THE WOVEN PROJECT STANDS IN SOLIDARITY WITH DARIA EGEREVA AND CALLS FOR HER IMMEDIATE RELEASE
The persecution of Indigenous rights advocates continues to rise throughout the globe, across developed and developing nations. This issue hits close to home for all of us here at The Woven Project, with the recent arrest of our close colleague, renowned international climate leader, Ms. Daria Egereva. Daria is a mother and a representative of the Selkup Indigenous Peoples of the North, Siberia and Far East recognized by the Russian Government. She is a citizen of the Russian Federation and a long-standing participant in international consultative processes related to Indigenous Peoples and climate policy. She is also a long-time member of the Centre for Support of Indigenous Peoples of the North (CSIPN). As Indigenous Peoples deeply invested in climate justice, we know that we must take urgent action and call for the immediate release of Ms. Egereva. Her diplomatic leadership in championing climate solutions is critical for international advocacy, but she is also needed by her family and community.
Ms. Egereva was arrested by Russian authorities on December 17th, following her participation in COP 30 held in Belem, Brazil, where she completed her official duties as the co-chair of the Indigenous Peoples’ Caucus of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). She is accused of participating in a ‘terrorist organisation’, a charge in direct retaliation for her Indigenous rights advocacy. After two months in detention, Ms. Egereva appeared before the Basmanny Court in Moscow on February 11th, where the court decided to maintain the detention of Ms. Egereva until March 15th. Daria has been charged under Article 205.5 of the Russian Criminal Code (participation in a terrorist organization). This is the most severe designation in the Russian legal system and it carries a potential prison sentence of 10 to 20 years.
As long-time colleagues of Ms. Egereva, we know that these accusations could not be further from the truth. Prior to her elected position as co-chair, she served in leadership roles within the IIPFCC and participated in UNFCCC Conferences of the Parties, including COP28, COP29, and COP30. She was also a member of the Facilitated Working Group of the Local Communities Indigenous Peoples Platform (LCIPP) and has contributed to the development of structured mechanisms for engagement between States and Indigenous Peoples within the UNFCCC framework. In addition to these distinguished roles she has also participated in United Nations Expert Mechanism on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples and the United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues. Ms. Egereva’s work has always been to promote respectful and peaceful dialogue between Indigenous Peoples and State delegations to achieve implementation of UN standards through consultative means.
She must be freed immediately! We stand in solidarity with Indigenous Peoples’ across the globe asking President Putin for her immediate release.
We need your support! Please follow the website supporting Daria for the latest campaign updates. The website also contains instructions on how to send supportive messages to Daria and public access to the letters of solidarity and calls to action that can be used to amplify the call for Daria’s release.
The campaign for #FreeDariaEgereva will require global support, especially from organizations, allies, and partners in the Global South.
