on our own knowledge, sciences, technologies, lived experiences and time-tested practices for restoration of sustainable food production and soil, ecosystem protection, and true and equitable just transition, distinct from models based on imposition, extraction, and colonialism.
As Indigenous Peoples, we affirm that the concept of a just transition as it is currently presented is not true, as it implies initiatives and proposals driven by transnational corporations and States to implement and consolidate the free-market economic model, neoliberalism, and deepens the inequalities of the capitalist system.
This leads to genocide and ecocide, as States and corporations fail to ensure respect for Mother Earth and the rights of Indigenous Peoples.
For Indigenous Peoples, a just transition means exercising our own forms of territorial governance according to our traditions and ways of life.
We point out that we continue to be affected by the current and increasing levels of fossil fuel extraction, which, along with so-called "green" or "clean" energy projects, create a double impact on Indigenous Peoples.
We recognize the urgent need to affirm Indigenous Peoples’ own visions, definitions, and to develop principles and protocols, as well as plans and means for action, in order to confront these threats, as well as to contribute in a positive way to discussions, programs, and actions on all levels for environmental sustainability, protection of ecosystems and biodiversity, and the prevention and aversion of climate change.