How the UN Protects Indigenous Peoples’ Rights — and the Risks for Activists

Anti-Discrimination Podcast — Episode 5: International advocacy, UN mechanisms, and the reality faced by Indigenous rights defendersDiscover the latest in Indigenous Peoples’ rights, human rights advocacy, and international mechanisms protecting Indigenous communities. Activists and experts discuss UN tools, global challenges, and the risks faced by Indigenous rights defenders worldwide. A must-listen for anyone interested in Indigenous rights, international advocacy, and human rights protection.Anti-Discrimination Centre 'Memorial' continues its podcast series on the rights of Indigenous Peoples. The fifth episode of the podcast is dedicated to the problem of international advocacy actions for Indigenous peoples’ rights and explores the instruments and mechanisms created specifically for Indigenous peoples within the UN system, as well as the risks faced today by defenders of Indigenous peoples’ rights for their activities at the international level. These issues are discussed by the following speakers :◾ Valentina Sovkina, representative of the Sámi Indigenous people and member of the UN Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues. She left Russia in December 2025 after the searches and arrests of activists involved in defending the rights of Indigenous peoples.◾ Yana Tannagasheva, representative of the Shor Indigenous people, activist of the International Committee of Indigenous Peoples of Russia. She was forced to leave Russia in 2018 because of the pressure and repression she faced.◾ Nikita Bulanin, an expert of the International Working Group for Indigenous Affairs, is a team member for both the Land Defence and Defenders program and the Territorial Governance program. Nikita highlighted the repression faced by indigenous rights activists in other countries around the world.◾ Olga Abramenko, expert at Anti-Discrimination Centre 'Memorial' Episode 1  ⁠on the environmental rights⁠Episode 2 ⁠on the right to educationEpisode 3 ⁠⁠⁠on the right to culture Episode 4 ⁠⁠on the right to the native language Sound design: Ostap KukharThe following English version of this podcast was created using AI voice synthesis technology from the original Russian-language episode, with the explicit consent of the speakers.