Survival International
| Survival International | |
|---|---|
|
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| legal form | Human rights organization |
| founding | 1969 |
| Seat | London |
| motto | We help indigenous peoples to defend their lives, to protect their land and to determine their own future. |
| main emphasis | Indigenous peoples |
| method | Campaigns and Public Relations |
| Action space | worldwide |
| Website | www.survivalinternational.org |
Survival International is an international non-governmental organization that supports indigenous peoples around the world and works with indigenous communities and organizations to protect the land and human rights of indigenous peoples. The human rights organization was awarded the Right Livelihood Award , among other things .
history
The company was founded in London in 1969 . The trigger was an article by Norman Lewis in the British Sunday newspaper Sunday Times about the massacres, land expropriations and genocides of indigenous groups in the Brazilian Amazon .
Today Survival International claims to have supporters in over 100 countries. Survival International is currently processing around 90 cases in 35 different countries.
organization
The international headquarters are in London. There are other agencies in Berlin , Madrid , Milan , Paris and San Francisco . The office in Germany, which was established in 2004, is located in the House of Democracy and Human Rights in Berlin.
Goals and way of working
There is no development aid in the traditional sense. Indigenous peoples are supported through education, lobbying and campaigns in the fight for their land rights, their self-determined future and their lives. The organization also offers indigenous peoples a platform on which they can communicate their concerns directly to the outside world.
She only works on cases brought to her by the affected indigenous peoples themselves; with the exception of the uncontacted tribes , for whose protection Survival also advocates time and again. Otherwise, cases will not be sought on their own initiative. Survival International relies on secondary sources of information to assist those peoples who are threatened with the loss of their land, livelihoods and lifestyles, and at times their own lives. The sources of information include, on the one hand, local organizations, which are generally formed by the indigenous peoples themselves, other non-governmental organizations and journalists, and, on the other hand, their own employees, who are directly on site for most of the major campaigns. The overriding principle for Survival International is not to make decisions over the heads of those affected, but only to support them in protecting their lives and their country and in deciding their own future.
The organization publishes cases of human rights violations against indigenous peoples - for example against the San in Botswana - in order to generate public pressure for the benefit of those affected and to induce responsible governments and companies to act responsibly. The organization works through global and local actions. She organizes letter campaigns aimed at companies, banks and governments (but also at extremist missionaries, guerrilla armies or conservationists), as well as petitions to government agencies and does intensive media work. The aim is to draw the world's attention to the cases being processed and to bring about change processes through public pressure.
In addition, through lobbying, Survival International offers indigenous peoples and their organizations (such as First People of Kalahari ) a forum through which they can make themselves heard internationally.
In addition, appropriate projects in indigenous communities, such as a “ Yanomami Medical Aid Fund ”, a health care project in Brazil, are financed; Examples: Complete financing of a well for two Aboriginal communities and participation in a project to promote tourism and employment among the Innu in Canada. As a rule, however, indigenous peoples do not need these types of projects, the organization believes, because they are self-sufficient if their land rights are respected. Such projects are only funded if they are expressly desired and planned by those concerned. Survival International does not see itself as a development cooperation organization, but as a human rights organization. Aid projects therefore only make up a small part of the work.
Educational work is being carried out in parallel. In particular, the prejudice that indigenous peoples are "primitive" or "Stone Age" and that their way of life must be adapted to that of the West is to be broken down. This is to be achieved through educational projects, press releases, information material and internet news. Survival International also develops learning materials for schools to facilitate a respectful cultural exchange.
successes
The organization has convinced several governments to recognize land rights of indigenous peoples, for example those of the Yanomami in Brazil, the Nukak in Colombia and the Jarawa in India. Survival International has persuaded companies to withdraw from harmful projects in indigenous peoples' areas, such as logging companies in the land of the Udege in Siberia. Survival International has also contributed to the recognition of the situation and rights of indigenous peoples around the world.
Prominent supporters
Prominent supporters include Colin Firth , Damien Hirst , Richard Gere and Sebastião Salgado
"Ambassadors" for Survival International are Quentin Blake , Julie Christie , Kurt Jackson , Mark Rylance and Pippa Small .
Awards
The organization received the 1989 Right Livelihood Award (also known as the "Alternative Nobel Prize"), the Spanish Premio Leon Felipe and the Italian Medaglia della Presidenza della Camera dei Deputati .
Web links
- Official website (in German)