Africa’s indigenous voices unite to Claim their rights

It was under Nairobi’s blazing March sun that a landmark event of symbolic and political significance for Africa’s Indigenous Peoples took place. From March 5 to 7, 2025, a groundbreaking strategic consultation brought together Indigenous representatives from across the continent to engage directly with the newly appointed United Nations Special Rapporteur on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, African expert Albert Barume.

The goal? To identify urgent priorities, build bridges with the Rapporteur, and lay the foundation for a renewed pan-African advocacy strategy. The atmosphere was electric: for the first time, Africa’s Indigenous Peoples were able to collectively articulate their core demands—land, language, human rights, and self-determination—around shared values.

Kabylia and Tamazgha in the Spotlight: The Amazigh Voice Rings Loud and Clear

Invited as an Amazigh expert, Belkacem Lounes, a leading figure of the Amazigh World Congress (CMA), brought to Nairobi the strategic priorities of the Amazigh peoples of North Africa and the Sahara. Defined during an online consultation with CMA members, these priorities echoed like a call for justice: Akal (land dispossession), Awal (linguistic oppression), repeated violations of fundamental freedoms, and the ongoing refusal by states to recognize the Indigenous status of the Amazigh people.

Stories from across the continent revealed common struggles: whether Kel-Tamasheq from Mali, Batwa from Rwanda, or Amazigh from Morocco, Africa’s Indigenous Peoples share wounds of marginalization, dispossession, and repression. Yet, this gathering also revealed a powerful collective determination: to act together, swiftly and strategically.

Direct Dialogue, Concrete Action Ahead

On the sidelines of the consultation, Belkacem Lounes held a private and in-depth meeting with Albert Barume, presenting a summary of the most pressing cases from Tamazgha. From the repression of activists in Morocco to rights violations in Algeria, Tunisia, Libya, and Azawad, the threats are numerous—but so is the mobilization. The CMA has committed to thoroughly documenting each case and ensuring diligent follow-up with the United Nations and the African Union.

The CMA’s official communiqué, released in Nairobi, is available below for full reading.

Strategic Engagement with the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples

Following the appointment in December 2024 of African expert Albert Barume as the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, representatives of African indigenous organizations recognized this appointment as a unique opportunity to strengthen advocacy and the realization of indigenous peoples’ rights, particularly in Africa.
To identify priority issues to engage with the Special Rapporteur and discuss modalities for collaboration with him and his team, a strategic consultation meeting was convened from March 5 to 7, 2025, in Nairobi, Kenya.
This meeting brought together the Special Rapporteur and indigenous representatives from all regions of Africa.

Invited as an Amazigh and an expert on issues relating to the rights of indigenous peoples, Belkacem Lounes participated in this meeting during which he presented the priorities of the Amazighs of all the Tamazgha countries (North Africa and Sahara), as they were agreed and prioritized during a virtual meeting of all members of the Amazigh World Congress (CMA), which was held on February 16, 2025. During this meeting, the members of the CMA identified the following priorities: Akal (the dispossession of the lands and natural
resources of the Amazighs), awal (the serious violations of the right of the Amazighs to their language, the violation of the legislation concerning Tamazight in Algeria and Morocco, discrimination against the Amazigh language and culture, etc.), human rights violations (state violence, reprisals, arbitrary arrests and detentions, police and judicial harassment, attacks on the rights of the Amazighs to fundamental freedoms), the socio-economic marginalization of the last territories inhabited by the Amazighs, and the refusal of Arab-nationalist states to recognize the indigenous status of the Amazigh in the Tamazgha countries.

During this strategic consultation in Nairobi, each participant presented their region’s priorities, which are ultimately all more or less the same for all African indigenous peoples. All agreed to emphasize the need to act immediately, in a timely and innovative manner to ensure effective respect for the rights of indigenous peoples, including the right to self-determination and the right to free, prior, and informed consent for all indigenous peoples, in accordance with international law. The participants in this consultation also agreed to
continue their internal dialogue with a view to establishing a comprehensive action plan consistent with the Special Rapporteur’s mandate and international law, to strengthen regional and global advocacy for the rights of indigenous peoples.
On the sidelines of this meeting, Belkacem Lounes met one-on-one with the Special Rapporteur to inform him about the emergencies in North Africa and the Sahara. He notably discussed the continued land grabbing, particularly in Morocco, the violation of legislation concerning the Amazigh language, racism and anti-Amazigh
discrimination, and the fierce repression. Regarding the specific issue of human rights, the CMA representative mentioned the cases of unjust and arbitrary detention of Said Ait-Mehdi and his comrades from the coordination of victims of the earthquake in Adrar-n-Dern (High Atlas) and of Nasser Zefzafi and his companions in Morocco. Regarding Algeria, Belkacem Lounes explained to the Special Rapporteur that the defender of Amazigh rights and former co-president of the CMA, Kamira Nait-Sid, has been released from prison but is not free. Like all activists for the Amazigh cause, she is subject to close police surveillance and prosecution, even after three years of arbitrary detention. He also discussed the cases of death row inmates and other Kabyle and At-Mzab political detainees. The threatening contexts facing the Amazigh in Tunisia and Libya, as well as the fear of genocide against the Kel-Tamasheq, particularly in Azawad, were also brought to Mr. Barume’s attention. The CMA will send detailed documentation on each of these cases to the UN Special
Rapporteur on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, as well as to other relevant UN and AU bodies, and will ensure follow-up.

Nairobi, 26/02/2025 – 10/03/2025
The CMA Board.