Petition to
The United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues (UNPFII), the Government of India, and the international human rights community

Short summary
The indigenous peoples of Manipur are facing violence, displacement, environmental destruction, and growing threats to their ancestral lands, health, identity, and future. We call for urgent protection, independent investigation, humanitarian support, and recognition of indigenous rights.

Petition text
The indigenous peoples of Manipur are facing a grave and continuing crisis.

For more than three years, communities in Manipur have endured violence, displacement, destruction of homes and villages, environmental damage, insecurity in ancestral territories, and growing threats to their identity, land, and future.

This is not only a local issue. It is a human rights issue, an indigenous rights issue, and an environmental justice issue.

Manipur has long been home to several indigenous peoples living within a distinctive multi-ethnic and multicultural society. Today, that shared heritage and pluralistic identity are under serious strain.

We, the undersigned, call upon the United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues (UNPFII), the Government of India, and the international human rights community to take urgent notice of the situation affecting the indigenous peoples of Manipur, including the Meitei indigenous community and allied indigenous groups of the Imphal Valley and surrounding traditional territories.

The rights of indigenous peoples to life, land, culture, health, security, participation, and self-determination are recognised under the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP) and other international human rights principles. We believe the situation in Manipur deserves urgent attention within that framework.

What is happening

1. Forests are being destroyed
Large areas of reserved and protected forest lands in Manipur are reported to have been cleared for illegal poppy cultivation. Indigenous communities have raised serious concerns about the destruction of biodiversity, the degradation of water and soil, and long-term environmental damage.

2. Protected lands are under pressure
There are serious concerns regarding the reported establishment of 996 new villages within reserved and protected forest areas without lawful sanction or environmental clearance. Many indigenous communities view these developments as encroachments into ecologically sensitive and traditionally significant territories.

3. Demographic insecurity is growing
Indigenous communities have expressed grave concern over unchecked illegal immigration, particularly across the porous Indo-Myanmar border. Many fear that rapid demographic change is contributing to the marginalisation of the original inhabitants of Manipur and threatening land rights, identity, and social stability.

4. Public health is at risk
The use of toxic pesticides and chemical inputs in connection with illegal cultivation has raised serious concerns about contamination of soil, air, and water. Communities have reported increasing illness, including cancer, particularly among children, women, and the elderly.

5. Indigenous civilians continue to suffer violence
Indigenous civilians have faced repeated attacks involving killings, arson, destruction of homes, and forced displacement. Villages and civilian settlements have been affected, and women, children, and other vulnerable persons have been among the victims.

6. Thousands remain displaced
More than 60,000 people have reportedly been displaced from their homes and continue to live in relief camps or temporary shelters under difficult conditions. Many remain unable to return safely to their ancestral lands.

What we ask

We call for urgent and meaningful action:

1. Immediate international attention to the crisis affecting the indigenous peoples of Manipur.
2. An independent fact-finding process to examine the reported violence, displacement, environmental destruction, demographic concerns, and alleged encroachments.
3. Immediate protection of indigenous civilians and effective steps to restore security and the rule of law.
4. Investigation into reported illegal settlements and encroachments in reserved and protected forest lands.
5. Urgent action to halt illegal deforestation and unlawful Poppy cultivation and begin environmental restoration.
6. Public health and environmental assessments in relation to reported contamination, along with proper medical support for affected communities.
7. Humanitarian assistance and rehabilitation for displaced families, including shelter, healthcare, trauma care, livelihood support, and safe return.
8. Recognition and protection of the rights of the indigenous peoples of Manipur under UNDRIP, including their rights to land, identity, culture, security, and meaningful participation in decisions affecting their future.
9. Protection of Manipur’s unique multi-ethnic and multicultural indigenous heritage from forces that threaten its stability, coexistence, and continuity

Why your signature matters

The survival, dignity, and future of the indigenous peoples of Manipur are at stake.

By signing this petition, you are calling for protection of indigenous lives, ancestral lands, environmental justice, humanitarian support, and accountability.

You are helping ensure that the voices of the indigenous peoples of Manipur are heard nationally and internationally.

Sign and share
Stand with the indigenous peoples of Manipur.
Protect their land.
Protect their rights.
Protect their future.