A/80/181 on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, “the implementation gap remains wide and failure to recognize land rights contributes to ongoing violence in many regions”. 18 D. Criminalization of Indigenous Peoples’ human rights defenders 45. There is an increasing demand for the lands, territories and resources of Indigenous Peoples. 19 This is confirmed by the inputs received for the present report and the communications issued since the start of the mandate of the Special Rapporteur. In turn, this demand is fuelling the alarming rise in the persecution and criminalization of Indigenous Peoples’ human rights defenders across all regions. 20 Indigenous land defenders are too often among those arrested, detained, sentenced and even killed. In its report for 2023 and 2024, Front Line Defenders indicates that 31 per cent of at least 300 human rights defenders killed in 2023 were Indigenous Persons or worked on Indigenous Peoples’ rights. 21 This number is alarmingly disproportionate given that Indigenous Peoples represent around 5 per cent of the world’s population. That issue is further addressed below. 46. Some of the primary factors fuelling outsiders’ interests in the territories of Indigenous People, and thereby contributing to the criminalization of their human rights defenders, are closely linked to climate change. These include the expanding carbon market, the expansion of protected areas, the green energy transition and the rush for rare minerals. Ironically, Indigenous Peoples have contributed the least to climate change, but are often disproportionately affected by its consequences because of their direct dependence on lands and natural resources. Moreover, as mentioned above, they are adversely affected by some of the key strategies and measures to address climate change. 1. Carbon markets and conservation efforts 47. Governments in almost all regions are showing a growing interest in Indigenous Peoples’ lands in order to gain access to carbon market resources and comply with the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework. In target 3 of the Framework, Parties are called upon to ensure that, by 2030, at least 30 per cent of terrestrial and inland water areas, and of marine and coastal areas, are protected through various area-based conservation measures. In the target, Indigenous and traditional territories are recognized as a distinct pathway for conservation of biodiversity, and the need for recognizing and respecting the rights of Indigenous Peoples, including the rights to traditional territories, is recognized. In 2021, international human rights non-governmental organizations cautioned that, without stronger safeguards for Indigenous Peoples, most of the area included in the 30 per cent target provided for under the Framework could result in exclusionary protected areas. 22 Today, the Special Rapporteur continues to receive reports from Indigenous Peoples regarding the expansion of protected areas into their lands without due regard for international standards, particularly the requirement for free, prior and informed consent . __________________ 18 19 20 21 22 12/21 A/HRC/45/38, para. 3. State of the World’s Indigenous Peoples: Rights to Lands, Territories and Resources , vol. V (United Nations publication, 2021). See A/HRC/39/17. See www.frontlinedefenders.org/en/resource-publication/global-analysis-202324. See https://minorityrights.org/target-to-protect-30-of-earth-by-2030-a-disaster-for-people-andbad-for-the-planet/. 25-11701