Chadian Activist Calls for Indigenous‑Centred AI Governance

Hindou Oumarou Ibrahim, president of the Association for Indigenous Women and Peoples of Chad and former chair of the UN Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues, urged African governments to embed environmental and social safeguards into national artificial‑intelligence strategies. Speaking at the UN’s first Global Dialogue on AI Governance in Geneva in July 2026, Ibrahim highlighted how AI can support, rather than replace, Indigenous knowledge. In Chad, participatory mapping, satellite data and predictive AI tools have helped anticipate drought and protect herders’ migration routes, illustrating the potential benefits of community‑led technology. She warned that conventional data‑protection frameworks focus on individual privacy and fail to safeguard collective cultural, linguistic and environmental knowledge held by communities. Ibrahim called for environmental and social impact assessments for AI infrastructure, protection of biodiversity, land rights, and the formal inclusion of Indigenous peoples as decision‑makers and rights holders. She also urged investment in African and community‑controlled AI capacity—local research institutions, Indigenous innovation centres, African language models—and for AI companies to audit models for cultural bias and allow communities to challenge harmful representations. Her message underscores that without ecological guardrails, AI could accelerate extraction, consumption and infrastructure development that threatens ecosystems and Indigenous territories.