United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues (Day 4, 5)

United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues
Fifth Session

Days 4 & 5
Thursday, May 19 and Friday, May 20, 2006



|| Rigoberta Menchú ||
Nobel Peace Prize recipient

On Thursday morning, several indigenous peoples, indigenous organizations, agencies, and governments continued dialogue and interventions to complete the proceedings began earlier in the week. One of the interventions made was by Erica-Irene Daes, a United Nations expert. In her statement, she discussed the recent International Expert Seminar on Indigenous Peoples Permanent Sovereignty over Natural Resources and Their Relationships to Land and the Report released on the proceedings of the Meeting (E/CN.4/Sub.2/AC.4/2006/3 of April 5, 2006). The purpose of this gathering was to "reflect the importance of creating a space for constructive dialogue that would allow governments and indigenous peoples to deepen their understanding of land and natural resources rights and to analyse the meaning of certain relevant to the lands, territories and resources concepts and terms."

In her written statement, she discussed two concepts including "sovereignty" and "territories", both of which I will discuss further. She writes that participants at the gathering accepted the concept of "sovereignty" in relation to the principle of permanent sovereignty over natural resources that can generally be stated as legal government control and management authority over natural resources, particularly as an aspect of the exercise of self-determination. As Ms. Daes stated, "the use of this concept does not place them in the same level of states or place them in conflict with state sovereignty." The second concept she discussed was that of "territory." She argued that the understanding of territory as it relates to indigenous peoples should not be confused with the concept of territorial integrity in international law. Some have argued that the use of "territory" by indigenous peoples has implied a "separation form the territory of the States as a whole…" (which was one of the concerns that the United States, Australia, and New Zealand raised earlier in the week). However, she argued that the concept of "territory" as used by indigenous peoples and that is used in the Draft Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples as well as in the International Labor Organization (ILO) Convention No. 169 on Indigenous Peoples confers a different understanding. Specifically, it is meant to convey, as Ms. Daes writes, "a notion of the totality of indigenous peoples relationship to the land and to all of its resources and characteristics." It is important to note that it is not simply "land ownership" as typically understand to be that of ownership by private citizens. Rather, this relationship is that of "historically, cultural, spiritual and collective." For more on this discussion, please refer to the report referenced previously.

|| Manny Pino ||
Acoma Pueblo
Indigenous Environmental Network/International Indian Treaty Council

Manny Pino, a representative with the International Indian Treaty Council also made an intervention on Thursday morning on MDG #7 - Ensuring Environmental Sustainability. His remarked were based on the collective document created in the preparatory meeting held for the North American continent in April. In his remarks, he focused on water and indigenous peoples. He remarked that both states and international agencies need to "prioritize providing safe and clean drinking water" for indigenous peoples throughout the world and to adopt national, international, and tribal policies that "prevent the depletion, contamination, privatization and commodification of water..." He requested that the Permanent Forum endorse and disseminate the Declaration of the Indigenous Peoples from the World Water Forum held in March 2006 and the Indigenous Peoples' Declaration, also known as the "Kimberley Declaration" from the World Summit on Sustainable Development in 2002 (Durban, Africa). Finally, he called upon the states, in particular the United States, to adopt, ratify, and implement the Kyoto Protocols on Climate Change and the Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants. Water, as he stated, is sacred, precious, and non-renewable and ss a vital resource, it must be taken care to ensure the survival of all living things.

On Thursday afternoon and Friday morning, the UNPFII held a thematic discussion on Africa. United Nations expert, Julian Berger, briefly discussed some of the history of the African Indigenous Peoples involvement in the United Nations. He pointed out that the first formal contacts with the indigenous peoples of this continent began in the early 1990’s. In 1992, at the launch of the first International Decade on Indigenous Peoples, a representative of the Tanzanian indigenous peoples brought global attention to the struggles of the indigenous peoples of the African continent. In 1994, the Secretary-General appointed an indigenous person from Africa, a Maasai from Kenya, as a member of the UN Voluntary Fund for Indigenous Populations. Since then, the participation of Indigenous peoples in the Working Group on Indigenous Populations, the Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues, as well as other UN fora, has grown and as Mr. Berger stated, "the indigenous peoples of Africa have begun to find their rightful place in the processes and spaces created by the United Nations for indigenous peoples."

||African Indigenous Delegates ||
(L to R) Joseph Olesimel, Maasai, Kenya; Christiana Saiti Louwa, El-Molo, Kenya,; Unknown, Ms. Parakuo

Statements from African Indigenous Peoples and Indigenous Organizations were made by a number of organizations including, African Caucus, Congress of Aboriginal Peoples, African Commission on Human & Peoples’ Rights of the African Union, IMPACT-Kenya, Tin Hinana, Communaute des Autochtones Rwandais, UNIPROBA, El-Molo Forum,and the African Caucus on Human Rights Situation of Indigenous Peoples, to name a few. While there were many indigenous peoples present, a delegate from Africa expressed disappointment that there were few African government representatives present.

|| Mary Simit ||
African Indigenous Peoples Caucus

The African Indigenous Peoples caucus statement, and other statements, brought attention to the reality of indigenous peoples of the continent. The delegate highlighted the fact that hunting and gathering has sustained the peoples of the continent for thousands of years and these “cultural systems” have helped indigenous communities “maintain an equilibrium of nature and of human presence.” It was highlighted that the increase in agriculture, mining, oil extraction, and other industrial activities threaten the survival of African indigenous peoples. Additionally, climate change and drought, has further exacerbated the situation resulting in death of both people and livestock. The Collective Statement of the Indigenous Organizations of the Democratic Republic of Congo, representing the Pygmy communities, noted that political instability and war, lack of access to natural resources, and lack of national policies for their inclusion and consultation in social and environmental reform policies, has resulted in this community being one of the most vulnerable in the country. Together, these challenges are causing increased poverty amongst indigenous peoples of Africa.

Several interventions made by African indigenous delegates highlighted the need for free, prior, and informed consent of development projects and other projects that will impact indigenous territories and land and financial support from the international community to alleviate poverty amongst the indigenous peoples of the continent. In addition to laying out specific recommendations, the African Indigenous Peoples Caucus encouraged states to "accept the principle that sustainability means accepting ecological, economic and cultural pluralism."

For more information on the indigenous peoples of Africa, please visit Indigenous Peoples of Africa Coordinating Committee website.

Statements by other African indigenous peoples are available on the DoCip website.