Indigenous World Heritage in Danger: 50,000 years of cultural legacy to be erased in Murujuga? | Geneva Rights and Environment Talks 2026

This event, organized in the framework of the Geneva Rights and Environment Talks, will provide a space to discuss the situation of Murujuga, an Indigenous World Heritage located in Pilbara region in Western Australia, with Raelene Cooper, a Mardudhunera lore woman, Indigenous leader and traditional custodian.

About this Event

Murujuga is an ancient landscape, holding the world’s most extensive collection of petroglyphs dating back 50,000 years. It is home to over a million ancient engravings, and holds the first known depiction of the human face.

Murujuga was listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in July 2025. Three months later, the Federal Environment Minister approved a 40-year extension to Woodside’s North West Shelf gas processing facility.

Such a decision of the Australian Government is not only locking in billions of tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions out to 2070, but the development of these two gas processing plants, fertilizer and ammonia plants are also causing harm to ancient rock art engravings at Murujuga.

To counter this development, a complaint is to be lodged in October at the United Nations Human Rights Committee.

At this event, we will discuss with Raelene Cooper, a Mardathoonera (Mardudhunera) lore woman, Indigenous elder and Traditional Custodian of lands, seas and waters in the Pilbara region in Western Australia, how to protect such world heritage site and the related cultural and environmental rights.

Geneva Rights and Environment Talks

In the face of the three interrelated environmental crises — climate change, loss of biodiversity, and pollution — the recognition of the right to a clean, healthy, and sustainable environment by the UN Human Rights Council and the UN General Assembly is an important milestone that puts environmental issues at the forefront of the human rights agenda.

The Geneva Rights and Environment Talks aim to provide a space to reflect on the challenges posed by the rapid decline of nature and biodiversity and the intertwined human rights implications. The talks are also an opportunity to discuss how Geneva contributes to bringing together the actors working towards ensuring the right to a clean, healthy, and sustainable environment is upheld for all.