A/76/202 and Yuracaré peoples before it was colonized and urbanized. 6 Urban expansion has also engulfed indigenous traditional lands in, for example, Australia, Colombia, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ethiopia, Ghana, Indonesia, Kenya, Liberia, Malaysia, Nigeria, Peru and Senegal. 7 This often leads to forced removal and relocation. 13. Migration to urban areas occurs, often as a result of poverty, when indigenous peoples relocate in search of educational, employment and economic opportunities, family reunification and access to health care and social services. 8 Extractive activities and development projects are leading push factors driving indigenous peoples to urbanization. Natural and environmental disasters, political instability, militarization and armed conflict are additional key causes. 14. Indigenous peoples’ land rights are threatened when States and third parties, in some cases with the participation of regional and inte rnational financial institutions, engage in resource extraction on their territories. 9 The lack of land titles and the criminalization of indigenous peoples engaged in peaceful protests to protect their lands have exacerbated the encroachment on indigenous traditional lands and territories. 15. Indigenous peoples have often been compelled to move to poor urban areas where they are unable to sustain themselves and determine their own development. 10 In Israel, the Government has reportedly created urban tow ns and relocated Bedouin, who are unable to sustain their traditional livelihoods in such areas. 11 In Latin America, indigenous rural-urban migration is reportedly mostly caused by non-consensual development of projects, leading to forced evictions. 12 16. In Asia, indigenous peoples’ land rights are being threatened and undermined by intensified pressure from State policies that favour the private sector and the escalation of large-scale projects for extractive industries, hydropower dams, agribusiness and tourism. Climate-induced displacement further aggravates the situation as indigenous peoples, especially young people, are forced to migrate to urban areas owing to shortages of resources and food. 13 In India, the Sardar Sarovar Dam on the Narmada River has allegedly resulted in the displacement of 200,000 people, more than half of whom were Adivasi. 14 In Nepal, Newars face forced evictions and displacement owing to the construction of the Kathmandu -Terai/ Madhesh FastTrack Expressway and in relation to the construction of the Chhaya Center business complex in the Thamel district of Kathmandu. 15 In Bangladesh and Indonesia, the development of tourism infrastructure has led to evictions and involuntary resettlement of indigenous peoples. 16 Worldwide, the COVID-19 pandemic __________________ 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 21-10081 Joint submission by Jóvenes Indígenas y Afrobolivianos de Santa Cruz, Nación Indígena Originario Qhara Qhara and Mancomunidad de Comunidades Indígenas de los Ríos Beni, Tuichi y Quiquibey. E/C.19/2021/6, para. 15. UN-Habitat, Housing Indigenous Peoples in Cities. Ibid., p. 20. A/74/183 and communication addressed to Kenya, available at https://spcommreports.ohchr.org/ TMResultsBase/DownLoadPublicCommunicationFile?gId=25492. Communication addressed to Israel, available at https://spcommreports.ohchr.org/TMResultsBase/ DownLoadPublicCommunicationFile?gId=25601. Submission by the International Mayan League on the human rights situation of indigenous peoples living in urban areas, focusing on the Washington, D.C., metropolitan region (17 March 2021). A/HRC/45/34/Add.3. Ibid. and communication addressed to India, available at https://spcommreports.ohchr.org/ TMResultsBase/DownLoadPublicCommunicationFile?gId=23305. Communication addressed to Nepal, available at https://spcommreports.ohchr.org/TMResultsBase/ DownLoadPublicCommunicationFile?gId=26282. Communications addressed to India and Bangladesh, available at https://spcommreports.ohchr.org /TMResultsBase/DownLoadPublicCommunicationFile?gId=25810. 7/20