[E-rundbrief] Info 530 - Indigenous Peoples' Rights ignored

Matthias Reichl info at begegnungszentrum.at
Di Apr 10 19:21:22 CEST 2007


E-Rundbrief - Info 530 - Julio Godoy (IPS): 
Indigenous Peoples' Rights Ignored Again. The 
Convention concerning Indigenous and Tribal 
Peoples in Independent Countries, also known as 
Convention 169, was proposed by the International 
Labour Organisation (ILO) in June 1989.

Bad Ischl, 10.4.2007

Begegnungszentrum für aktive Gewaltlosigkeit

www.begegnungszentrum.at

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RIGHTS: Indigenous Peoples' Rights Ignored Again

Julio Godoy

BERLIN, Apr 10 (IPS) - The rights of indigenous 
people are given respect in speech after speech, 
but few countries have signed up to an 
international convention to protect those rights.

The Convention concerning Indigenous and Tribal 
Peoples in Independent Countries, also known as 
Convention 169, was proposed by the International 
Labour Organisation (ILO) in June 1989. But the 
convention has been ratified by only 18 
countries, mostly developing nations from Latin America.

In Europe, only Norway, the Netherlands and Spain 
have approved the convention. The German 
Bundestag (parliament) debated the convention last week, and turned it down.

Most members of the German parliament agreed on 
the need to protect the rights of indigenous 
people. ”Indigenous peoples through their 
experience and specific knowledge of nature 
contribute in a particular way to cultural 
diversity,” Liberal member Karl Addicks said. ”We 
Liberals expressly support the protection and 
respect of indigenous people.” But he went on to oppose the convention.

Green deputy Thilo Hoppe, who had proposed 
approval of the ILO convention to the Bundestag, 
said the debate was ”a shame” particularly since 
Rodolfo Stavenhagen, UN special rapporteur on 
human rights and fundamental freedoms of 
indigenous peoples, was attending the session as special guest.

Hoppe said ”the opposition to convention 169 
derives from the fear that the protection of the 
rights of indigenous peoples could constitute an 
obstacle for German and other international 
private companies operating in the regions inhabited by them.”

Convention 169 calls for protection of natural 
resources in areas inhabited by indigenous 
peoples. Article 15, paragraph 1 of the 
convention states: ”The rights of the peoples 
concerned to the natural resources pertaining to 
their lands shall be specially safeguarded. These 
rights include the right of these peoples to 
participate in the use, management and conservation of these resources.”

Paragraph 2 of the same article states: ”In cases 
in which the State retains the ownership of 
mineral or sub-surface resources or rights to 
other resources pertaining to lands, governments 
shall establish or maintain procedures through 
which they shall consult these peoples, with a 
view to ascertaining whether and to what degree 
their interests would be prejudiced, before 
undertaking or permitting any programmes for the 
exploration or exploitation of such resources pertaining to their lands.”

In addition, the convention says the peoples 
concerned ”shall wherever possible participate in 
the benefits of such activities, and shall 
receive fair compensation for any damages which 
they may sustain as a result of such activities.”

Convention 169 has been invoked by indigenous 
peoples in several conflicts over exploitation of 
natural resources like gold, gas and oil, 
especially in Latin America. In Guatemala, the 
rights the government gave to the Canadian firm 
Glamis to exploit gold mines in a region 
inhabited by Mayan peasants in the south-western 
area San Marcos, has been a source of conflict since 2003.

Representatives of Indians say that the 
Guatemalan government has approved convention 
169, and is therefore obliged to protect natural 
resources on Indians' land. The Guatemalan 
government has ignored the Mayan Indians' pleas.

According to the ILO, most of the world's 
estimated 350 million indigenous people are 
marginalised in almost every aspect of daily life.

In a paper arguing the need to approve the 
convention, the ILO says that ”with 
globalisation, increasing population pressure on 
their traditional lands and the increasing 
pressure on natural resources, (indigenous 
peoples) are faced with increasing poverty, ill health and discrimination.”

In a report to the UN Human Rights Council in 
Geneva last month, Stavenhagen said adoption of 
new legal norms and the creation of a modern 
institutional framework ”represent great progress 
in the protection of indigenous peoples' rights.” 
But, he said, ”there is still an 'implementation 
gap' between the norms and the practice, between 
the formal recognition and the actual situation of indigenous peoples.”

In Latin America, Stavenhagen told the council, 
”the gradual deterioration of the indigenous 
habitat and the impact of extractive activities 
on the environment and on indigenous peoples' 
rights are matters of special concern, especially 
in the Amazon, the northern border areas and the 
Pacific coast.” (END/IPS/EU/WD/LA/IP/DV/IF/EN/HD/IN/JG/ SS/07)

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