© Tony Gentile / Reuters
Pope Francis
Pope Francis
Pope Francis met with representatives of indigenous peoples attending a UN agricultural meeting on Wednesday, telling them that "the right to prior and informed consent should always prevail" when it comes to activities on indigenous lands.
"Only then is it possible to guarantee peaceful cooperation between governing authorities and indigenous peoples, overcoming confrontation and conflict," he added, as quoted by AP.
"For governments, this means recognizing that indigenous communities are a part of the population to be appreciated and consulted, and whose full participation should be promoted at the local and national level," Francis said.
Comment: At first glance, this story could generally be understood as a part of the Western information campaign that seeks to exploit human rights violations in order to tarnish the good China is working towards in the world. Rational people should understand that a country the size of China cannot be seen in such black and white terms. However, it should also be noted that the sources of this story are from China's own state-sponsored media. The Sixth Tone is a new media project with an aim of targeting corruption and contentious issues within China, which is in line with President Xi's anti-corruption efforts.