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13-15 JUNE, KWET KINA

100+ INDIGENOUS LEADERS

HIGH-LEVEL SPEAKERS

FIELD VISITS TO INDIGENOUS TERRITORIES

ADVANCING INDIGENOUS AUTONOMY, CLIMATE ACTION, AND RIGHTS PROTECTION

Indigenous Peoples globally manage 25% of the Earth’s land, much of which remains ecologically healthy due to their stewardship. Their traditional knowledge is crucial for biodiversity conservation and climate resilience, yet they face significant challenges, including systemic barriers to land rights recognition, violence, and environmental degradation. Despite their vital role, Indigenous communities are disproportionately affected by land grabbing, climate change, and marginalization.

In Colombia, home to 115 Indigenous groups with a rich cultural heritage, similar challenges persist. While significant territories are collectively owned under the “resguardo” framework, these lands face threats from deforestation, illegal activities, and armed conflict. Weak land titling and encroachment undermine their rights and cultural survival. To address this, the Colombian government is advancing land restitution and formalizing reserves through initiatives like the National Land Fund.

The ‘Total Peace Strategy’ integrates land rights with social justice and environmental sustainability, reinforcing the resilience of Indigenous communities and their critical role in biodiversity conservation.

This event will not only provide a platform to Indigenous voices in wider land struggles but will also contribute to movement building around Indigenous land rights, ensuring that their collective voice is strengthened. Through this initiative, we will ensure substantial representation of Indigenous Peoples at the GLF 2025, facilitating their integration into the broader discussions and outcomes of the GLF 2025.

LEADERSHIP AND LOCAL ORGANISATIONS

The Forum prioritizes Indigenous ownership and leadership. The Global Organising Committee (comprising 7 key Colombian Indigenous organisations, 5 Indigenous ILC member organizations, and CINEP) organises and implements the event. Through a consultative process, the host organisation, Consejo Regional Indígena del Cauca, volunteered to host the forum in the Kwet Kina Indigenous Reserve.

  • Global Organizing Committee: Oversees event planning.
  • CRIC (Host Organisation): Leads implementation in the location and manages funds.
  • CINEP Provides technical support and logistics coordination.
  • ILC Ensures global network engagement, coordination and outreach.

Global Organising Committee

7 Indigenous organisations from Colombia
Organización Nacional Indígena de Colombia (ONIC), Organización Nacional de los Pueblos de la Amazonía Colombiana (OPIAC), Gobierno Mayor, Autoridades Indígenas del Suroccidente Colombiano (AISO), Autoridades Indígenas de Colombia (AICO), Comité de Integración Territorial (CIT), Consejo Regional Indígena del Cauca (CRIC), Comisión Nacional de Territorios Indígenas de Colombia  (CNTI).

5 ILC global IP representatives
Luna Creciente (Ecuador), Comité Campesino del Altiplano (Guatemala), Azul (Morocco), Asia Indigenous Peoples Pact – AIPP (Thailand), Ogiek Peoples’ Development Program (Kenya).

PROGRAMME

    • 13 June: Arrival in the location (2-hours bus drive from Cali International Airport).
    • 14 June: Morning: Traditional Ceremony, Opening session, Keynote Speaker, Colombian organizations presentations on the situation of IPs and principal demands. Afternoon: Plenary on self-determination and land rights, and thematic working groups on key focus areas. Evening: Music and dances
    • 15 June: Morning: Field visits to Indigenous territories; Afternoon: Declaration drafting workshop and closing session to present preliminary recommendations. Evening: Return to Bogotá for participation in the Global Land Forum.

    A more detailed version of the programme will be shared soon!

EXPECTED RESULTS

  • The link between Indigenous lands and territories and self-determination is made visible, as well as the importance of guaranteeing both rights to address critical issues such as climate change, biodiversity, social justice, environmental sustainability, among others.
  • An exchange of knowledge among participants is generated, including field visits to reinforce regional, national, and subnational initiatives and strategies.
  • A formal commitment from the Colombian government to move forward on specific measures to improve access to land for Indigenous Peoples in rural areas within the framework of the National Public Policy on Indigenous Peoples and the Comprehensive Rural Reform.
  • An Indigenous declaration is established, including the prioritized topics and containing practical recommendations for:
    • Land policies at both global and local levels, intended for presentation during the GLF and potentially for inclusion in other forums such as COP30 and UNPFII.
    • A call for Indigenous participation in all decision-making processes related to land at national, regional, and global levels, including platforms like the Rio Conventions, UN human rights mechanisms, UNPFII, EMRIP, and other relevant intergovernmental bodies.

LOCAL HOST AND VENUE

Consejo Regional Indígena del Cauca (CRIC), founded on February 24, 1971, in Toribío, Colombia, was established in response to the urgent need to recover land taken from Indigenous communities and to protect their human rights. Today, CRIC brings together 138 traditional authorities representing 11 Indigenous peoples, working continuously to defend collective rights, territorial autonomy, and the strengthening of traditional authorities. The organization is dedicated to preserving cultural and territorial identity, guided by principles of unity, territory, culture, and autonomy, and is oriented by political, economic, and cultural projects, such as the Indigenous Education System, the Traditional Economic and Environmental Authority, and the Indigenous Health, Governance, and Administration Systems.

The Kweth Kina Indigenous Reserve, located in Caldono, Cauca, belongs to the Nasa people, who have inhabited the region since pre-colonial times. Their lives are guided by spirituality and the wisdom of the Ne’j (ancestral creators of the universe), reflected in their connection to nature, their native language, and sacred rituals such as the saakhelu (awakening of the seeds), sek buy(welcoming of the sun), and Nus Pa’yanxi (water ritual). They preserve traditional practices like weaving, music, dance, and the cultivation of native seeds.

However, they face significant challenges: land scarcity has forced families to migrate to cities like Popayán and Cali, or to coffee and coca-growing areas in search of livelihoods. Young people are at risk of recruitment by armed groups and have limited educational opportunities. Since 2002, they have led land liberation processes to reclaim ancestral territories, facing state repression, unfulfilled agreements, and ongoing mingas of resistance.

The location is 2 hours away by bus from the nearest international airport, in Cali.

We belong to nature, we are guided by our k’sxa’w (elder creators of the universe), we were sent by our creators to live as brothers (pxyak pxyak fxi’zewa’) fulfilling the natural norms of our mother earth (kxtey yuuna). Our people are guided by spirituality, by the life advice left to us by the Ne’j (grandparents, creators of the universe), which is found in the voices of the wind, of the mountains, the color of the rainbow, the feeling from the heart, as life advice left by the elders since the beginning of time. It is our own language as a means of communicating with our past and future, cultural and spiritual values, it is the particular way in which we feel and live in harmony and balance.

THE KWETH KINA INDIGENOUS RESERVE

The Indigenous Peoples are distributed throughout the municipality of Caldono, but their main location is determined by their Ancestral Territory, bordered by the Ovejas River basin and the intersection with the Chindaco River, in a straight line northward until reaching the Mondomo River. From there, it borders other municipalities with Indigenous populations, such as Santander de Quilichao, Jambaló, and Silvia.

The Kweth Kina Indigenous Reserve belongs to the Sat’h Tama Kiwe area of ​​the Caldono Municipality, located in the northeast of the department of Cauca. They are part of the Nasa people, who have inhabited this territory since before the colonial era.

In addition to celebrating saakhelu (awakening of the seeds), cxaapuç (offerings to the deceased), uka fxizenxi (refreshing of the symbols of authority), and ipx fxi’zenxi (refreshing of the fire), the community reawakens other rituals that had been forgotten. The ritual of welcoming the sun celebrated on June 21st (sek buy), the ritual of the earth (khutx wahwa), and the ritual of water (Nus Pa’yanxi) add up to seven collective rituals in compliance with the Kxtey Kxtey Yuunxi law of origin. This ritual has provided political guidelines from within its own structure, with a Nasa-based system of government, with the application of justice from a spiritual perspective.

The native language is preserved, as are the original seeds of corn, cassava, arracacha, potato, and coca, among others. Arts such as weaving, music, and traditional dance are practiced, in addition to experiencing ritual and spirituality. Families have surnames that reflect their relationships with natural beings, and villages bear names that refer to their worldview.

Currently, due to the scarcity of land for farming, many of the new families have moved to other areas in search of economic opportunities in nearby cities such as Popayán or Cali. Men work as construction workers, and women work as domestic workers in family homes. Others have moved to the coffee-growing regions of Huila, Tolima, and Antioquia as coffee pickers. Recently, many young people have moved to coca-growing areas to harvest their crops as a means of support, lacking economic alternatives within their own territories.

There is also a threat of recruitment by legal and illegal armed groups among young people, as this is another alternative to escape the economic conditions experienced in the community. Very few young people have the opportunity to study, become professionals, and hold a position within their own territory.

Regarding lands and their ownership, in the Las Mercedes reservation, due to the needs of some community members, the process of liberation from Mother Earth began in 2002, then in 2005 the liberation began in minga with the entire Sat Tama area and the northern zone in the El Japio hacienda in Caloto, Cauca, where resistance lasted three months, after strong acts of repression by the government with its public force, where a large number of community members were injured and others were disabled for life, plus a community member from the Caldono reservation died (Belisario Camayo Guetoto (q.e.p.d), an agreement was reached that has not yet been fulfilled, subsequently continued with sporadic mingas, which are still being held to this day, demanding from the National Government the right to the return of ancestral territories.

Our people are guided by spirituality, by the life advice left to us by the Ne’j (grandparents, creators of the universe), which is found in the voices of the wind, the mountains, the color of the rainbow, and the feeling from the heart, as life advice left by the elders since the beginning of time.
Kweth Kina Indigenous Reserve

CONTACTUS

Please feel free to contact us anytime for more information about the upcoming World Earth Forum. Please note that our team is hard at work, but we are still in the process of gathering logistical and practical details.

INTERNATIONAL LAND COALITION SECRETARIAT
Via Paolo di Dono 44, 00142 Rome, Italy
+39 06 5459 2445
+39 06 5459 3445
info@landcoalition.org