UTOA raises tribal land issues in ‘Global Land Forum’ in Colombia

OUR CORRESPONDENT

KOKRAJHAR: The representative of the United Tribal Organization of Assam (UTOA) participated in the Global Land Forum 2025, held from June 13 to June 21 at Bogota in Colombia, marking the 30th anniversary of the Global Land Forum. Organized by the International Land Coalition (ILC) and co-hosted by CINEP (Centro de Investigación y Educación Popular) with support from the European Union (EU) and the Government of Colombia, this historic forum convened over 800 participants from around the world.

The president of the UTOA Markus Basumatary said that the UTOA was the lone indigenous peoples’ organization from India represented at this global platform, joining Indigenous leaders, land defenders, and civil society organizations in a collective call for people-centred land governance. He said that the forum featured high-level events including a Ministerial Panel on Land Governance in Latin America, and the presence of senior United Nations representatives, signalling strong global commitment toward land justice and the rights of Indigenous communities.

Highlighting Assam’s indigenous struggles at the forum, UTOA spotlighted the decades-long Bodo Movement for a separate state, which began in 1967. Despite sustained efforts and sacrifices, the Bodo people have only been granted an autonomous council, falling short of their rightful demand for full statehood as per India’s constitutional provisions, he said, adding that this was presented as an example of how indigenous autonomy continued to be diluted in practice, even when legally recognized.

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