Rani Yan Yan Muscat Plan of Action 2026 became an important moment for Indigenous peoples of the Chittagong Hill Tracts as their concerns reached the United Nations.
This week, that voice reached the United Nations.
Speaking at the launch of the Muscat Plan of Action, Rani Yan Yan, Advisor to the Chakma Circle, reminded the international community that Indigenous peoples are not merely victims of conflict. They are often its strongest preventers.
But her speech was not only about global Indigenous rights.
It was also about the Chittagong Hill Tracts.
In one of the most significant moments of her address, Rani Yan Yan referred directly to the situation in the Chittagong Hill Tracts of Bangladesh.
She noted that Indigenous peoples in the region continue to be denied recognition of their identity as Indigenous peoples.
She also highlighted the challenges faced by Indigenous communities living under militarisation and warned of the dangers of hate speech, marginalization, and violence directed against Indigenous populations.
Her message was clear.
Peace cannot be built by ignoring Indigenous peoples.
Human rights cannot be protected while denying Indigenous identity.
And conflict prevention cannot succeed without recognising the role of Indigenous leaders and institutions.
The Muscat Plan of Action calls for greater recognition of Indigenous leadership in preventing violence, resolving disputes, and promoting peace.
For Indigenous peoples of the Chittagong Hill Tracts, however, the significance of the event went beyond the document itself.
For many observers, the most important moment was hearing the words “Chittagong Hill Tracts” spoken on a United Nations platform.
At a time when Indigenous identity remains politically sensitive in Bangladesh, Rani Yan Yan used an international stage to place the concerns of the Chittagong Hill Tracts before the world.
Whether one agrees with every aspect of her speech or not, one fact is difficult to ignore:
The voice of the Chittagong Hill Tracts was heard at the United Nations.
Full Speech by Rani Yan Yan
Speaker: Rani Yan Yan, Advisor to the Chakma Circle
Event: Launch of the Muscat Plan of Action for Traditional and Indigenous Leaders and Peoples in Countering and Addressing Hate Speech and Preventing Genocide and Atrocity Crimes and Their Incitement Through Peace Mediation
Venue: ECOSOC Chamber, United Nations Headquarters, New York
Year: June 2026
Editor’s Note: The following transcript has been lightly edited for readability while preserving the substance of the original remarks.
“Thank you.
Excellencies, respected Indigenous leaders and traditional leaders, distinguished delegates, and honoured guests,
It has been a privilege for me to be part of the journey of drafting the Muscat Plan of Action. I am honoured to attend and speak at this launching event.
Today, we stand at a defining moment—one that calls upon all of us to reaffirm our collective commitment to peace, justice, and the protection of the human rights of all peoples.
The Muscat Plan of Action represents a landmark step forward in recognising what many Indigenous communities have long understood: that Indigenous leaders and peoples are not merely witnesses to conflict. They are among its most powerful preventers.
For generations, in exercising their right to self-determination, Indigenous leaders have served as pillars of governance and dispute resolution within and among communities. Their wisdom, cultural legitimacy, and deep-rooted trust within their communities make them uniquely positioned to detect early warning signs of violence, to counter hate speech, and to mediate in situations where there is a risk of ethnocide and other atrocity crimes.
Indigenous leaders, including Indigenous traditional leaders, have long called for global recognition of the role of Indigenous peoples in conflict prevention, conflict resolution, and peacebuilding. As recently as two months ago here in New York, Indigenous leaders reiterated that call.
The Muscat Plan provides the formal recognition that Indigenous peoples have long deserved.
The Plan lays out a concrete roadmap for empowering Indigenous leaders and peoples to take their rightful place at the centre of atrocity prevention efforts. It calls for meaningful investment in their capacity to mediate, for the development of counter-narratives that draw upon Indigenous knowledge and cultural practices, and for stronger partnerships between Indigenous leaders, Indigenous peoples, and national and international institutions.
Yet a plan is only as powerful as the commitment behind it.
That is why I cannot overstate the obligations of Member States to counter and address hate speech and incitement to mass violence perpetrated against Indigenous peoples and other communities.
The challenge is that such incidents are all too often sanctioned or enabled by systemic state structures, creating conditions in which atrocities are carried out by dominant populations.
This is particularly true for Indigenous populations and communities living under militarisation. In such situations, Indigenous peoples struggle to survive under sustained and manufactured conflict that produces frequent atrocity crimes.
This is true in the Chittagong Hill Tracts of Bangladesh, where I come from—the country visited last year by His Excellency the United Nations Secretary-General.
There, Indigenous peoples are still denied recognition of their identity as Indigenous peoples.
In such contexts, the Muscat Plan of Action will be truly effective only when States commit to recognising, upholding, and protecting the rights of Indigenous peoples as enshrined in the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.
Therefore, it is crucial that States recognise and strengthen Indigenous governance institutions and structures, protect Indigenous leaders and Indigenous traditional leaders from political marginalisation, and create legal environments that allow counter-narratives against hate speech directed at Indigenous peoples to flourish safely.
Through genuine partnership with Indigenous leaders and peoples, States can mitigate—and ultimately eliminate—incitement to violence against Indigenous communities.
As we strive toward that vision, let us remember that the Muscat Plan of Action is a call to action.
We must honour it not with words alone, but with sustained political will, adequate resources, and equal partnerships among all stakeholders.
Only then can we build a world where no community is left vulnerable to the horrors of genocide, ethnocide, and atrocity crimes.
Thank you.”