Fifty-ninth General Assembly

Third Committee

22^nd Meeting (AM)

Rights of Indigenous People should be integrated into Development Strategies,

Third Committee told, as it concludes review of Indigenous issues

Indigenous Questions Intrinsically Linked to Sustainable

Development, Democracy, Human Rights, Representative of Peru Says

The rights of indigenous people should be integrated into national development strategies, delegates told the Third Committee (Social, Humanitarian and Cultural) today as it concluded its review of the programme of activities of the International Decade on the World’s Indigenous People.

Indigenous issues were intrinsically linked to sustainable development, democracy and human rights, said the representative of Peru.  The International Decade of the World's Indigenous People had done much to advance the development of indigenous people and underscored the need for international cooperation in solving the problems faced by indigenous communities.  However, there was still much to be done.  Their cultural wealth was inversely proportional to their levels of income and poverty affecting countries like Peru had major repercussions on indigenous peoples.

The representative of Venezuela said her Government’s policies to attain the Millennium Development Goals had moved forward in establishing programmes to help meet the needs of indigenous communities hardest hit by the lack of access to housing and the threat of occupation of their lands.  The ancestral rights of indigenous peoples to lands and territories were rights that could not be denied to them.  Venezuela’s Constitution entitled indigenous peoples the right to political participation and to equal access to education, health, housing and social security, as well as opportunities for marketing their products to help improve their income and quality of life.

International cooperation in the areas of human rights, development and education must reach out to indigenous people, said the representative of Sweden, on behalf of the Nordic countries.  The international community must take stock of what it had achieved and consider how to maintain the focus on improving the lives of the world’s indigenous peoples through strengthened cooperation in development efforts.

Delegations reiterated their support for a draft declaration on the rights of indigenous peoples, expressing hopes that negotiations would move forward towards adoption of a declaration.  The representative of New Zealand said her country was frustrated by the slow pace of negotiations on the draft declaration. She said the failure of some States and indigenous groups to recognize the need to amend the text now under consideration had contributed to obstacles in the negotiation process.  The amendments tabled by her delegation aimed to protect individual, collective and third-party rights and addressed the need to safeguard the territorial integrity and political unity of States.

Also speaking today were the representatives of Myanmar, Cuba, Russian Federation and Nepal.  Representatives of the European Commission and the World Intellectual Property Organization also spoke.

The Third Committee will reconvene at 10 a.m. Monday, 25 October, to begin its general discussion on human rights questions and the implementation of human rights instruments.

Background

The Third Committee (Social, Humanitarian and Cultural) met this morning to conclude its general discussion of the programme of activities for the International Decade of the World’s Indigenous People.  For additional background information, please see Press Release GA/SHC/3789 of 21 October.

Statements on the International Decade for Indigenous People

LISA FUTSCHEK (New Zealand) noted that too many of the world’s indigenous people continued to suffer discrimination, and the gross violation of their fundamental rights.  Her country had long supported the elaboration of indigenous peoples’ rights, and remained frustrated by the slow pace of negotiations on the draft Declaration.  The failure of some States and indigenous groups to recognize the need to amend the text now under consideration was also a source of frustration.  No amendments would effectively mean no Declaration.

Having tabled an amended text of the Declaration in September, in conjunction with six other countries, she said her country had sought to ensure the Declaration’s consistency with international human rights and humanitarian law.  The amendments aimed to protect individual, collective and third-party rights and addressed the need to safeguard the territorial integrity and political unity of States, as well as the responsibility to govern for the general welfare of all citizens in the exercise of self-determination.

Noting that negotiations on the text would shortly resume in Geneva, she urged the international community to build upon the progress and momentum of its recent session, noting that endorsement of a new standard of achievement for indigenous peoples must be an immediate priority of the international indigenous agenda.  On the proclamation of a Second International Decade for Indigenous People, she said it would have to focus seriously on practical results and outcomes, declaring decades could not substitute for action by States to ensure that all peoples’ human rights were met.

JUAN PABLO VEGAS (Peru) said his Government had moved forward in advancing the rights of indigenous peoples with the view that indigenous issues were crucial to understanding the character of his country’s people.  Indigenous issues were intrinsically linked to sustainable development, democracy and human rights.  The International Decade on the World's Indigenous People was conceived as a great opportunity to bring about the development of indigenous people and underscored the need for international community cooperation in solving the problems faced by indigenous peoples.

While there had been some progress in finding solutions, he said, there was still much to be done.  Their cultural wealth was inversely proportional to their levels of income.  Poverty and inequities affecting countries like Peru had major repercussions on indigenous peoples.  The violence that had swept across Peru highlighted the gravity of inequalities still prevailing in the country.  His Government was committed to development strategies that would restore full recognition of indigenous peoples and ethnic minorities and promote their full participation.

Unfortunately, negotiations for the adoption of a declaration on the rights of indigenous people within the context of human rights had not produced results, he continued.  The negotiating process had stagnated.  Still, Peru was cautiously optimistic that an agreement was within reach.  Peru hoped the second decade could consolidate and build upon what had been achieved in a quest for a better life and the well-being of all indigenous peoples.

U DENZIL ABEL (Myanmar) reviewed progress on indigenous issues made since 1995, in the context of the International Decade for Indigenous People, and said that the Economic and Social Council’s (ECOSOC) recommendation to proclaim a second decade merited consideration in views of areas yet to be covered.

Myanmar was home to some 135 ethnicities (national races), he noted, which had lived together “in weal and woe” from time immemorial; all were indigenous to the soil.  Having agreed with the Special Rapporteur’s focus on securing development through inclusion of social and cultural objectives, Myanmar had laid down 12 economic, social and political objectives for well-rounded development. For the national races living in remote border areas, special policies and measures had been instituted, and a separate Ministry for the Development of Border Areas and National Races had been established in 1992.  More than one-half billion dollars had been spent on infrastructure development in border areas. Those efforts had led to significant improvement in the quality of life of once-impoverished areas.

The rights of national races could only be fully realized through representation in the political process, he affirmed.  Myanmar had prioritized the national races participation in the ongoing National Convention Process; 60 per cent of the 1,088 delegates to the Convention belonged to national races.  A successful National Convention would result in a democratic constitution, which would be put to a referendum and to free and fair elections in which the national races would be able to elect leaders of their choice.

JORGE CUMBERBACH MIGUEN (Cuba) said there was a need for a fresh effort to win all the human rights of indigenous people.  Major strides had been made in resolving the problems faced by indigenous peoples, but much remained to be done. The impact of the process of colonization on indigenous peoples had been severe. That had been compounded by the weight of neoliberal globalization.  Globalization had given priority to profits over social concerns and had exacerbated inequities among States and internally within States.

He said cooperation between the working group and Special Rapporteur had as one of its most visible outcomes the mutual enhancement of initiatives in finding solutions to the problems of indigenous peoples.  His delegation was moving forward towards the adoption of a draft declaration so it could see the light of day in the second Decade.  There was a need to establish an action programme to be applied to the first Decade that would end in December.  The second Decade needed to take into account both the proven success and obvious inadequacies during first ten years.

Cuba hoped the work on drafting a declaration on the rights of indigenous could move forward and that the working group would be able to add a draft declaration among the missions accomplished this session, he concluded.

ULLA STRÖM (Sweden), speaking also on behalf of the Nordic countries of Denmark, Finland, Iceland and Norway, said that, as the end of the International Decade for Indigenous People approached, the international community must take stock of what it had achieved and consider how to maintain the focus on improving the lives of the world’s indigenous peoples through strengthening cooperation in areas related to human rights, culture, the environment, development, education and health.  These measures must reach out to indigenous peoples.

The Decade had brought the situation of indigenous peoples onto the international agenda, she said, and had served to bring together indigenous peoples from different regions of the world.  From the outset, it had been apparent that improving the lives of indigenous peoples would require establishment of a body in which States and indigenous representatives could be brought together –- hence the Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues, the establishment of which remained the Decade’s main achievement.  The Forum had addressed a large spectrum of important issues, focused on developing its working methods and strengthening cooperation with other United Nations entities, and had established itself as an authority on indigenous issues.  It must remain at the centre of the Organization’s future work on indigenous issues, regardless of whether or not a new International Decade was proclaimed.

However, another central objective of the Decade remained yet to be achieved –- elaborating the rights of indigenous peoples.  Recent constructive negotiations had led to important progress on the draft Declaration, she said.  For the first time, it was possible to discern the contours of the final document.  Thus, all parties should come to the December negotiations in a spirit of compromise, determined to build upon the progress achieved in September.

VLADIMIR Y. ZHEGLOV (Russian Federation) said the increased participation of indigenous peoples in the United Nations system had been facilitated by the International Decade of the World’s Indigenous People, including through the Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues and the Working Group drafting a declaration on indigenous rights.  The Voluntary Fund had helped to make that increased participation possible.

However, not all the problems confronting indigenous peoples could be resolved at the international level, he stressed.  States too must take action to ensure indigenous rights.  In his country, greater attention had been given to legislation governing the relationship between the State and indigenous groups in recent years.  The special rights of small indigenous ethnic groups had been laid out in order to protect their traditional ways of life, and their capacity to create favourable economic conditions for their own development had been augmented.  Projects to protect indigenous heritage, including through education, economic and cultural opportunities, had also been implemented.  Moreover, the Russian Federation had developed programmes such as its “Children of the North” programme, within which new technologies had been developed to improve the health of children, with special attention for particular climatic conditions in the north.

The Russian Federation recognized one’s right to study in his own tongue, he said.  Regarding the Finno-Ugric peoples, the Government had done much to protect their traditions, including compiling a compendium on their cultural history. Specific work had also been conducted in a number of republics to facilitate the participation of indigenous representatives and to cater to the educational needs of the Finno-Ugric people, including the establishment of a university.  Yet the problems confronting indigenous peoples remained far from resolved, he concluded, for which reason his country supported the proclamation of a second International Decade for indigenous people.

MARIA INES FONESCA (Venezuela) highlighted the aspects of Venezuela’s Constitution that acknowledged the cultural diversity of his nation.  It recognized the customs, traditions, and ancestral rights of indigenous peoples to lands and territories.  Those were rights that could not be denied to them.  The Constitution also entitled indigenous peoples the right to political participation and to equal access to education, health, housing and social security, as well as opportunities for marketing their products to help improve their income and quality of life.

She said Venezuela’s policies to attain the Millennium Development Goals had moved forward in establishing programmes to help meet the needs of indigenous communities hardest hit by lack of access to housing and the threat of occupation of their lands.  There was a nationwide initiative that aimed to restore the rights of indigenous people and to guarantee effective enjoyment of all their rights.

The International Decade on the World's Indigenous People had made both the international community and indigenous communities more aware of the problems facing indigenous peoples and problems facing them, she continued.  Indigenous peoples must be further integrated into the United Nations system and international cooperation must be strengthened to solve their problems and infringements on their rights.  Venezuela had actively participated in the work for a draft declaration on the rights of indigenous peoples.  It resolutely supported the implementation of the programme of activities of the first Decade. In the second decade, there was a need to overcome and put behind the suffering of indigenous peoples.  Venezuela was well on the road to building a multi-ethnic democracy and had made major strides in recognizing the rights of indigenous peoples.

DOMINIC PORTER, of the European Commission, speaking on behalf of the European Community, said the European Union had set the framework for support of indigenous peoples.  In particular, the focus had been to mainstream indigenous issues into the Commission’s practices and working methods, including by inviting indigenous peoples to participate in programming, designing, implementing and evaluating development projects.

The consequence of increased awareness on indigenous concerns, he said, had been identification of the fight against discrimination towards indigenous peoples, and the promotion of their rights, as a priority for the European Community’s flagship programme of cooperation on human rights:  the European Initiative for Democracy and Human Rights.  Several projects had been launched in the past few years, in conjunction with non-governmental organizations and indigenous organizations.

This year, he added, the Commission would launch a call for proposals specifically aimed at supporting the participation of indigenous peoples and their representatives in the work of the United Nations and other international and regional organizations.  The beneficiaries of this call for proposals would be indigenous peoples from developing countries and countries with economies in transition.  Preference would be given to proposals presented by entities with a recognized record of advocacy in favour of indigenous peoples.

S. RAMA RAO, of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), said his organization had been an active participant in the work of the Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues, and that body constituted a significant achievement of the International Decade of the World’s Indigenous People.  The WIPO had been dealing with promotion and protection of intellectual property issues of concern to traditional, local and indigenous communities for some time, and had, in 2000, established the Intergovernmental Committee on Traditional Knowledge, Genetic Resources and Expression of Folklore to address those issues.

On folklore, he said that the WIPO had undertaken to elaborate the Model Clauses on Protection of Expressions of Folklore, in 1982, in conjunction with the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO).  His organization had also supplied, to the Secretariat of the Convention on Biotechnology Diversity, a technical study on the intellectual property aspects, especially on patent disclosure requirements, relevant to genetic resources and traditional knowledge used in patented inventions.  In addition, the WIPO had collaborated with the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) and the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, among others, on indigenous issues.

The WIPO’s Intergovernmental Committee, he continued, would soon convene its seventh session in Geneva.  It should also be noted that while the policy issues concerning traditional knowledge remained broad and diverse, intellectual property issues related to traditional knowledge broke down into two themes:  defensive protection and positive protection.  Defensive protection consisted of ensuring that other parties did not obtain intellectual property rights over pre-existing traditional knowledge.  Positive protection focused on the use of intellectual property-type rights over protected material either to exclude someone else’s use of the material or to use them oneself.  On the whole, the Intergovernmental Committee had contributed to a greater understanding of the protection of traditional knowledge and traditional cultural expressions/expressions of folklore.  It had also raised awareness on issues of indigenous knowledge and resources, identified stakeholders’ concerns and had clarified related intellectual property concepts and issues.

Mr. NEPAL (Nepal) said his delegation believed that the enjoyment of human rights and improvement of living conditions of indigenous peoples were the principal goals of the International Decade on the World's Indigenous People.  It supported the General Assembly’s proclamation of a second Decade, which would be instrumental in carrying forward the achievements of the first decade and improving conditions for indigenous people.

Nepal recognized the various ethnicities and religions of its people and was committed to the development of all groups, he said.  That constituted a strong foundation for the harmonious development of society.  Nepal’s Constitution prohibited any discrimination based on caste, religion or ethnicity, and granted the right to practice all religions.  It also allowed for the participation of all groups in decision–making.  Various laws had been adopted to meet its commitments under instruments to which it was a party.  Nepal believed peace and prosperity depended on the enjoyment of fundamental freedoms by all members of society.

In closing, he noted that the scarcity of financial and technical resources constrained the implementation of development policies and programmes in Nepal.  International assistance was required to complement Nepal’s national development efforts.

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