Economic and Social Council

Distr. General

E/CN.4/2005/NGO/252

8 March 2005

English only

COMMISSION ON HUMAN RIGHTS

Sixty-first session Item 15 of the provisional agenda

Written statement* submitted by the International Federation for the Protection of the Rights of Ethnic, Religious, Linguistic and Other Minorities, a non-governmental organization on the Roster

The Secretary-General has received the following written statement which is circulated in accordance with Economic and Social Council resolution 1996/31. [11 February 2005]

* This written statement is issued, unedited, in the language(s) received from the submitting non-governmental organization(s).

INDIGENOUS ISSUES

1. Equality is defined as equality of persons or things being of the same standard or level and treated equally. In the legal context, equality is commonly deemed among natural rights, or one of the ideals and attributes of justice. Most general applications of the idea of equality in the legal context is the principle that the rule of law should apply equally to all members of the society, and that no one should be discriminated.

2. It is this principle of equality in the law, which is expressed in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights to which all nations; their institutions, human rights organisations and citizens are committed. The main aim of the Universal Declaration is to establish the principal that all human rights are rights that every person is entitled to as a human being. International human rights instruments, thereafter, generally agreed upon a set of important features related to the notion of human rights. It asserts that all human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights. Such rights are, therefore, moral entitlements, which belong to all peoples by virtue of their humanity. They apply to all peoples regardless of nationality, culture, status, age, sex or race. The fundamental principle, which underlies all human rights, can be found in virtually all cultures, religions and philosophical traditions. Inherent is the right to equality, to be free from institutionalised discrimination, which has been coined in the recognition of the reality that inequality can be created by policies of a state, or by powerful institutions acting arbitrarily.

3. The International Labour Organisation (ILO) adopted the Indigenous and Tribal Peoples’ Convention n° 169 at its 76th session in 1989. The Commission of Human Rights declared the International Decade of the World’s Indigenous People 1995 - 2004. Indigenous peoples are provided with important rights in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which state in Article 2 that everyone is equal in dignity and rights. However, the rights of indigenous peoples to equality are important because indigenous peoples have for a long time not been treated equally in law or in policy to that of other groups. This is the reason to why a separate declaration on the rights of indigenous people is demanded.

4. ILO’s Convention n° 169 indicates clearly, in Article 2 Paragraph 2, that Government action is required to protect the rights of indigenous peoples and that such actions shall include measures for; ensuring that members of these peoples benefit on an equal footing from the rights and opportunities which national laws and regulations grant to other members of the population.

5. The current Draft Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous People also seeks the principle of equality where Article 45 states that; “Nothing in this declaration may be interpreted as implying for any state, group or person any right to engage in any activity or to perform any act contrary to Charter of the United Nations” (Available at: http://www.usask.ca/nativelaw/ddir.html)

6. More importantly, the ILO Convention and the Draft Declaration seek to protect the rights of indigenous people to self-determination and with provisions of special measures to control and protect their cultural and intellectual property. This would be contravened by undermining the principles of equality as enshrined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the United Nations Charter.

7. In conclusion, the following themes arise as major issues that should be taken into account by the international community, including the members States of the United Nations and the Commission on Human Rights:

i) Education: States should take a special consideration in their education programmes to address the urgent needs of indigenous and tribal people children. The indigenous and tribal peoples’ histories, knowledge and technologies, value systems and develop their social, economic and cultural aspirations.

ii) Self-determination and Management: Indigenous and tribal people aspire to exercise control over their own institutions, ways of life and economic development, and to maintain and develop their identities, languages and religions.

i) Consultation: States should consult the indigenous and tribal peoples through appropriate procedures and representative institutions. Today, many developmental projects are imposed upon them without their free and consent. Their traditions (Modus Vivendi) and customs are violated and ignored. Indigenous peoples are subjected to statelessness and lack of national status. Many have become refugees or internally displaced, evicted from their ancestral lands. The States should consider these developments as a very urgent issue to be addressed so as to restore the human dignity of the indigenous peoples. The right of ownership and possession of indigenous and tribal peoples over their lands, which they traditionally occupied, should be recognised to sustain their ethics and morals. Their customs and traditions root from the land.

ii) Peace and Reconciliation: In Rwanda, peace and reconciliation is a faculty necessary for the Vision 2020 and Millennium Development Goals to be achieved. Special attention on social, economic, cultural development rights needs to be intensified. The Rwandan society in unison should be considered and included in one mirror of nation building and benefit- sharing.

8. This statement makes the following recommendations:

i) With the intervention of public and private sectors in development initiatives, there is an urgent need to re-examine the doctrine of eminent domain exercised by states in the expropriation of the property belonging to indigenous and tribal peoples;

ii) In recognition of the racism and discrimination which indigenous and tribal peoples often face in development, there is need for dialogue between development actors and indigenous and tribal peoples. The promotion of dialogue should include the building of trust and mutual respect and should be embedded in the mechanisms for development co-operation with the special situation of indigenous and tribal peoples taken into consideration.

iii) There should be more elaboration of the study of linkages between development and indigenous and tribal peoples rights and migration.

iv) In the area of development co-operation, equal partnership should be promoted as a framework in the process of development. The gap that exists between indigenous and tribal peoples and policy-makers should be bridged.

v) It is also essential that states and all other development actors ensure the dissemination of data in relation to the anticipated benefits and impacts of development projects on indigenous and tribal peoples.

Source: OHCHR