A/80/181 58. In the Sahel region, extremist groups linked to Da’esh and Al-Qaida have taken advantage of the power vacuum in parts of Mali, Burkina Faso and the Niger to establish a significant presence, 34 including training camps on traditional territories of the Amazigh (Touareg) Indigenous Peoples. 59. In South and Central America, trafficking networks take advantage of the absence of the State’s presence in certain areas to engage in complex operations for trafficking in narcotics and people. For example, in the Darien region, between Colombia and Panama, Indigenous territories have become major routes for trafficking in persons and drugs. 35 Migration 60. Indigenous Peoples are deeply affected when their territories become routes for migrants. States may increase their presence through militarization and surveillance, frequently without Indigenous Peoples’ consent, thereby undermining territorial rights and self-governance. 36 Infrastructure linked to migration control can damage sacred sites, disrupt traditional livelihoods and strain local resources. Indigenous communities offering humanitarian support to migrants are often criminalized, while women and girls face heightened risks of violence and exploitation. 61. For example, in Panama, Indigenous Peoples have not been consulted in the creation and implementation of policies to deal with a current migratory crisis, including in relation to the creation of shelters and reception centres for people on the move across Indigenous territories. 37 However, as concluded in a report by the Expert Mechanism on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, “indigenous land can play a significant role in ‘protecting’ national territories on the border, in particular where State authorities are lacking: this burden is often overlooked by the State and others”. 38 Competing geopolitical interests 62. The territories of many Indigenous Peoples are located in areas of major competing geopolitical interests of States. As result, they are often put under great pressure, militarized or otherwise occupied in the name of strategic national interest or security, with geopolitical interests overruling international law. 39 63. The territories of Arctic Indigenous Peoples, such as those of the Inuit in Greenland and across the borders of the Russian Federation, the United States and Canada, are increasingly caught in the cross-hairs of global interests. Greenland, which is home to Inuit communities and rich in rare earth minerals, has drawn strategic attention from numerous countries due to its strategic location, emerging shipping routes and its untapped energy reserves, oil, minerals and other resources. 40 64. Similarly, Sami territories across the Russian Federation, Norway, Sweden and Finland experience militarization, resource extraction and reduced Indigenous cooperation, particularly since the onset of the war in Ukraine. These pressures __________________ 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 25-11701 See S/2024/556. See also https://press.un.org/en/2025/sc15990.doc.htm and https://news.un.org/ en/story/2022/06/1119992. See A/HRC/59/49/Add.2 and A/HRC/59/49/Add.1. A/HRC/EMRIP/2019/2/Rev.1, para. 45. See communication PAN 1/2023. A/HRC/EMRIP/2019/2/Rev.1, para. 62. E/C.19/2025/7, paras. 66–70. A/HRC/54/52, para. 15. 15/21