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Hawaii Establishes Public Land Trust Working Group to Address Native Hawaiian Revenues

Hawaii Establishes Public Land Trust Working Group to Address Native Hawaiian Revenues

The Public Land Trust Working Group has been officially formed in Hawaii, with appointments completed by the Office of Hawaiian Affairs (OHA), Governor Josh Green, Senate President Ronald Kouchi, and House Speaker Nadine Nakamura. This group is set to convene its first meeting in the coming weeks to address longstanding issues concerning the inventory, accounting, and distribution of revenues generated by Hawaii’s Public Land Trust. The working group's central mission is to ensure a complete and accurate accounting of Public Land Trust lands and revenues and to determine the 20% pro rata share of income and proceeds due annually to OHA for the betterment of Native Hawaiians. The group was established under Act 226, Session Laws of Hawaiʻi 2022, and its responsibilities were expanded under Act 32, Session Laws of Hawaiʻi 2026 (Senate Bill 903). OHA Board Chair Kaialiʻi Kahele emphasized that this initiative is a crucial opportunity to resolve an issue that has remained unresolved for decades.

Marine Biologist Tishiko King Advocates for Indigenous-Led Climate Solutions and Equitable Funding

Marine Biologist Tishiko King Advocates for Indigenous-Led Climate Solutions and Equitable Funding

Tishiko “Tish” King, a Kulkalaig woman from Masig Island and founder of Just Futures Collab, is advocating for Indigenous-led climate solutions and a re-evaluation of climate finance distribution. King, a marine biologist and ocean advocate, emphasizes that her identity and culture are deeply connected to the ocean and her ancestral lands. She highlights the severe impacts of rising seas, king tides, and coastal erosion on low-lying islands like Masig, which threaten the cultural connections and practices of Indigenous communities. King's advocacy stems from her personal experiences, including witnessing the effects of the Pacific Adventurer oil spill in 2009, which underscored the disparity between climate crisis knowledge and action. She argues that climate change is not solely an environmental issue but also deeply intertwined with human rights, self-determination, and cultural preservation for Indigenous peoples. Her organization, Just Futures Collab, aims to shift resources and decision-making power c...

European Parliament Member Petras Auštrevičius Supports Iran's 'No to Executions Tuesdays' Campaign

European Parliament Member Petras Auštrevičius Supports Iran's 'No to Executions Tuesdays' Campaign

Petras Auštrevičius, a Member of the European Parliament, has voiced support for Iran's 'No to Executions Tuesdays' campaign. This campaign, which began as a weekly hunger strike against capital punishment, has evolved into a sustained movement of resistance involving prisoners in 66 prisons across Iran. The campaign connects political prisoners, families of death-row inmates, social activists, and international human rights advocates. The recent executions of Amirhossein Maleki and Amirhossein Ebrahimi in Isfahan’s Dastgerd Prison, bringing the death toll in the Ali Khani Square case to nine, underscore the Iranian regime’s continued use of capital punishment to suppress dissent. The campaign has garnered international solidarity from governments, United Nations experts, human rights organizations, legal professionals, and prominent international figures, including Nobel Peace Prize laureates.

Reporters Without Borders Organizes Football Match to Advocate for Detained Journalist Christophe Gleizes

Reporters Without Borders Organizes Football Match to Advocate for Detained Journalist Christophe Gleizes

Reporters Without Borders (RSF) has organized a football match in Paris to mark the 500th day of journalist Christophe Gleizes' detention. More than 40 public figures, including journalists, professional and amateur soccer players, are participating in the event on November 11 at 6 p.m. CET. The primary objective of this match is not competition but to collectively call for Gleizes' release. This initiative underscores the ongoing concerns regarding press freedom abuses globally, with RSF actively campaigning for the freedom of journalists who are unjustly detained.

Justus Hamm's Research Focuses on Indigenous Participation in Global Plastics Treaty Negotiations

Justus Hamm's Research Focuses on Indigenous Participation in Global Plastics Treaty Negotiations

Justus Hamm, an Erasmus+ Fellow at the WMU-Sasakawa Global Ocean Institute, is conducting research on international ocean and polar governance. His work specifically examines Indigenous participation and self-determination within this field. Hamm's research interests were significantly shaped by his Master's thesis, which analyzed the involvement of the Inuit Circumpolar Council in the negotiations for a Global Plastics Treaty. This focus stems from his previous role as a Research Assistant at the Center for Ocean and Society in Kiel, where he contributed to policy papers on Arctic marine policy, plastic pollution, and cruise ship tourism as part of the EU-Horizon project 'ICEBERG'. As part of the 'Future Ocean Program,' Hamm will continue his research and provide support to Associate Professor Aleke Stöfen-O’Brien and Pillar II, which focuses on Non-State Actors and Rights-based approaches to Ocean Protection.

Trump's Justice Department has not awarded 75% of anti-human trafficking grants, senator says

Trump's Justice Department has not awarded 75% of anti-human trafficking grants, senator says

By Dan Rosenzweig-Ziff WASHINGTON, Nov 9 (Reuters) - The US Justice Department has not awarded roughly 75% of congressionally appropriated grants to combat human trafficking in the last two fiscal years, according to a letter from Democratic Senator Richard Blumenthal seen by Reuters.

OSCE and Asian Partners Address AI's Role in Human Trafficking

OSCE and Asian Partners Address AI's Role in Human Trafficking

Representatives from Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) participating States and Asian Partners for Co-operation convened in Vienna to discuss the impact of artificial intelligence (AI) and emerging technologies on human trafficking. The meeting, chaired by Finland and co-organized with the Republic of Korea, focused on how digital technologies are being exploited by traffickers for recruitment, overcoming language barriers, and expanding criminal operations, including cyber-enabled scams across the OSCE region and Asia. Discussions highlighted that while technology can be misused by criminal networks, it also offers powerful tools for prevention, investigation, financial tracing, and victim identification. This initiative builds on previous international efforts, such as the Group of Friends for Combating Technology-Facilitated Trafficking in Persons launched by the Republic of Korea and UNODC.

Peru's move to reconsider protections for uncontacted Mashco Piro raises fears of Amazon logging

Peru's move to reconsider protections for uncontacted Mashco Piro raises fears of Amazon logging

Indigenous leaders in Peru are warning that a government decision to reconsider protections for the Mashco Piro could expose their Amazon rainforest territory to logging

Global Coalition Urges COP31 Leaders to Prioritize Human Rights in Critical Mineral Supply Chains

Global Coalition Urges COP31 Leaders to Prioritize Human Rights in Critical Mineral Supply Chains

A global coalition of leaders and environmental defenders is calling on COP31 leaders to integrate human rights, protection, and tangible benefits for all rights-holders into the Just Transition Mechanism (JTM), particularly concerning critical energy transition minerals. The coalition emphasizes that as countries pursue electrification goals to meet Paris Agreement commitments, human rights safeguards must extend across the entire supply chain of these minerals. They advocate for the explicit inclusion of the United Nations Secretary-General’s Critical Energy Transition Mineral principles in the JTWP negotiation decision text. This includes ensuring non-regression of human rights protections, providing strong safeguards and benefits for Indigenous Peoples and frontline mining communities, and recognizing them as rights-holders and decision-makers. The Asia Pacific region, which holds a quarter of the planet’s mineral wealth and produces over half of the world’s nickel and 60% of rare-earth reserves, is hi...

Brazil Deploys National Security Force to Indigenous Territory Following Invasion

Brazil Deploys National Security Force to Indigenous Territory Following Invasion

Brazil has deployed its National Public Security Force to the Ituna/Itatá Indigenous Territory in Pará, northern Brazil, for a period of 180 days. This deployment comes in response to an invasion by over 500 individuals two months prior, impacting the isolated Igarapé Ipiaçava Indigenous people. The security force will support Brazil’s Indigenous Affairs Agency (Funai) in protecting the territory. The invasion followed a new state law in Pará that created the Bacajaí Environmental Protection Area (APA Bacajaí), which overlaps with the federally protected Indigenous land. This state law, deemed invalid by the federal government, reportedly legitimized and encouraged the invasion, which also saw a sharp increase in forest fires within the territory. A federal court ordered the deployment in August, but authorization from the federal government was not signed until October 29 and published on November 3. The National Force's previous authorization expired in July 2026, and its redeployment required authorizat...

Ukraine and Finland Launch €300 Million Joint Defense Projects, Focusing on Drone Production

Ukraine and Finland Launch €300 Million Joint Defense Projects, Focusing on Drone Production

Ukraine and Finland have initiated joint defense production projects totaling approximately €300 million ($336 million), with a significant focus on drone manufacturing and other defense-industrial initiatives. This collaboration was formalized during a meeting attended by President Volodymyr Zelensky and representatives from Ukrainian and Finnish defense companies, where seven documents were signed, three of which pertain to the defense industry. The funding includes €200 million ($224 million) under the 'Drone Deal' and an additional €100 million ($112 million) through the 'Build with Ukraine' initiative. These plans encompass the joint production of drones, ground robotic systems, and other weaponry. Ukraine will contribute its technological development and extensive battlefield experience, while Finnish companies will provide industrial manufacturing capacity. This initiative aims to scale Ukrainian production by establishing manufacturing facilities overseas in allied countries.

Liberian Human Rights Advocate Adama Kiatamba Dempster Recognized for Transitional Justice Efforts

Liberian Human Rights Advocate Adama Kiatamba Dempster Recognized for Transitional Justice Efforts

Adama Kiatamba Dempster, a human rights advocate from Liberia, has received regional recognition for his dedicated work in advancing victims' rights, promoting accountability, and championing transitional justice. This commendation follows his significant contributions to a high-level regional meeting on transitional justice held in The Gambia from October 19-20, 2026. The Institute for Security Studies (ISS) and The Gambia's Ministry of Justice formally acknowledged Dempster for his participation, particularly highlighting his input during Panel 3, which focused on 'Criminal Accountability Beyond Prosecution.' Dempster, who serves as the National Secretary-General of the Civil Society Human Rights Advocacy Platform of Liberia and leads the Coalition for the Establishment of a War and Economic Crimes Court in Liberia, shared insights into the experiences of Liberian civil society organizations. His presentation emphasized their role in sustaining demands for justice despite political and institutional chal...