Summary of Statement presented by OTILIA LUX DE COTI to the second
session of the UN Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues during the
discussion on Human Rights.
OTILIA LUX DE COTI, Forum member from Guatemala, recommended that
indigenous women be considered as a theme for the Forum’s third
session, and that governments and United Nations bodies provide
support for the Fourth Continental Meeting for Indigenous Women of the
Americas, which would take place in Lima, Peru, in March 2004.
Ida Nicolaisen, one of the
state nominated experts in the UN Permanent Forum on Indigenous
Issues, representing Europe, has spent a good part of her life
involved with African communities as an anthropologist.
Lucy Mulenkei, Maasai, from Kenya of the Indigenous Information
Network is devoted to the grass roots development of Africa's
Indigenous Peoples. This conversation takes us on a journey which
touches upon the issues of land, tradition and cultures, as well as
their concerns confronting pastoralists within the confines of States
who like people to be settled, as Ida reminds us. The problematic
qualification of "who are Indigenous Peoples" also arises in this
dialogue. Ida, in her role as a member of the Permanent Forum sees
that there is a great willingness in the UN bodies to work on these
issues. The need for a media strategy to move beyond the walls of UN
is also addressed.
Summary of Statement presented by LUCY MULENKEI to the Second Session
of the Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues during the discussion on
Health.
LUCY MULENKEI, representative of the Indigenous Peoples Caucus on
Sustainable Development, said that HIV/AIDS had become one of the
worst diseases of modern times. Indigenous peoples were the worst hit
because they had been marginalized. Lack of collective and correct
data to determine the extent of the effect of HIV/AIDS and other
related diseases among indigenous peoples prevented the successful
tackling of their health problems. The utilization and protection of
traditional healing systems within indigenous communities must be
given due and equitable recognition, she said.
She called on Governments and industry to ensure comprehensive
participatory assessment of mining activities on indigenous peoples’
health. She also demanded effective participation for indigenous
peoples in the planning, implementation and monitoring of national and
international health policies, programmes and services.
Summary of Statement presented by LUCY MULENKEI to the Second Session
of the Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues during the discussion on
Environment.
LUCY MULENKEI, a representative of the African Indigenous Women’s
Organization and the Indigenous Women’s Organization, said that
environmental problems in Africa ranged from deforestation, to land
degradation, to climate change. The indigenous peoples of Africa were
mainly nomadic pastoralists, hunter-gatherers and other small groups.
They were marginalized and discriminated against in most development
activities.
Socio-economic factors and political considerations played a very
significant role in land degradation, she continued. Climatic
changes throughout the world, due to the increase in greenhouse
emissions, had caused frequent droughts in the region and were
devastating to the indigenous peoples of Africa. Indigenous women were
the hardest hit, as they now had to walk more miles in search of
firewood and water. She urged African governments to show interest in
the indigenous peoples of the region and to respect their rights,
cultures, lands and resources. They should recognize them by making
sure they participated at all levels in the planning and
implementation of any environmental and other development activities
in their lands.
Summary of Statement by MARCOS TERENA presented in the session
dedicated to the discussion of the future work of the Permanent Forum
Marcos Terena
Terena
MARCOS
TERENA, of the Instituto Indígena Brasileiro de Propriedade
Intelectual (INBRAPI), said Indigenous People should come to the Forum
session to discuss their particular problems, and the Voluntary Fund
should assist them with that. In communicating indigenous issues,
Indigenous People should make use of indigenous newspapers as well as
the Forum to spread the word.
He stressed that communication was of fundamental importance, and that
it was vital to receive the reports of the Forum’s sessions. Many
indigenous initiatives were taking place, and information about all
those events should be circulated. He hoped that spiritual groups
would be able to pray for the struggles against discrimination at the
next session.
Summary of Statement presented by VIKTOR KAISIEPO to the Permanent
Forum during the discussion on Human Rights VIKTOR KAISIEPO, on behalf of
the Indigenous Peoples Participants in the World Bank, recommended
that the Bank host a round table with indigenous peoples, the Office
of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, and the Permanent Forum to
examine the responsibility of the Bank with respect to human rights
law and indigenous peoples. That responsibility should be examined in
the context of policy. The revision should be made public 90 days
prior to its submission to the Bank’s Director, and highlight changes
recommended by indigenous peoples that had not been made. He also
recommended that the Bank set up a permanent mechanism for dialogue
about the implementation of the Bank’s policy regarding indigenous
peoples.
He urged the Bank to examine its policies regarding indigenous
peoples, which had kept them excluded from participating in the
development of Bank programmes, as well as the benefits of
Bank-sponsored projects within their territories. Indigenous exchanges
with the Bank had not led it to carry out its responsibilities with
respect to the human rights of indigenous peoples.
ADDITIONAL LINKS:
Viktor Kaisiepo, [18:03 - 4234KB]
West Papua: a case study of regional autonomy vs. military rule
International Workshop at the European Parliament Indonesia - Between
Regional Autonomy and Military Rule
25 April, 2002
Ernest Moristo and
Dennis Manuel from the O'odham
Nation in Arizona in the USA attend the UN Permanent Forum and share their
concerns related to their ancestral land, development and the impact
on families, water and sacred sites.
“The only thing we want in there is the plants, the natural plants,
the medicine plants
and the wild life that belong… that is what I am standing for”
Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues Second Session
5th & 6th Meetings (AM & PM)
ERNEST MORISTO, of the Seventh Generation and Grass Roots, called for
an assessment of the status of sacred sites of indigenous nations.
That assessment should focus on the destructive effects of economic
development plans upon the Himdag (Way of Life of the People), as
violations of the indigenous rights of future generations.
Baboquivari Mountain, he continued, was the most important sacred site
in a family of mountains, springs, and traditional altars of the
indigenous peoples of the Sonoran Desert. The Desert had been home
since time immemorial to the O’Odham, whose traditional territories
and sacred sites extended from Arizona into northern Mexico.
Economic and social development plans currently proposed by the local
Baboquivari District Council of the tribal council system were
endangering the sacred nature of the mountain and the unique desert
environment surrounding the shrine. He recommended that the
Baboquivari mountains be given a high priority for an investigation by
the United Nations, as part of a global assessment.
LAS VOCES DE UNA DELEGACION DE MUJERES
QUECHUAS Y AYMARAS
VOICES OF A DELEGATION OF QUECHUA AND AYMARA WOMEN
Evarista Pacco Jove (Region Puno), Daria Clalla Huayllara (Aymara
del Peru) Maria Adela Guamam (Quechua del Ecuador) y Tarcila
Rivera (Quechua del Peru, Secretaria de Organizacion y
Relaciones Internacionales, CHIRAPAQ, Centro de Culturas
Indigenas del Peru)
Las companeras de Tarcila Rivera Zea se presentan sus ideas en sus
idiomas maternas.
Tarcila Rivera Zea, Secretaria de Organizacion y Relaciones
Internacionales de CHIRAPAQ, Centro de Culturas Indigenas del Peru,
and her invited guests, share some thoughts in their original
languages.
Un intercambio dinamico
entre Azelene Kaingang (Brasil) y Esther Camac (Costa Rica) sobre los
temas de la agro biodiversidad, el conocimiento tradicional, agendas
comunitarias desarrollados por las mujeres y acuerdos a nivel
internacional.
An exchange of ideas between Azelene
Kaingang (Brazil) and Esther Camac (Costa Rica) on agro biodiversity, traditional knowledge,
community agendas and international agreements, focusing on the role
of Indigenous women and the implementation of concrete proposals.
AZELENE KAINGANG, of the Wara Instituto Indígena, said indigenous land was
where indigenous people practiced rituals, built societies and
asserted the right to be different. Guaranteeing them land
was the only way to guarantee a people’s survival. She recommended
that the Forum: ensure that governmental and non-governmental
organizations had indigenous representation; set up a conflict
resolution mechanism; offer technical incentives to indigenous people
to carry out sustainable development on their lands; implement
environmentally protective policies; ensure that biodiversity be
preserved; and recognize and guarantee indigenous knowledge and
intellectual property, as they related to biodiversity.
Esther Camac en La Cumbre de Johanesburgo 2002
Esther Camac at the Johannesburg Summit on Sustainable Development
2002
Esther Camac comenta sobre el concepto de la frase "Nosotros los
pueblos indigenas caminamos hacia el futuro en las huellas de nuestros
antepasados" (La Declaracion de Kari-Oca, Brasil, 1992 y La
Declaracion de Kimberley, Sudafrica, 2002). Ella ha participado en un
panel sobre la Diversidad Cultural y la BIodiversidad, con el
Presidente Jacques Chirac y otros expertos, en La Cumbre sobre el
Desarrollo Sostenible en Johanesburgo.
Esther Camac comments on the concept underlying the phrase "We, the
Indigenous Peoples, walk to the future in the footsteps of our
ancestors". (Kari-Oca Declaration, Brazil, 1992 and Kimberley
Declaration, South Africa, 2002). She participated in a panel on
Cultural Diversity and Biodiversity, with President Jacques Chirac and
other experts, during the World Summit on Sustainable Development in
Johannesburg.
DIALOGUE BETWEEN MARCIAL ARIAS AND TITO LIVIO MARTINEZ
In this dialogue, the recent attack and murder of Kuna Elders in Panama is
the subject of discussion.
DIALOGO ENTRE MARCIAL ARIAS Y TITO LIVIO MARTINEZ
En este dialogo
entre Marcial y Tito ellos hablan de sus preocupaciones sobre la
matanza de unos ancianos de la nacion Kuna en Panama.
Summary of Statement by TITO LIVIO MARTINEZ to the Second Session of
the Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues during the session on
Education.
TITO LIVIO MARTINEZ, of the Consejo Internacional de Tratados Indios (CITI)
and associated groups, said education was an investment in people and
society. It was a tool enabling people to fully develop their own
potential as they struggled for self-determination and their lands. He
was concerned, however, about the minimal participation of indigenous
peoples in drafting education laws.
Indigenous people needed cultural diversity and believed in unity
through diversity.
Summary of Statement by Marcial Arias presented to the Second Session
of the Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues during the discussion on
Human Rights.
MARCIAL ARIAS, Kuna, on behalf of the Parlamento Rapa Nui and other
indigenous groups, stressed the importance of the Working Group on
Indigenous Populations. There was no duplication between their work
and that of the Special Rapporteur. The Working Group should be
retained to create new norms regarding indigenous peoples.
In the twenty-first century, the international community could not
continue to speak about good governance, democracy and human rights,
as long as there was no fundamental recognition of the territories of
indigenous peoples. There was still widespread failure to recognize
national and international agreements involving indigenous peoples.
The human rights of indigenous peoples were continuously being
violated due to a lack of respect for their human rights.
Summary of Statement by Marcial Arias presented to the Second Session
of the Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues during the discussion on
the future work of the Forum.
MARCIAL ARIAS, Kuna representative from Panama, on behalf of several
indigenous organizations, questioned what had been achieved during the
decade for Indigenous people. Many governments and agencies had made
plans for activities that were not carried out. The Forum should
recommend to States and the General Assembly that the decade be
extended. He stressed that the self-determination of indigenous people
meant the re-appropriation of lands and territories. The Forum should
consider that issue because it was a major part of the plans of action
for the decade for Indigenous people.
DIALOGO ENTRE
MIGUEL ANGEL ARAGON Y ANA
FLAVIA ROCHA
DIALOGUE BETWEEN
MIGUEL ANGEL ARAGON AND ANA FLAVIA ROCHA
Dos observadores en el foro, MIGUEL ANGEL ARAGON, asesor juridico de
CIDOB en Bolivia, y ANA FLAVIA ROCHA que trabaja en el Instituto
Socioambiental de Brasil, presentan sus perspectivas desde el Foro
Permanente para las Cuestiones Indigenas.
Ana, una abogada, habla de su trabajo en la proteccion de los derechos
colectivos en Brasil y las cuestiones ambientales que son las cosas
inseparables. Sobre el tema de que es la autodeterminacion de los
pueblos, ella dice que en Brasil los pueblos no saben que existen los
derechos. Segun la percepcion de Miguel Angel, el comenta de que el
identifica personalmente que no hay un encuentro entre los diferentes
interes de los dirigentes indigenas al respecto de que hay que hacer
en este ambito internacional, especialmente relacionado con el
Borrador de la Declaracion de la ONU sobre los Derechos de los Pueblos
Indigenas.
Two observers to the Forum process, Miguel Angel Aragon, legal counsel
to CIDPOB in Bolivia, and Ana Flavia Rocha, who works in the Instituto
Socioambiental de Brasil, present their perspectives on their work in
their own countries.
Ana, a lawyer, talks about the challenges of the Institute with
regards to the protection of collective rights in Brazil, which she
sees as inseparable from environmental issues. On the topic of
self-determination, she says that the indigenous communities in Brazil
are unaware of the existence of rights. Miguel Angel comments that he
personally identifies with the problem of the different interests of
indigenous leaders within the international arena and feels that
concensus cannot ever be reached, certainly with respect to the UN
Draft Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.
Audio: English
