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11 August 2000
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Subcommission on the Promotion
and Protection of Human Rights
52nd session
11 August 2000
Morning
The Subcommission on the Promotion and Protection of Human Rights began its discussion this morning on the rights of indigenous peoples, lauding the recent decision to establish a Permanent Forum on indigenous issues within the United Nations system and hearing pleas for the continued existence of the Subcommission's working group on indigenous populations.
Representatives of non-governmental organizations charged violations of the rights of indigenous communities in various parts of the world, including South America and Latin America generally, Indonesia, Pakistan, Australia, Mexico, Canada, the Philippines, Peru, Ecuador, Colombia, Bangladesh, India, the United States, and Kashmir.
Subcommission Expert Erica-Irene A. Daes described a seminar held on draft principles and guidelines for the protection of the heritage of indigenous peoples, and Expert Miguel Alfonso Martinez, Chairman of the working group on indigenous populations, presented the report of the eighteenth session of the working group.
Along with Mr. Alfonso Martinez and Mrs. Daes, speaking during the morning meeting were Subcommission Experts or Alternate Members Asbjorn Eide, El-Hadji Guisse, Christy Ezim Mbonu, Jose Bengoa, and David Weissbrodt.
The following non-governmental organizations delivered statements: North-South XXI, the Netherlands Organization for International Development Cooperation, the Indian Council of South America, Interfaith International, the Inuit Circumpolar Conference, International Educational Development, the Indigenous World Association, the Indian Movement Tupaj Amaru, the World Federation of Mental Health, Franciscans International, the Latin American Association for Human Rights, the International League for the Rights and Liberation of Peoples, the World Federation of Methodist and Uniting Church Women, and the International Human Rights Association of American Minorities.
And representatives of Ukraine and Guatemala spoke.
The Subcommission will reconvene at 3 p.m. to act on several draft resolutions and decisions.
Human rights of indigenous peoples
Under this agenda item, the Subcommission has before it the final working paper prepared by Special Rapporteur Erica-Irene Daes (E/CN.4/Sub.2/2000/25) on indigenous peoples and their relationship to land. The report covers the relationship of indigenous peoples to their lands, territories and resources, the history and background and impact of the doctrines of dispossession, a framework for the analysis of contemporary problems regarding indigenous land rights, and the endeavours to resolve indigenous land issues and problems. The report recommends, inter alia, that countries should enact legislation, including special measures, to recognize, demarcate and protect the lands, territories and resources of indigenous peoples in a manner that accords legal protection, rights and status at least equal to those accorded other lands and territories; that such legislation must recognize indigenous peoples' traditional practices and law of land tenure and that it must be developed with the free consent and participation of the indigenous peoples concerned; that relevant aspects of Constitutions be reformed in order to assure the necessary level of legal protection for indigenous lands and resources; and that Governments formally renounce discriminatory legal doctrines and policies which deny human rights and adopt corrective legislation, constitutional reforms or corrective policies as may be appropriate within the International Decade of the World's Indigenous People.
There also is a report of the seminar on the draft principles and guidelines for the protection of the heritage of indigenous people (E/CN.4/Sub.2/2000/26) which contains information on the organization of work, general comments, considerations of the draft principles and considerations of the guidelines. The Special Rapporteur expresses her sincere wish that it would be possible for the General Assembly to adopt and proclaim a declaration of principles and guidelines on the protection of the heritage of indigenous peoples in the near future. The proclamation of such an instrument would constitute, inter alia, a strong message that the United Nations was committed to the protection of the heritage of indigenous peoples.
The Subcommission has before it a note by the secretariat (E/CN.4/Sub.2/AC.4/2000/3) containing a report of the Advisory Group of the United Nations Voluntary Fund for the International Decade of the World's Indigenous People. The report contains information about the fifth session of the Advisory Group, the financial situation of the Fund, recommendations for 2000 programmes under the International Decade and information about fund-raising.
And there is a note by the secretariat (E/CN.4/Sub.2/AC.4/2000/4) on the Voluntary Fund for Indigenous Populations containing the recommendations adopted by the Board of Trustees of the United Nations Voluntary Fund for Indigenous Populations, approved by the High Commissioner for Human Rights on behalf of the Secretary-General.
Statements
MIGUEL ALFONSO MARTINEZ, Subcommission Expert and Chairperson of the working group on indigenous populations, presented the report of the working group's eighteenth session (E/CN.4/Sub.2/2000/24). Some 1,000 persons had attended the working group. Land, intellectual property, and workers' rights were among issues which were considered by the working group in relation to the rights of indigenous people. It had analysed the process of change during the International Decade of the World's Indigenous People and had concluded that the level of activities should be increased. The Permanent Forum for indigenous people would not mean the end of the work of the working group on indigenous rights.
ERICA-IRENE A. DAES, Subcommission Expert, said certain points she considered important were missing from the report of the working group, especially related to the establishment of the Permanent Forum for indigenous populations within the UN system. She thought it should be added that the working group was extremely grateful to the Commission on Human Rights for its resolution calling for establishment of the forum, and for the mandate it had described for the forum. The forum would be the most effective mechanism for the protection of indigenous rights. She also proposed that the report should say that the working group had decided to highlight the theme "indigenous peoples and the right and participation in development" during its next meeting.
ASBJORN EIDE, Subcommission Expert, said the establishment of a Permanent Forum for indigenous people was an historical moment. He urged the Subcommission to quickly vote and pass the declaration on the Permanent Forum for indigenous people.
MIGUEL ALFONSO MARTINEZ, Subcommission Expert, said he had no objection to adding Mrs. Daes's proposals to the report if the other members of the working group were in agreement, especially with regards to the Permanent Forum. He had had the impression Mrs. Daes had earlier agreed to the language in the report.
EL-HADJI GUISSE, Subcommission Expert, said he agreed with the points raised by Mrs. Daes on the report of the working group. He also praised the work she had done on indigenous people.
CHRISTY EZIM MBONU, Alternate Subcommission Member, said she admired the work done by the working group over the years. She wanted clarification on the matter of the Permanent Forum; in the report of last year's working group, mention was made of extensive debate on the topic. The indigenous peoples themselves had looked forward to a Permanent Forum for years. She also wondered what the Permanent Forum would mean for the future of the working group. The Subcommission should hear what indigenous groups had to say here at the Subcommission before deciding on Mrs. Daes's proposals.
ERICA-IRENE DAES, Subcommission Expert, presented a report on the seminar on the draft principles and guidelines for the protection of the heritage of indigenous peoples (E/CN.4/Sub.2/1994/31, annex) with the participation of the Special Rapporteur and representatives of Governments, United Nations bodies and organizations, specialised agencies, organizations of indigenous peoples and competent indigenous persons. The seminar was held in Geneva from 28 February to 1 March 2000. She submitted the report for consideration by the Subcommission.
JOSE BENGOA, Subcommission Expert, said he had been unable to read the report of the working group, having been told when he asked that the report was not available. However, it was worth noting that the group's existence might be coming to an end, and its accomplishments and those of Mrs. Daes should be acknowledged; there had been tremendous achievements by the working group. Effort should be made by the Subcommission in the future to avoid duplicating the work of the Permanent Forum. However, it should continue consideration of indigenous matters, including monitoring the progress of the draft declaration on indigenous rights. One decisive issue in the draft text related to language on self-determination, on which lately there appeared to be some hard-won progress. Still, the Subcommission should express regret that drafting of the declaration had been unacceptably slow; it would be best, after all, if a declaration could be the basis on which the Permanent Forum and its work rested.
GULNAR WAKIM, of North South XXI, said that she was taking the floor on behalf of Catunta Casto, an aboriginal in Argentina, who could not come to the Subcommission because of her work. The Subcommission should take stronger steps to ensure that countries did not violate the UN declarations on the rights of indigenous people. She mentioned particularly private corporations which were taking the resources and lands of indigenous people. Land was of important value for aboriginal people in South America, but it was being stolen by corporations. It caused poverty of spirit as well as other forms of poverty. The Subcommission should consider the pain of not having land when land was to indigenous people the most important thing they had. This was the most important message that Ms. Casto wanted to get across to the members of the Subcommission.
AFRIDAL DARMI, of the Netherlands Organization for International Development Cooperation, said indigenous communities had been the most harmed by Indonesian development policies over the last 30 years; the Government refused to use the term "indigenous" because it considered all Indonesians except ethnic Chinese to be "indigenous"; this unfair treatment resulted in categorization and definition of indigenous communities as "isolated communities", "farmers practising subsistence agriculture", "vulnerable communities", and "primitive communities". The State strengthened control over indigenous communities, laws and policies, brought natural resources under State authority, and policies on rapid growth resulted in further tension over land tenures.
According to a law dating from the colonial era, all subsurface mineral resources belonged to the State, and there had been many cases of intimidation by the military and others to acquire land for development projects with minimal or no compensation. In mining and logging areas such as Kalimantan and West Papua, violations of indigenous rights were especially frequent. The problems of indigenous peoples should be high on the Government's agenda, and the Government should quickly ratify ILO Convention 169 on protection of tribal communities.
TOMAS CONDORI, of the Indian Council for South America, said the creation of a Permanent Forum for indigenous populations within the UN system was an important event. However, he was worried about the method of choosing the eight indigenous representatives. The Subcommission should adopt urgent measures to protect indigenous people in South America, particularly in relation to protecting their environment and their land. It should also help make people understand the special and close relationship the indigenous people had with the land. The new Forum should take into account this special relationship. The speaker also referred to the systematic violations of rights of indigenous peoples in Mexico and asked the Subcommission to intervene with the Mexican Government so that it would respect indigenous rights.
MUNAWAR HALEPOTA, of Interfaith International, said Sindh was a land of 48,000 square miles and one of the world's oldest surviving civilizations, yet it was now under threat of extinction from terrorism, cultural dilution, persecution by the establishment, increasing fundamentalism, lack of Constitutional protection, and imposition of martial law. It recently had been affected by severe famine, with many people, especially children, dying, yet the world community was unaware of the calamity and the Government had failed to provide assistance. Land had been forcibly taken and allocated to military generals, coastal land had been taken over by defence forces, and Sindh was being deprived of its share of water from the Indus River by construction of 32 dams upstream, including the Kala Bagh dam, which was being built despite strong indigenous opposition and clear threats to the environment.
Sindh contributed 60 per cent to the budget of Pakistan but in return hardly received 2 per cent; a large number of Sindhi Government employees were being laid off, and the Government was flagrantly oppressing Sindh identity and traditions. Sindhis demanded the right to self-determination. The United Nations should send an impartial fact-finding mission to the region. The World Conference against Racism should devote a day to discussion of indigenous rights.
HJALMAR DAHL, of the Inuit Circumpolar Conference, said the creation of the Permanent Forum would bring indigenous peoples and Governments together on equal footing inside the United Nations system to create peace, justice and sustainable development amongst all peoples of the world. The resolution of the Commission on Human Rights did not fully capture the aspirations of indigenous peoples, as it was a compromised document which was agreed upon between Governments, but it approached the promise of a direct voice for indigenous peoples within the UN system. The adoption of the resolution by the Economic and Social Council reflected the willingness of Governments to build a new partnership with indigenous peoples.
KAREN PARKER, of International Educational Development, said persistent legal measures by Australia to deprive aboriginals of their ancestral lands had caused great damage, as aboriginals were deeply connected to their lands and the destruction of this connection would mean their own destruction. A law suit had been brought, therefore, alleging genocide against the aboriginals, based on well-understood international concepts, yet Australia, despite having signed the Convention against Genocide, claimed that the Convention did not apply in municipal law. All States had a duty to act on allegations of genocide, and should do so in this case.
International Educational Development concurred with Mrs. Daes's concern that three indigenous areas in Mexico -- Chiapas, Guerrero and Oaxaca -- were being increasingly militarized, and noted that there was violence there as a result, as well as intimidation, fear, and gross violations of human rights. Since there had been intimidation of indigenous citizens during the recent elections, the Subcommission and international community should directly monitor the upcoming second-stage elections. The Subcommission should send a representative to Chiapas during this critical period.
KENNETH DEER, of the Indigenous World Association, said that work by the Subcommission 10 years ago helped end a crisis between the Canadian Government and the people of the Mohawk nation in Kahnawake. The Mohawk nation was eternally grateful for the intervention of the Subcommission at that time, and the Subcommission should resist any attempts to reduce or limit the positive impact it could have on situations as they developed.
In addition to the creation of the Permanent Forum for indigenous people, the working group on this issue should be maintained; just as the Subcommission had a role with the Commission on Human Rights, the working group had a role with the Subcommission. The working group should change its name to the "working group on indigenous peoples", to show that these people were considered more than merely an "issue".
LAZARO PARY, of the Indian Movement Tupaj Amaru, said the International Decade of the World's Indigenous People had already been lost; none of the problems outlined for the Decade had received the attention they had deserved from the international community. Environmental damage, egoism and hypocrisy continued on the part of transnational corporations, the powers of the North, and the privileged elite of the South. Meanwhile the Decade had no funds and little will. Only 17 projects had been financed, for a little over $100,000. The sums involved were paltry. Military forces were spending $700 million on weapons today. For the cost of one Apache helicopter, $74 million, a world conference on indigenous lands could have been held -- an issue of enormous importance.
The working group for indigenous peoples should not be eliminated because a Permanent Forum was to be established. Both mechanisms could and should be complimentary. Indigenous experts should be appointed. Meanwhile, the interests of indigenous groups should be taken more effectively into account in establishing the Permanent Forum, as countries once again had tried to manipulate and weaken the process of true representation.
WILDA SPALDING, of the World Federation for Mental Health, expressed concern for the mental health of indigenous people, especially in light of the suffering that they went through, including loss of culture and forced relocations. Concern was also expressed about the work of the working group, which should be more sensitive to young indigenous people and their relations to the elders. The organization strongly supported the World Indigenous Nations Games, and other work that UNESCO was doing to support and spread the values of indigenous people.
PHILIPPE LE BLANC, of Franciscans International, said that the organization, along with Dominicans for Peace and Justice, called attention to the way many Governments continued to avoid sufficient respect for the lands of indigenous peoples, being concerned instead with profit and exploitation of natural resources. The indigenous peoples of the Sierra Tarahumara and the Selva Lacandona regions of Mexico were an example of Government policies violating indigenous rights in order to serve the interests of transnational corporations. Indigenous populations in the Philippines endured similar hardships. The Subcommission should encourage States to recognize indigenous title, land use, and the connection such communities had with the land. The Subcommission was strongly urged to place greater emphasis on the role of transnational corporations in the infringement of indigenous rights. Such corporations should recognize their responsibility for the protection and promotion of human rights.
Franciscans International supported the proposed principle that business and industry should contribute financially and otherwise to the development of educational and research institutions controlled by indigenous peoples and their communities.
MIGUEL ALFONSO MARTINEZ, Subcommission Expert, said that with the creation of the new Permanent Forum on indigenous issues within the United Nations, the functions of the working group on indigenous populations should examine new standards concerning indigenous people, and other actions in the United Nations to improve the rights of indigenous people. The creation of the Permanent Forum did not contradict the presence of the working group. The working group provided contacts and a means for ending conflicts, and had successfully spread the message about the rights of indigenous people. Too much blind hope had been put on the Permanent Forum. Another problem was that it could only make suggestions to Governments. The working group should not be written off yet, as it was too early to get excited about what the Permanent Forum would be able to achieve.
MARCELO ORELLANA, of the Latin American Association for Human Rights, speaking on behalf of a series of NGOs concerned with indigenous issues, said all the associations were grateful for Mrs. Daes's report on her visit to Mexico, as it had described the overall framework of violence and discrimination facing Mexican indigenous peoples. Attention was required to the call of Mexican indigenous women for peace, for indigenous women were especially the victims of the current catastrophic situation. Violence against indigenous peoples was a widespread thing, and had occurred as well in Guatemala during its civil conflict, in Peru, and in Ecuador.
In Colombia, a long process of destruction of indigenous peoples was still under way. If the United Nations and the international community did not hurry, Colombian Amazonian indigenous groups could well disappear entirely in the next few years. There were some 52 indigenous groups in the country, many of them very small. Some 6 million hectares of indigenous land were rich in natural resources, and this had turned out to be dangerous and could even be fatal for the groups who lived there, as violence against them came from the military, paramilitary groups, drug traffickers, and others. Steps were necessary to help them, and soon.
ORETTA BANDETTINI DI POGGIO, of the International League for the Rights and Liberation of Peoples, said the Western Shoshone, who were an indigenous people in Nevada, California, Idaho and Utah in the United States, had been deprived of their land rights. This nation had signed a treaty with the United States establishing boundaries for ancestral lands. Despite this treaty, the resources and land were being threatened by the United States Government which was determined to extinguish Western Shoshone relationship to the land. The Subcommission should investigate the situation and should call on the United States to put an immediate end to all activities damaging the Western Shoshone. It should also initiate talks with Western Shoshone tribal and traditional leaders with a view to finding solutions acceptable to all and which complied with the United States' international human rights obligations.
The Subcommission should also appoint a Special Rapporteur on indigenous peoples until the time the Permanent Forum was established. It was also important to stress that the Forum should not mean the death of the working group on indigenous populations.
JEREMY CORBYN, of Liberation, said recent landmark judgements in the courts on behalf of Native Americans had been encouraging, but there was a long way to go before systematic discrimination against them was addressed. Few saw or heard of the appalling treatment of Aboriginal and Torres Island peoples in Australia, and welcome moves by past Australian Governments to redress injustices had largely been reversed by recent court judgements. There were grave violations of the rights of indigenous peoples in Chiapas, Mexico. The indigenous Jumma people of the Chittagong Hill Tracts of Bangladesh had been oppressed for centuries and currently were suffering from civil conflict and transfer of settlers to the region.
Indigenous peoples in parts of India such as Manipur, Nagaland, and Assam struggled against discriminatory legislation and excessive force by security agencies, and in Pakistan the people of Sindh and Baluchistan suffered human-rights violations. The UN should take a special interest in South and Latin America and appoint a Special Rapporteur for those regions in view of the increasingly fragile situation there.
ANNA MERCEDES LEURINDA, of the World Federation of Methodist and Uniting Church Women, in a joint statement, drew the attention of the Subcommission to the Declaration of the International Indigenous Women's Forum, which had been adopted by over 100 indigenous women who attended the Beijing Plus 5 meeting in New York in June 2000.
The Declaration said that indigenous women recognized that the well being of their People was dependent on the past, present and the future generations, the balance between men and women, the experience and knowledge of the elders and the energy of the youth. Indigenous women continued to experience grave problems including poverty, and declines in health, education and social, economic and cultural rights.
The organization recommended that the Subcommission urge States to continue their commitment as expressed by the Commission on Human Rights at its fifty-sixth session, and to establish a Permanent Forum on indigenous issues. She also called upon all Governments to ensure that all indigenous peoples had full access, without discrimination, to medical and health services, including traditional medicines and health practices. Governments should also review and address the proposals and demands contained in the Beijing Declaration of Indigenous Women, which to date had not been addressed.
RUDY JAMES, of the International Human Rights Association of American Minorities, said the Kuiu Kwaan Thlingit Nation of Alaska, and other indigenous peoples of Alaska, were threatened by Alaskan Government moves to deprive them of title to their lands. The Kuiu Kwaan were among several Thlingit nations that had never ceded sovereignty or lands to the United States, not by law and not by agreement. The United States in fact had never purchased Alaska from Russia and had not dealt fairly with the indigenous nations of the region. The title of the Kuiu Kwaan and other indigenous nations of Alaska to their lands were hidden in the United States national archives. The Subcommission and Governments of the world must avert this human tragedy.
The Association suggested the Subcommission sponsor a regional conference on African Americans. It also respectfully requested that both India and Pakistan draw back their encroachment actions and allow the indigenous peoples of Kashmir to pursue their right to self-determination in an atmosphere of peace, respect and understanding.
IVANNA MARKINA (Ukraine) said the establishment of the Permanent Forum for indigenous people was a milestone for the International Decade on the World's Indigenous People, along with the draft UN declaration on the rights of indigenous people. Ukraine welcomed the activity of the working group on indigenous populations of the Subcommission, in particular, in searching for peaceful and constructive solutions to situations involving indigenous peoples. Ukraine had been consistent in safeguarding the rights of indigenous peoples, national groups and citizens which had been disrupted by previous policies of colonialism, ethnic-based suppression and repressions pursued under the previous rule. Now the legislation created a solid basis for free development of all its citizens without discrimination of the ethnic origin and religious, linguistic and cultural peculiarities.
Ukraine had recently set up a Consultative Council of Crimean Tatars under the authority of the President of Ukraine. The Council covered two important issues: 1) employment of Tatars in Government positions in Crimea, and 2) the allocation of auxiliary land parcels to rural Tatars. The Tartar people had suffered during Soviet times because of forced relocation and other discrimination.
DAVID WEISSBRODT, Subcommission Expert, said the working group on indigenous populations had been one of the most dynamic organizations in the history of the Subcommission and, indeed, within the United Nations. It had had remarkable accomplishments over the past 18 years. He also was encouraged that indigenous peoples were now permanent participants in the UN human-rights structure.
The world's indigenous peoples faced particular challenges because of their unique cultural, linguistic, governmental and religious traditions. The draft declaration on their rights was integral for them, and he hoped the working group on the draft declaration would see past its current difficulties. The drafting process had gone on for six years, and there remained considerable impediments. Although some recent progress had been observed, based on encouraging new flexibility, Governments also had been quite separately drafting several provisions without the indispensable help of indigenous participants, and risked the result that the declaration would not receive adequate indigenous contributions. He also though Governments should clearly indicate their commitment to the principle of indigenous self-determination, which did not imply the right to secede.
He hoped the Permanent Forum for indigenous issues would not simply replace the working group, but would provide a venue for indigenous peoples and States to make substantive progress towards resolving the contentious issues between them, and that non-governmental organizations and indigenous groups would be accommodated appropriately within the Forum's structure.
CARLA RODRIGUEZ (Guatemala) said that most of the population of the country was indigenous. The peace process in the country had not been easy, but it was successful and could be used as a model for other parts of the world. Guatemala had made other advancements in indigenous rights, including education and, by the holding by indigenous people of Government positions. The Government of Guatemala was implementing housing efforts and health programmes for indigenous people. The creation of a Permanent Forum for indigenous people was an important move to protect their fundamental freedoms. Guatemala supported the adoption of a resolution on appointing a Special Rapporteur on indigenous people, and all the benefits this entailed for the rights of indigenous people everywhere.
* *** *
and Protection of Human Rights
52nd session
11 August 2000
Morning
The Subcommission on the Promotion and Protection of Human Rights began its discussion this morning on the rights of indigenous peoples, lauding the recent decision to establish a Permanent Forum on indigenous issues within the United Nations system and hearing pleas for the continued existence of the Subcommission's working group on indigenous populations.
Representatives of non-governmental organizations charged violations of the rights of indigenous communities in various parts of the world, including South America and Latin America generally, Indonesia, Pakistan, Australia, Mexico, Canada, the Philippines, Peru, Ecuador, Colombia, Bangladesh, India, the United States, and Kashmir.
Subcommission Expert Erica-Irene A. Daes described a seminar held on draft principles and guidelines for the protection of the heritage of indigenous peoples, and Expert Miguel Alfonso Martinez, Chairman of the working group on indigenous populations, presented the report of the eighteenth session of the working group.
Along with Mr. Alfonso Martinez and Mrs. Daes, speaking during the morning meeting were Subcommission Experts or Alternate Members Asbjorn Eide, El-Hadji Guisse, Christy Ezim Mbonu, Jose Bengoa, and David Weissbrodt.
The following non-governmental organizations delivered statements: North-South XXI, the Netherlands Organization for International Development Cooperation, the Indian Council of South America, Interfaith International, the Inuit Circumpolar Conference, International Educational Development, the Indigenous World Association, the Indian Movement Tupaj Amaru, the World Federation of Mental Health, Franciscans International, the Latin American Association for Human Rights, the International League for the Rights and Liberation of Peoples, the World Federation of Methodist and Uniting Church Women, and the International Human Rights Association of American Minorities.
And representatives of Ukraine and Guatemala spoke.
The Subcommission will reconvene at 3 p.m. to act on several draft resolutions and decisions.
Human rights of indigenous peoples
Under this agenda item, the Subcommission has before it the final working paper prepared by Special Rapporteur Erica-Irene Daes (E/CN.4/Sub.2/2000/25) on indigenous peoples and their relationship to land. The report covers the relationship of indigenous peoples to their lands, territories and resources, the history and background and impact of the doctrines of dispossession, a framework for the analysis of contemporary problems regarding indigenous land rights, and the endeavours to resolve indigenous land issues and problems. The report recommends, inter alia, that countries should enact legislation, including special measures, to recognize, demarcate and protect the lands, territories and resources of indigenous peoples in a manner that accords legal protection, rights and status at least equal to those accorded other lands and territories; that such legislation must recognize indigenous peoples' traditional practices and law of land tenure and that it must be developed with the free consent and participation of the indigenous peoples concerned; that relevant aspects of Constitutions be reformed in order to assure the necessary level of legal protection for indigenous lands and resources; and that Governments formally renounce discriminatory legal doctrines and policies which deny human rights and adopt corrective legislation, constitutional reforms or corrective policies as may be appropriate within the International Decade of the World's Indigenous People.
There also is a report of the seminar on the draft principles and guidelines for the protection of the heritage of indigenous people (E/CN.4/Sub.2/2000/26) which contains information on the organization of work, general comments, considerations of the draft principles and considerations of the guidelines. The Special Rapporteur expresses her sincere wish that it would be possible for the General Assembly to adopt and proclaim a declaration of principles and guidelines on the protection of the heritage of indigenous peoples in the near future. The proclamation of such an instrument would constitute, inter alia, a strong message that the United Nations was committed to the protection of the heritage of indigenous peoples.
The Subcommission has before it a note by the secretariat (E/CN.4/Sub.2/AC.4/2000/3) containing a report of the Advisory Group of the United Nations Voluntary Fund for the International Decade of the World's Indigenous People. The report contains information about the fifth session of the Advisory Group, the financial situation of the Fund, recommendations for 2000 programmes under the International Decade and information about fund-raising.
And there is a note by the secretariat (E/CN.4/Sub.2/AC.4/2000/4) on the Voluntary Fund for Indigenous Populations containing the recommendations adopted by the Board of Trustees of the United Nations Voluntary Fund for Indigenous Populations, approved by the High Commissioner for Human Rights on behalf of the Secretary-General.
Statements
MIGUEL ALFONSO MARTINEZ, Subcommission Expert and Chairperson of the working group on indigenous populations, presented the report of the working group's eighteenth session (E/CN.4/Sub.2/2000/24). Some 1,000 persons had attended the working group. Land, intellectual property, and workers' rights were among issues which were considered by the working group in relation to the rights of indigenous people. It had analysed the process of change during the International Decade of the World's Indigenous People and had concluded that the level of activities should be increased. The Permanent Forum for indigenous people would not mean the end of the work of the working group on indigenous rights.
ERICA-IRENE A. DAES, Subcommission Expert, said certain points she considered important were missing from the report of the working group, especially related to the establishment of the Permanent Forum for indigenous populations within the UN system. She thought it should be added that the working group was extremely grateful to the Commission on Human Rights for its resolution calling for establishment of the forum, and for the mandate it had described for the forum. The forum would be the most effective mechanism for the protection of indigenous rights. She also proposed that the report should say that the working group had decided to highlight the theme "indigenous peoples and the right and participation in development" during its next meeting.
ASBJORN EIDE, Subcommission Expert, said the establishment of a Permanent Forum for indigenous people was an historical moment. He urged the Subcommission to quickly vote and pass the declaration on the Permanent Forum for indigenous people.
MIGUEL ALFONSO MARTINEZ, Subcommission Expert, said he had no objection to adding Mrs. Daes's proposals to the report if the other members of the working group were in agreement, especially with regards to the Permanent Forum. He had had the impression Mrs. Daes had earlier agreed to the language in the report.
EL-HADJI GUISSE, Subcommission Expert, said he agreed with the points raised by Mrs. Daes on the report of the working group. He also praised the work she had done on indigenous people.
CHRISTY EZIM MBONU, Alternate Subcommission Member, said she admired the work done by the working group over the years. She wanted clarification on the matter of the Permanent Forum; in the report of last year's working group, mention was made of extensive debate on the topic. The indigenous peoples themselves had looked forward to a Permanent Forum for years. She also wondered what the Permanent Forum would mean for the future of the working group. The Subcommission should hear what indigenous groups had to say here at the Subcommission before deciding on Mrs. Daes's proposals.
ERICA-IRENE DAES, Subcommission Expert, presented a report on the seminar on the draft principles and guidelines for the protection of the heritage of indigenous peoples (E/CN.4/Sub.2/1994/31, annex) with the participation of the Special Rapporteur and representatives of Governments, United Nations bodies and organizations, specialised agencies, organizations of indigenous peoples and competent indigenous persons. The seminar was held in Geneva from 28 February to 1 March 2000. She submitted the report for consideration by the Subcommission.
JOSE BENGOA, Subcommission Expert, said he had been unable to read the report of the working group, having been told when he asked that the report was not available. However, it was worth noting that the group's existence might be coming to an end, and its accomplishments and those of Mrs. Daes should be acknowledged; there had been tremendous achievements by the working group. Effort should be made by the Subcommission in the future to avoid duplicating the work of the Permanent Forum. However, it should continue consideration of indigenous matters, including monitoring the progress of the draft declaration on indigenous rights. One decisive issue in the draft text related to language on self-determination, on which lately there appeared to be some hard-won progress. Still, the Subcommission should express regret that drafting of the declaration had been unacceptably slow; it would be best, after all, if a declaration could be the basis on which the Permanent Forum and its work rested.
GULNAR WAKIM, of North South XXI, said that she was taking the floor on behalf of Catunta Casto, an aboriginal in Argentina, who could not come to the Subcommission because of her work. The Subcommission should take stronger steps to ensure that countries did not violate the UN declarations on the rights of indigenous people. She mentioned particularly private corporations which were taking the resources and lands of indigenous people. Land was of important value for aboriginal people in South America, but it was being stolen by corporations. It caused poverty of spirit as well as other forms of poverty. The Subcommission should consider the pain of not having land when land was to indigenous people the most important thing they had. This was the most important message that Ms. Casto wanted to get across to the members of the Subcommission.
AFRIDAL DARMI, of the Netherlands Organization for International Development Cooperation, said indigenous communities had been the most harmed by Indonesian development policies over the last 30 years; the Government refused to use the term "indigenous" because it considered all Indonesians except ethnic Chinese to be "indigenous"; this unfair treatment resulted in categorization and definition of indigenous communities as "isolated communities", "farmers practising subsistence agriculture", "vulnerable communities", and "primitive communities". The State strengthened control over indigenous communities, laws and policies, brought natural resources under State authority, and policies on rapid growth resulted in further tension over land tenures.
According to a law dating from the colonial era, all subsurface mineral resources belonged to the State, and there had been many cases of intimidation by the military and others to acquire land for development projects with minimal or no compensation. In mining and logging areas such as Kalimantan and West Papua, violations of indigenous rights were especially frequent. The problems of indigenous peoples should be high on the Government's agenda, and the Government should quickly ratify ILO Convention 169 on protection of tribal communities.
TOMAS CONDORI, of the Indian Council for South America, said the creation of a Permanent Forum for indigenous populations within the UN system was an important event. However, he was worried about the method of choosing the eight indigenous representatives. The Subcommission should adopt urgent measures to protect indigenous people in South America, particularly in relation to protecting their environment and their land. It should also help make people understand the special and close relationship the indigenous people had with the land. The new Forum should take into account this special relationship. The speaker also referred to the systematic violations of rights of indigenous peoples in Mexico and asked the Subcommission to intervene with the Mexican Government so that it would respect indigenous rights.
MUNAWAR HALEPOTA, of Interfaith International, said Sindh was a land of 48,000 square miles and one of the world's oldest surviving civilizations, yet it was now under threat of extinction from terrorism, cultural dilution, persecution by the establishment, increasing fundamentalism, lack of Constitutional protection, and imposition of martial law. It recently had been affected by severe famine, with many people, especially children, dying, yet the world community was unaware of the calamity and the Government had failed to provide assistance. Land had been forcibly taken and allocated to military generals, coastal land had been taken over by defence forces, and Sindh was being deprived of its share of water from the Indus River by construction of 32 dams upstream, including the Kala Bagh dam, which was being built despite strong indigenous opposition and clear threats to the environment.
Sindh contributed 60 per cent to the budget of Pakistan but in return hardly received 2 per cent; a large number of Sindhi Government employees were being laid off, and the Government was flagrantly oppressing Sindh identity and traditions. Sindhis demanded the right to self-determination. The United Nations should send an impartial fact-finding mission to the region. The World Conference against Racism should devote a day to discussion of indigenous rights.
HJALMAR DAHL, of the Inuit Circumpolar Conference, said the creation of the Permanent Forum would bring indigenous peoples and Governments together on equal footing inside the United Nations system to create peace, justice and sustainable development amongst all peoples of the world. The resolution of the Commission on Human Rights did not fully capture the aspirations of indigenous peoples, as it was a compromised document which was agreed upon between Governments, but it approached the promise of a direct voice for indigenous peoples within the UN system. The adoption of the resolution by the Economic and Social Council reflected the willingness of Governments to build a new partnership with indigenous peoples.
KAREN PARKER, of International Educational Development, said persistent legal measures by Australia to deprive aboriginals of their ancestral lands had caused great damage, as aboriginals were deeply connected to their lands and the destruction of this connection would mean their own destruction. A law suit had been brought, therefore, alleging genocide against the aboriginals, based on well-understood international concepts, yet Australia, despite having signed the Convention against Genocide, claimed that the Convention did not apply in municipal law. All States had a duty to act on allegations of genocide, and should do so in this case.
International Educational Development concurred with Mrs. Daes's concern that three indigenous areas in Mexico -- Chiapas, Guerrero and Oaxaca -- were being increasingly militarized, and noted that there was violence there as a result, as well as intimidation, fear, and gross violations of human rights. Since there had been intimidation of indigenous citizens during the recent elections, the Subcommission and international community should directly monitor the upcoming second-stage elections. The Subcommission should send a representative to Chiapas during this critical period.
KENNETH DEER, of the Indigenous World Association, said that work by the Subcommission 10 years ago helped end a crisis between the Canadian Government and the people of the Mohawk nation in Kahnawake. The Mohawk nation was eternally grateful for the intervention of the Subcommission at that time, and the Subcommission should resist any attempts to reduce or limit the positive impact it could have on situations as they developed.
In addition to the creation of the Permanent Forum for indigenous people, the working group on this issue should be maintained; just as the Subcommission had a role with the Commission on Human Rights, the working group had a role with the Subcommission. The working group should change its name to the "working group on indigenous peoples", to show that these people were considered more than merely an "issue".
LAZARO PARY, of the Indian Movement Tupaj Amaru, said the International Decade of the World's Indigenous People had already been lost; none of the problems outlined for the Decade had received the attention they had deserved from the international community. Environmental damage, egoism and hypocrisy continued on the part of transnational corporations, the powers of the North, and the privileged elite of the South. Meanwhile the Decade had no funds and little will. Only 17 projects had been financed, for a little over $100,000. The sums involved were paltry. Military forces were spending $700 million on weapons today. For the cost of one Apache helicopter, $74 million, a world conference on indigenous lands could have been held -- an issue of enormous importance.
The working group for indigenous peoples should not be eliminated because a Permanent Forum was to be established. Both mechanisms could and should be complimentary. Indigenous experts should be appointed. Meanwhile, the interests of indigenous groups should be taken more effectively into account in establishing the Permanent Forum, as countries once again had tried to manipulate and weaken the process of true representation.
WILDA SPALDING, of the World Federation for Mental Health, expressed concern for the mental health of indigenous people, especially in light of the suffering that they went through, including loss of culture and forced relocations. Concern was also expressed about the work of the working group, which should be more sensitive to young indigenous people and their relations to the elders. The organization strongly supported the World Indigenous Nations Games, and other work that UNESCO was doing to support and spread the values of indigenous people.
PHILIPPE LE BLANC, of Franciscans International, said that the organization, along with Dominicans for Peace and Justice, called attention to the way many Governments continued to avoid sufficient respect for the lands of indigenous peoples, being concerned instead with profit and exploitation of natural resources. The indigenous peoples of the Sierra Tarahumara and the Selva Lacandona regions of Mexico were an example of Government policies violating indigenous rights in order to serve the interests of transnational corporations. Indigenous populations in the Philippines endured similar hardships. The Subcommission should encourage States to recognize indigenous title, land use, and the connection such communities had with the land. The Subcommission was strongly urged to place greater emphasis on the role of transnational corporations in the infringement of indigenous rights. Such corporations should recognize their responsibility for the protection and promotion of human rights.
Franciscans International supported the proposed principle that business and industry should contribute financially and otherwise to the development of educational and research institutions controlled by indigenous peoples and their communities.
MIGUEL ALFONSO MARTINEZ, Subcommission Expert, said that with the creation of the new Permanent Forum on indigenous issues within the United Nations, the functions of the working group on indigenous populations should examine new standards concerning indigenous people, and other actions in the United Nations to improve the rights of indigenous people. The creation of the Permanent Forum did not contradict the presence of the working group. The working group provided contacts and a means for ending conflicts, and had successfully spread the message about the rights of indigenous people. Too much blind hope had been put on the Permanent Forum. Another problem was that it could only make suggestions to Governments. The working group should not be written off yet, as it was too early to get excited about what the Permanent Forum would be able to achieve.
MARCELO ORELLANA, of the Latin American Association for Human Rights, speaking on behalf of a series of NGOs concerned with indigenous issues, said all the associations were grateful for Mrs. Daes's report on her visit to Mexico, as it had described the overall framework of violence and discrimination facing Mexican indigenous peoples. Attention was required to the call of Mexican indigenous women for peace, for indigenous women were especially the victims of the current catastrophic situation. Violence against indigenous peoples was a widespread thing, and had occurred as well in Guatemala during its civil conflict, in Peru, and in Ecuador.
In Colombia, a long process of destruction of indigenous peoples was still under way. If the United Nations and the international community did not hurry, Colombian Amazonian indigenous groups could well disappear entirely in the next few years. There were some 52 indigenous groups in the country, many of them very small. Some 6 million hectares of indigenous land were rich in natural resources, and this had turned out to be dangerous and could even be fatal for the groups who lived there, as violence against them came from the military, paramilitary groups, drug traffickers, and others. Steps were necessary to help them, and soon.
ORETTA BANDETTINI DI POGGIO, of the International League for the Rights and Liberation of Peoples, said the Western Shoshone, who were an indigenous people in Nevada, California, Idaho and Utah in the United States, had been deprived of their land rights. This nation had signed a treaty with the United States establishing boundaries for ancestral lands. Despite this treaty, the resources and land were being threatened by the United States Government which was determined to extinguish Western Shoshone relationship to the land. The Subcommission should investigate the situation and should call on the United States to put an immediate end to all activities damaging the Western Shoshone. It should also initiate talks with Western Shoshone tribal and traditional leaders with a view to finding solutions acceptable to all and which complied with the United States' international human rights obligations.
The Subcommission should also appoint a Special Rapporteur on indigenous peoples until the time the Permanent Forum was established. It was also important to stress that the Forum should not mean the death of the working group on indigenous populations.
JEREMY CORBYN, of Liberation, said recent landmark judgements in the courts on behalf of Native Americans had been encouraging, but there was a long way to go before systematic discrimination against them was addressed. Few saw or heard of the appalling treatment of Aboriginal and Torres Island peoples in Australia, and welcome moves by past Australian Governments to redress injustices had largely been reversed by recent court judgements. There were grave violations of the rights of indigenous peoples in Chiapas, Mexico. The indigenous Jumma people of the Chittagong Hill Tracts of Bangladesh had been oppressed for centuries and currently were suffering from civil conflict and transfer of settlers to the region.
Indigenous peoples in parts of India such as Manipur, Nagaland, and Assam struggled against discriminatory legislation and excessive force by security agencies, and in Pakistan the people of Sindh and Baluchistan suffered human-rights violations. The UN should take a special interest in South and Latin America and appoint a Special Rapporteur for those regions in view of the increasingly fragile situation there.
ANNA MERCEDES LEURINDA, of the World Federation of Methodist and Uniting Church Women, in a joint statement, drew the attention of the Subcommission to the Declaration of the International Indigenous Women's Forum, which had been adopted by over 100 indigenous women who attended the Beijing Plus 5 meeting in New York in June 2000.
The Declaration said that indigenous women recognized that the well being of their People was dependent on the past, present and the future generations, the balance between men and women, the experience and knowledge of the elders and the energy of the youth. Indigenous women continued to experience grave problems including poverty, and declines in health, education and social, economic and cultural rights.
The organization recommended that the Subcommission urge States to continue their commitment as expressed by the Commission on Human Rights at its fifty-sixth session, and to establish a Permanent Forum on indigenous issues. She also called upon all Governments to ensure that all indigenous peoples had full access, without discrimination, to medical and health services, including traditional medicines and health practices. Governments should also review and address the proposals and demands contained in the Beijing Declaration of Indigenous Women, which to date had not been addressed.
RUDY JAMES, of the International Human Rights Association of American Minorities, said the Kuiu Kwaan Thlingit Nation of Alaska, and other indigenous peoples of Alaska, were threatened by Alaskan Government moves to deprive them of title to their lands. The Kuiu Kwaan were among several Thlingit nations that had never ceded sovereignty or lands to the United States, not by law and not by agreement. The United States in fact had never purchased Alaska from Russia and had not dealt fairly with the indigenous nations of the region. The title of the Kuiu Kwaan and other indigenous nations of Alaska to their lands were hidden in the United States national archives. The Subcommission and Governments of the world must avert this human tragedy.
The Association suggested the Subcommission sponsor a regional conference on African Americans. It also respectfully requested that both India and Pakistan draw back their encroachment actions and allow the indigenous peoples of Kashmir to pursue their right to self-determination in an atmosphere of peace, respect and understanding.
IVANNA MARKINA (Ukraine) said the establishment of the Permanent Forum for indigenous people was a milestone for the International Decade on the World's Indigenous People, along with the draft UN declaration on the rights of indigenous people. Ukraine welcomed the activity of the working group on indigenous populations of the Subcommission, in particular, in searching for peaceful and constructive solutions to situations involving indigenous peoples. Ukraine had been consistent in safeguarding the rights of indigenous peoples, national groups and citizens which had been disrupted by previous policies of colonialism, ethnic-based suppression and repressions pursued under the previous rule. Now the legislation created a solid basis for free development of all its citizens without discrimination of the ethnic origin and religious, linguistic and cultural peculiarities.
Ukraine had recently set up a Consultative Council of Crimean Tatars under the authority of the President of Ukraine. The Council covered two important issues: 1) employment of Tatars in Government positions in Crimea, and 2) the allocation of auxiliary land parcels to rural Tatars. The Tartar people had suffered during Soviet times because of forced relocation and other discrimination.
DAVID WEISSBRODT, Subcommission Expert, said the working group on indigenous populations had been one of the most dynamic organizations in the history of the Subcommission and, indeed, within the United Nations. It had had remarkable accomplishments over the past 18 years. He also was encouraged that indigenous peoples were now permanent participants in the UN human-rights structure.
The world's indigenous peoples faced particular challenges because of their unique cultural, linguistic, governmental and religious traditions. The draft declaration on their rights was integral for them, and he hoped the working group on the draft declaration would see past its current difficulties. The drafting process had gone on for six years, and there remained considerable impediments. Although some recent progress had been observed, based on encouraging new flexibility, Governments also had been quite separately drafting several provisions without the indispensable help of indigenous participants, and risked the result that the declaration would not receive adequate indigenous contributions. He also though Governments should clearly indicate their commitment to the principle of indigenous self-determination, which did not imply the right to secede.
He hoped the Permanent Forum for indigenous issues would not simply replace the working group, but would provide a venue for indigenous peoples and States to make substantive progress towards resolving the contentious issues between them, and that non-governmental organizations and indigenous groups would be accommodated appropriately within the Forum's structure.
CARLA RODRIGUEZ (Guatemala) said that most of the population of the country was indigenous. The peace process in the country had not been easy, but it was successful and could be used as a model for other parts of the world. Guatemala had made other advancements in indigenous rights, including education and, by the holding by indigenous people of Government positions. The Government of Guatemala was implementing housing efforts and health programmes for indigenous people. The creation of a Permanent Forum for indigenous people was an important move to protect their fundamental freedoms. Guatemala supported the adoption of a resolution on appointing a Special Rapporteur on indigenous people, and all the benefits this entailed for the rights of indigenous people everywhere.
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