Working to secure the rights of minorities and indigenous peoples

Minority Rights Group International campaigns worldwide with around 130 partners in over 60 countries to ensure that disadvantaged minorities and indigenous peoples, often the poorest of the poor, can make their voices heard.

This information pack has been produced with the support of the European Union. All content is the sole responsibility of MRG.

Find out more

Newsletter Signup

Sign up to receive news, reports and job postings from Minority Rights Group International.

Subscribe

Support Our Work

With your help with can continue to empower minorities and indigenous communities to speak out for their rights and make sure their voices are heard.

Donate
×

Film

Afro-Colombian miners defending their heritage

1 min read

A Minority Rights Group International production by acclaimed Colombian filmmaker Hollman Morris.

Afro-Colombians have been carrying out small-scale mining in Colombia’s Cauca region since their ancestors settled there in 1637. Today their descendants continue to chip away at the red rock in search of gold, seeing it not only as a means for earning a modest living, but also as an activity deeply linked to their culture. Between 2002 and 2010, Colombia’s government gave out 7,500 mining exploration titles to national and foreign companies eager to exploit the country’s precious resources. In the film we hear of the Afro-Colombian community of La Toma’s brave, and sometimes deadly, struggle to prevent the invasion of mining companies and defend their ancestral livelihoods at all costs.

 

This film was funded by the European Union. This content is the sole responsibility of Minority Rights Group International and can under no circumstances be regarded as reflecting the position of the European Union.

This story pack marks The International Decade for People of African Descent, officially launched by the United Nations General Assembly in 2015.