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Indigenous Peoples' Millennium
Conference Statement
Panama
May 7-11, 2001
We, the Indigenous Peoples of all regions of
the World - Arctic/Europe, Africa, Asia, North America, Central and
South America and Caribbean, Pacific, and the Former USSR/Eastern Europe
attending the Indigenous Peoples' Millennium Conference in Panama City from
May 7 to May 11, 2001:
Note with satisfaction the active presence of all of the regions of
the world at this Conference and our progress in understanding each other's
realities. Whether we identify ourselves as Indigenous, Aboriginal, Tribal,
Autonomous, First Nations, Native Peoples, First Peoples or, by other terms,
it gives us great pride, hope and satisfaction that as Peoples we can,
together, work ardently for the recognition of our rights and the
preservation and restoration of our values, cultural identities and way of
life.
Have discussed several topics of great concern to us. Among these
were:
- The UN International Decade for the
World's Indigenous Peoples;
- The upcoming UN World Conference on Racism, Racial Discrimination,
Xenophobia and Related Intolerance;
- The UN Draft Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples;
- The Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues;
- The UN Studies on Treaties, Land and the Cultural Heritage of Indigenous
Peoples;
- Indigenous Peoples and economic colonization and globalization, in
particular in the context of the TRIPS, WTO, IMF, WIPO, CBD, the Framework
Convention on Climate Change, the World Bank and Agenda 21; - The OAS
process;
- ILO and UN Specialized Agencies; and
- Conflict Resolution, human rights instruments and complaint procedures.
As a result of these discussions, we have formed a global consensus
in the following areas;
l.
With regard to previous statements:
Endorse the following statements of Indigenous Peoples, their
representatives and organizations, made in preparation for the World
Conference Against Racism, Racial Discrimination, Xenophobia and Related
Intolerance, to be held in Durban, South Africa, August 31-September 7,
2001:
Community Consultation on Racism, Racial Discrimination, Xenophobia and
Related Intolerance, held in Kampala, Uganda, April 30 - May 3, 2001
Indigenous Peoples and Racism Conference: Regional meeting of Indigenous
Peoples of Australia, New Zealand, Hawaii and the United States, held in
Sydney, Australia, February 20 - 22, 2001
Declaration of Indigenous Peoples of the Americas, in Santiago the Chile
December 5 - 7, 2000
The Abokobi Declaration, in Ghana, April 7 - 10, 2001
The Kidal Declaration, in Kidal, Mali, January 8 - 13, 2001
II.
With regard to Indigenous Peoples, the right of self-determination,
the right to land and territories including submerged lands, waters and
natural resources:
Call upon States to finally recognize that Indigenous Peoples are
"Peoples", with the full meaning that attaches to that term under
international law. As Indigenous representatives have stated repeatedly,
throughout the years, it is inconsistent to distinguish between the human
rights of Indigenous Peoples and other peoples. This has the purpose or
effect of nullifying and impairing all the human rights of Indigenous
Peoples. It is therefore racist and constitutes race-based discrimination.
It is an affront to our human dignity;
Reiterate that among the human rights violated is the fundamental
right of self-determination. We hold it self-evident that as "Peoples",
Indigenous Peoples have the same right of self-determination as all other
peoples of the world;
Reiterate further that it is time that States recognize the unique
spiritual relationship between Indigenous Peoples and our lands and
territories, including submerged lands, waters and natural resources, and
that the right to these resources is inseparably linked to our right of
self-determination;
With regard to our ancestral lands, call upon the world community to
recognize and adequately address a new form of racism, that of environmental
racism. The world community must immediately prevent the ruination of
Indigenous lands and waters, including rising sea levels due to ozone
depletion, the depletion of our natural resources, submerged lands and
waters, through the prevention of so-called development schemes and
unsustainable practices such as over fishing, mining, deforestation, the
dumping of contaminated waste, and other land use practices that do not
respect but do discriminate against our way of life;
III.
With regard to Indigenous Peoples' cultural heritage and identity,
genetic resources, traditional knowledge, expressions of folklore and other
such resources:
Recognize that the extension of colonialism, in all its expressions,
continues to divest Indigenous Peoples of our ancestral lands and
territories, traditional knowledge, of our cultural and intellectual
heritage, spiritual practices and our way of life. This is the cause of the
loss and ruination of our identities and our cultures and, even now, extends
to the loss of our plant, animal and human genetic resources;
Hold it self-evident that all rights to Indigenous Peoples' cultural
heritage, genetic resources, traditional knowledge and expressions of
folklore are inherently ours;
Recognize the paramount impact that international agreements and
institutions, such as the CBD, TRIPS, WTO, IMF, WIPO, UNCTAD, the Convention
on Climate Change, the World Bank and Agenda 21 have on the lives of
Indigenous Peoples. It is therefore fundamental that Indigenous Peoples are
given full and effective participation in all the work carried out within
such institutions. We urge States and financial institutions to provide
funds and other resources to facilitate the participation of Indigenous
Peoples in these fora;
Recognize further the need to inform and educate members of
Indigenous communities about the CBD, TRIPS, WTO, IMF, WIPO, the World Bank,
UNCTAD, Agenda 21 and other international agreements and institutions and
the processes relating to them. This so that whatever decisions Indigenous
communities decide to take with regard to their genetic resources,
traditional knowledge, folklore or other related matters, are made with
their free and prior informed consent; Express great concern about the World
Bank's current revisions of Operational Directive 4.20 on Indigenous Peoples
and recommend the following:
- that the World Bank's Operation and Evaluation Department conduct and
complete an open and participatory review of Bank implementation of
Operational Directive 4.20 as a foundation for drafting its Operational
Directives, Bank Practices and Sourcebook;
- that national and regional workshops be organized by the World Bank as
part of its implementation review and revision process; and
- that the World Bank uphold international standards on human rights
including providing for the free and prior informed consent of Indigenous
Peoples to all World Bank programmes and projects affecting Indigenous
Peoples;
Concerned that the activities of regional financial institutions and
trade agreements, such as inter alia the Asian Development Bank, has
resulted in the marginalization and impoverishment of Indigenous Peoples, we
call on these institutions to:
- ensure that any project or programme that
is carried out in Indigenous lands and territories is undertaken only with
the full and prior informed consent, and with the full and effective
participation, of the peoples concerned, and if such consent is not
achieved, that these institutions withdraw from such areas;
- respect and promote Indigenous Peoples'
rights; and,
- guarantee that these institutions' policies and programmes are given
greater transparency.
Oppose the World Trade Organization
Agreements that violate the rights and well-being of Indigenous Peoples,
particularly the Agreements on Agriculture and Trade-Related Intellectual
Property Rights (TRIPS). These illegitimate agreements undermine our diverse
economics and cultural heritage;
Call for a moratorium on any further trade negotiations and
agreements, subject to a review and revision of all existing agreements to
meet the requirements for equity and sustainability;
Stand united with broad sections of civil society in condemning the
undemocratic, inequitable and non-transparent character of the World Trade
Organization;
Call on states to engage with organizations representing Indigenous
Peoples within their land and territories, to explore alternative mechanisms
for protecting the collective heritage, cultural identity, genetic
resources, traditional knowledge and folklore of Indigenous Peoples;
IV.
With regard to international environmental processes:
Urge Indigenous Peoples and their organizations to participate in
international environmental processes including inter alia: the Convention
on Biological Diversity, the Framework Convention on Climate Change, the
Ramsar Convention on Wetlands, the Convention to Combat Desertification and
the United Nations Forum on Forests;
Call for the active participation of Indigenous Peoples and their
organizations in the World Conference on Sustainable Development (Rio + 10)
to be realized in Johannesburg, South Africa, in September 2002, as well as
in the preparatory activities at the local, national, sub-regional and
international levels;
Noting that the General Assembly Resolution on Rio + 10 "encourages
effective contributions from and the active participation of all major
groups as identified in Agenda 21, at all stages of the preparatory
process," and "stresses that the preparatory meetings and the 2002 summit
itself should be transparent and provide for ... contributions and active
participation of major groups," we call upon governments and international
agencies to:
- Review progress in the realization of the
objectives and activities set out in Agenda 21 and in related instruments
and processes with respect to Indigenous Peoples on the local, national,
sub-regional, regional and international levels;
- Guarantee the full and effective participation of Indigenous Peoples in
the preparation of national reports and the review of such reports;
- Guarantee the full and effective participation of Indigenous Peoples in
the sub-regional and regional preparatory processes;
- Guarantee the full and effective participation of Indigenous Peoples in
the preparatory committee meetings of the World Summit on Sustainable
Development;
- Support the inclusion of Indigenous Peoples as a major theme of the Rio
+ 10 summit as a contribution to review the United Nations International
Decade of Indigenous Peoples and the proposed World Conference on
Indigenous Peoples in 2004; and
- Guarantee the full and effective participation of Indigenous Peoples
within the World Summit on Sustainable Development through the trust fund
and other appropriate financial instruments.
V.
With regard to the Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues:
Welcome the establishment of the Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues
as a subsidiary body of the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC);
Endorse the Regional Division adopted by the Indigenous Caucus in
Geneva on November 26, 2000, during the 6th Session of the Open Ended Inter-Sessional
Working Group on the Draft UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous
Peoples, for the nomination of Indigenous members of the Permanent Forum.
These regions are Arctic/Europe, Africa, Asia, North America, Central/South
America and Caribbean, Pacific, Former USSR and Eastern Europe and an
additional seat to rotate between the three regions Asia, Africa and
Central/South America and the Caribbean. The first additional seat will go
to the region Central/South America and Caribbean;
Aware of the request of the UN Secretary General to the Office of the
High Commissioner for Human Rights to take the role of lead agency for the
establishment of the Permanent Forum, reiterate that the lack of a separate
Secretariat for the Permanent Forum will seriously hamper the fulfillment of
the mandate of the Permanent Forum;
Request the UN Secretary General to ensure that preference be given
to Indigenous Peoples' candidates in the staffing of the Secretariat as a
promotion of "the integration and coordination of activities relating to
Indigenous issues within the UN system".
VI.
Other important points:
Recommend a comprehensive review of the UN International Decade of
the World's Indigenous Peoples;
Call upon States - in consultation with Indigenous Peoples - to
support in any way appropriate and necessary the work of the Special
Rapporteur on Indigenous Issues, including providing the Special Rapporteur
with adequate funding;
Urge States to commit themselves more strongly to the UN Voluntary
Fund and increase their contributions thereto, in order to allow Indigenous
representatives to participate effectively in all UN conferences and
meetings of concern to them;
Call for a World Conference on Indigenous Peoples, to be held at the
end of the UN International Decade for the World's Indigenous Peoples in the
year 2004;
VII.
With regard to international conventions and declarations:
Call on the Parties to the Framework Convention on Climate Change to
ensure and guarantee the full and effective participation of Indigenous
Peoples within that process as has occurred in the Working Group on article
8(j) of the Convention on Biological Diversity;
Urge States, where Indigenous Peoples so request, that have not yet
ratified ILO Convention No. 169 on Indigenous and Tribal Peoples to do so.
States that have already ratified the ILO Convention No. 169 should work
with Indigenous Peoples to implement and adhere to the principles and
concepts of this Convention. States should further facilitate and ensure the
participation of Indigenous Peoples in the ILO;
Recommend strongly the immediate adoption of the Draft UN Declaration
on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, approved by the Sub-Commission on the
Prevention of Discrimination and Protection of Minorities in Resolution
1994/45. Where applicable, we further urge States and their regional State
organizations to adopt the principles of the Draft UN Declaration on the
Rights of Indigenous Peoples in applicable regional declarations on the
rights of Indigenous Peoples.
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