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| Indigenous Peoples' Council on Biocolonialism | |
|---|---|
| Name | Indigenous Peoples' Council on Biocolonialism |
| Formation | 1999 |
| Founder | Debra Harry |
| Type | Nonprofit advocacy organization |
| Headquarters | Albuquerque, New Mexico |
| Region served | Global |
Indigenous Peoples' Council on Biocolonialism is a nonprofit advocacy organization focused on protecting Indigenous peoples from what it characterizes as exploitative practices by biotechnology firms, pharmaceutical companies, and academic institutions. Founded in 1999 by Debra Harry, the group has engaged with international bodies such as the United Nations and regional entities like the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights to challenge practices related to intellectual property and bioprospecting. Its work intersects with legal debates involving the Convention on Biological Diversity, the World Intellectual Property Organization, and national laws such as the Biopiracy discourse.
The organization emerged following high-profile conflicts over bioprospecting in regions including the Amazon rainforest, Andes Mountains, and the South Pacific. Early campaigns mobilized activists who had previously worked with groups such as Cultural Survival, Forest Peoples Programme, and Greenpeace to contest projects by entities like Merck & Co., Novartis, and research institutions including National Institutes of Health and Smithsonian Institution. The council participated in negotiations around the Convention on Biological Diversity's Nagoya Protocol and engaged delegates at meetings of the United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues and the World Health Organization.
The council states objectives to defend Indigenous sovereignty over genetic resources, oppose what it defines as biocolonialism, and promote community-controlled research protocols. It articulates positions in dialogue with forums such as the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services and legal venues like the International Tribunal for the Rights of Nature. The group frames its mission in relation to historical processes involving the Treaty of Tordesillas, colonial extraction, and modern intellectual property regimes exemplified by the Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights negotiations.
The council has organized public campaigns, legal interventions, and community workshops in collaboration with organizations such as Survival International, Oxfam, and the World Wildlife Fund. It has lobbied against patents asserted by corporations including Eli Lilly and Company, Pfizer, and GlaxoSmithKline, and supported community claims linked to research by universities like Harvard University, University of California, and Oxford University. High-profile actions have included participation in protests at conferences of the World Economic Forum, filings with the European Court of Human Rights, and submissions to the World Trade Organization concerning access to traditional knowledge and benefit-sharing.
The council's governance has included an executive director, board members drawn from tribal nations in North America, South America, and the Pacific, and advisory input from scholars at institutions such as University of British Columbia, University of Auckland, Harvard Law School, and London School of Economics. Membership networks have spanned communities represented by groups like the Navajo Nation, Quechua peoples, Sami people, and Maori people, and allied activists from Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, and the International Indian Treaty Council.
The organization opposes patents on seeds and medicinal plants and advocates for community protocols based on models like the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples and the Nagoya Protocol's access and benefit-sharing provisions. It has campaigned for moratoria on genetic modification projects led by corporations such as Monsanto (now Bayer), and has supported indigenous objections to clinical trials associated with companies like Johnson & Johnson and Sanofi. The council has promoted indigenous data sovereignty principles discussed alongside entities like the Global Indigenous Data Alliance and debated with policymakers at the World Bank and Inter-American Development Bank.
Supporters cite influence on policy dialogues at the Convention on Biological Diversity and recognition from delegations at the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization. Academics at Yale University, University of Cambridge, University of Toronto, and University of Melbourne have engaged with the council's critiques in scholarly literature on bioprospecting and intellectual property law. The council's campaigns contributed to public scrutiny of partnerships between pharmaceutical corporations and indigenous communities, prompting revisions of institutional review board protocols at institutions like the National Institutes of Health and curriculum changes in programs at Columbia University and Stanford University.
Critics, including some researchers at Massachusetts Institute of Technology and representatives of biotech firms, argue that the council's positions can hinder biomedical research and public health collaborations, citing tensions during outbreaks addressed by World Health Organization and research funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. Debates have involved legal disputes over specific patents with companies such as Bayer and E. I. du Pont de Nemours and Company, and contested claims involving museums like the British Museum and repositories including the Smithsonian Institution. Some indigenous leaders have disagreed with the council on strategies for engagement with corporations and states, leading to public discussions at forums like the International Indigenous Women’s Forum and the Global Indigenous Youth Caucus.