Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues

Eighth Session

14^th & 15^th Meetings (AM & PM)

PERMANENT FORUM EXPERTS RECOUNT RECENT MISSION TO PARAGUAY, BOLIVIA, URGING END

TO ‘SEMI-SLAVERY’ OF GUARANI AND OTHER INDIGENOUS PEOPLES OF CHACO REGION

Provisional Agenda for Next Session, on Culture, Identity, Challenged

By Indigenous Groups Seeking Broader Scope, Greater Involvement in Proceedings

The semi-slavery of the Guarani and other indigenous peoples of the Chaco region must swiftly end, with their grievances redressed and land rights restored, members of the Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues told delegates today, revealing findings from their mission to Paraguay and Bolivia.

During their 25 April to 6 May mission, Forum experts met with victims of forced labour and servitude, members of the Cattle Ranchers Association, various Government officials, representatives of non-governmental organizations and senior United Nations staff.  Their draft report ‑‑ to be released soon ‑‑ included recommendations for improving the compliance of Paraguay and Bolivia with their international human rights law obligations.

Shedding light on the Chaco region’s history, Carlos Mamani Condori, Forum member from Bolivia, said the area spanned swaths of land in Bolivia, Argentina, Brazil and Paraguay.  The Guarani, once among the largest indigenous groups in Latin America, had become slaves in Paraguay and Bolivia, which went to war from 1932 to 1935 over the Chaco territories.  With the arrival in the 1930s of the Mennonites, many Guarani were forced into servitude, particularly on large estates ‑‑ haciendas ‑‑ in Bolivia’s southern lowlands, where they still worked the land.

Bartolome Clavero Salvador, Forum member from Spain, picked up from there, saying that the Paraguayan Government must ensure that State institutions provided services in areas where forced labour existed.  The legal office of Paraguay’s Ministry of Justice and Labour should ensure indigenous rights, according to both the Constitution and international law.  To do that, the Paraguay Indigenous Peoples Institute ‑‑ rather than stay within the Ministry ‑‑ should become part of the President’s Office, or an independent body altogether.  With such reform, the Institute could then work with indigenous people on a plan of action to address the causes of forced labour.

In addition, he said the region’s discriminatory social services system must be eliminated.  Under that system, indigenous peoples did not receive a pension or worker’s compensation insurance for accidents.  The Mennonites should have no jurisdiction over health and other social and community services for indigenous peoples, nor should they be able to manage State funds for indigenous peoples.

Presenting findings from Bolivia, Lars-Anders Baer, Forum member from Sweden, underscored that all State institutions must avoid policies that supported or concealed forced labour practices.  All departmental policies were to be implemented with indigenous peoples’ free, prior and informed consent.  To strengthen its institutions, the Government should provide resources to the Ministry of Labour, Employment and Social Security to carry out labour investigations in the Chaco region.  Moreover, inspectors should receive human rights training, supported by United Nations agencies in Bolivia.

Perhaps most important, he said, the Forum must establish a follow-up strategy with the United Nations country team in Bolivia and with the Office of the High Commission for Human Rights to promote indigenous peoples’ human rights.  “This is particularly urgent,” he stressed, noting that conflict would likely grow in the run-up to elections, and the Guarani were vulnerable to any conflict over patrimony rights.

The observer for Bolivia said enslavement of the Guarani was a “painful reality” for a country that had arisen from indigenous people and sought to end racial and cultural discrimination.  He welcomed the recommendations and pledged to investigate ways to best channel them.

Delegates from Bolivian organizations took him up on that offer.  One speaker from Confederacion de Mujeres Indigenas de Bolivia stressed that, although the new Constitution enshrined indigenous peoples’ rights, those in charge often did not look at the people who lived alongside them.  For years, cows were deemed more important that the Guarani.  She asked the Forum to follow up what was being done at the legal level in Bolivia, particularly vis-à-vis landowners.

Likewise, a representative of Cordinadora por la Autodeterminacion de los Pueblos Indígenas del Paraguay (COPI) pointed out that the views of regional authorities differed from those of the experts.  “It doesn’t help anyone not to see what is happening,” he said.

Signalling the way forward, an observer for Nicaragua invited the Forum to visit his country to see progress made and challenges that remained in improving the lot of indigenous peoples.

In other business, Mick Dodson, Forum member from Australia, introduced the Forum’s provisional agenda for its ninth session (document E/C.19/2009/L.4).  Among the agenda items was a discussion on the special themes for the year:  indigenous peoples’ development with culture and identity:  articles 3 and 32 of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.

Offering additional ideas for agenda items, delegates drew attention to indigenous peoples’ development, migration, racism, indigenous languages and education.  One speaker suggested a half-day debate on Western Europe.  Another noted the complaints this year that not all participants had been able to speak due to time constraints.  He suggested that next year, discussions be held under an agenda item titled “development” or “human development”, with a sub-item for general statements.  The dialogue with United Nations agencies could be held in the morning, with time then allotted for more participation from the floor.

Also speaking today were observers for China and Namibia.

The representatives of Lao People’s Democratic Republic, Chile and Indonesia spoke in exercise of the right of reply.

Forum members from Bolivia, Morocco, and the United States also spoke.

Representatives from the following organizations also spoke:  Hmong Lao Human Rights Council; Asia Indigenous Peoples Pact; Centro de Culturas Indígenas del Perú (CHIRAPAQ); Consejo Nacional de Ayllus y Markas del Qollasuyo (CONAMAQ); Indigenous Peoples Organizations of Australia; Feine; Comision Juridica para el Autodesarrollo de los Pueblos Originarios Andinos; Autonomía Eraiki; Yamasi People; Habitat Pro; Lipan Apache Band of Texas; Mesa de Organizaciones de Communidades de Pueblos Originarios Almirante Brown; Coordination of Indigenous Organizations of the Cuenca Amazonia (COICA); Mohawk Nation At Kahnawake; Teton Sioux Nation Treaty Council; New Future Foundation, Inc.; Asian Women’s Indigenous Network; Aliansi Masyarakat Adat Nusantara (AMAN); Zo Reunification Organization; and TONATIERRA.

The Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues will reconvene at 10 a.m. on Friday, 29 May, to conclude its session.

Background

The Permanent Forum on Indigenous met today to continue its eighth session, in which delegates were expected to continue discussion of the Forum’s future work, including issues of the Economic and Social Council and emerging concerns.  They were also due to take up the draft agenda for the Forum’s ninth session.

Statements

PAMELA XIONG, Hmong Lao Human Rights Council, said Laos and Thailand must correct several problems.  More than 500 indigenous Hmong refugees scattered throughout Thailand included 158 held in a detention centre near Nong Khai.  They had been approved for resettlement in the United States, Australia and the Netherlands, but that was being compromised by both the Lao and Thai Governments, which considered them illegal economic migrants.  Also, the Thai Government was refusing third-party screening of the 5,000 refugees remaining in Petchubuan province.  Under article 14(a) of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, Thailand was obliged to allow Hmong refugees to seek political asylum.

Also, in Laos, there were more than 13,000 Hmong in hiding, many of whom were women and children, she said.  Since January, 121 of them had been killed or had died from starvation, owing to Laotian military abuse.  She urged the United Nations Special Rapporteur to verify such claims, and she asked that the Lao Government allow third-party monitoring for returned refugees from Thailand.  Dialogue with the Lao Government should take place to ensure that humanitarian needs were met for the Hmong in hiding.  A request should be made to the Thai Government to allow the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) to properly screen the remaining Hmong Lao refugees in Thailand.

PIERRETTE BIRRAUX, Asia Indigenous Peoples Pact, also speaking on behalf of six other organizations, said working conditions for many indigenous people in the Forum’s secretariat were intolerable and would become worse in the next five years, given the restoration of the United Nations Headquarters building.  She asked for better conditions for translators and documentation services staff.  The work allowed the Forum to “build a memory”, and she urged the Forum to consider changing meeting places during the work at Headquarters, as called for in Economic and Social Council resolution 2000/22.  [The relevant provision is operative paragraph 4, by which the Council “Decides that the Permanent Forum shall hold an annual session of 10 working days at the United Nations Office at Geneva or at United Nations Headquarters or at such other place as the Permanent Forum may decide in accordance with existing financial rules and regulations of the United Nations”.]

TARCILA RIVERA ZEA, Centro de Culturas Indígenas del Perú (CHIRAPAQ), said that climate change was leading to the loss of traditional knowledge and practices around the world.  She suggested building a Latin American regional forum on climate change, in which indigenous representatives would share their experiences.  She also urged the United Nations and States to adopt an International Day of Mother Earth and to set up mechanisms for indigenous peoples to contribute to climate change decision-making at the international level.  Committees could monitor policies at practical and standard-setting levels.  Effective mechanisms for formal participation at the Conference of Parties were also needed.  A Group of Indigenous Experts could monitor implementation of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change.  In closing, she called for indigenous peoples’ full participation at the national and international levels.

ZHOU NINGYU, observer for China highlighted a report on boarding school education, drafted by the North American Caucus.  He said that if newer, more accurate data was cited, and if the perspective was refreshed, that report would better reflect the development of boarding schools in China’s minority group regions.  He hoped the report’s authors would take those ideas on board.

Forum Chairperson VICTORIA TAULI-CORPUZ, member from the Philippines, then turned the meeting’s attention to the Forum’s mission to the Chaco region of Bolivia and Paraguay, from 25 April to 6 May, to study the situation there of forced labour and semi-slavery of the Guarani and other indigenous peoples.  During the mission, Forum members had met with the victims of forced labour and servitude, members of the Cattle Ranchers Association, various Government officials, representatives of non-governmental organizations and senior United Nations staff.

She said that Forum members who had participated in that mission then took the floor to discuss their draft report on the mission and recommendations on how to strengthen the capacities of the Governments of Bolivia and Paraguay to comply with their obligations under international human rights law.  The mission’s final report would be released soon and presented to relevant Government and intergovernmental bodies.

CARLOS MAMANI CONDORI, Forum member from Bolivia, said the Chaco region spanned swaths of land in Bolivia, Argentina, Brazil and Paraguay.  The Forum had received invitations from the Presidents of Bolivia and Paraguay to investigate the situation in the Chaco regions in their respective countries.  Paragraph 143 of the Forum’s draft report recommended, that in accordance with the Declaration’s article 26, the Governments of those nations should respect the right to land and resources traditionally occupied by indigenous peoples.  Recommendation number 156 stated the need to address the situation of forced servitude of indigenous peoples, in order to put an end to that situation and return the land to its legitimate owners, the Guarani people.

Forum members and officials of the Department of Economic and Social Affairs, World Food Programme (WFP), International Labour Organization (ILO) and the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (UNHCHR) had participated in the mission, he said.  The Guarani people had been one of the largest indigenous groups in Latin America.  But they had become slaves in Paraguay and Bolivia, which had been at war from 1932 to 1935 over the Chaco territories, during which Bolivia had lost much of its Chaco land to Paraguay.  (A 1921 law in Paraguay allowed the Mennonites to create a state within the state of Boqueron, which was part of the Chaco region.)  Since the 1930s, when Mennonites arrived en masse, Mennonite settlements in the Boqueron had flourished economically.  The Guarani and other indigenous people, however, had been forced into a situation of servitude.  The Mennonites controlled the local and regional Government there and viewed the Guarani simply as a source of forced labour.  They did not recognize the Guarani peoples’ right to the land.

The lowland corridor area (in what now comprised the south-eastern part of Bolivia that bordered Paraguay) had been separated into the Tarija and Chuquisaca regions, he said.  The Guarani land there had been turned into large estates, known as haciendas, which still housed enslaved Guarani people, who were forced to work on the estates.  Some of those Guarani had tried in vain to move to nearby towns.  It was important to recognize the efforts of the Governments of Paraguay and Bolivia to rectify that situation.  The Forum mission had been well received by both Governments, who committed themselves to restoring the rights of the Guarani people.  The Bolivian Government was truly committed to restoring the land to the Guarani people.  The Forum had allies in both Governments.

BARTOLOME CLAVERO SALVADOR, Forum member from Spain, who had also participated in the mission, outlined several of the Forum’s recommendations to the Paraguayan Government.  He said the Government of Paraguay should implement the Forum’s suggestions with the free, prior and informed consent of the indigenous people who would be affected.  The report had a section on institutional strengthening, bearing in mind that the Chaco region was under the economic, social and religious control of the Mennonite Church.  It stated that the Paraguay Government must ensure that state institutions provide services where there was forced labour, particularly forced child labour.

Paraguay’s Ministry of Justice and Labour had created labour inspections, but it had not done anything thus far to rectify the labour situation, he said.  The situation of forced labour in the region, however, was being documented.  The Government was trying to get information, in order to consider possible changes.  He recommended that the forced labour of indigenous peoples be stopped and that their land be restored to them.  Indigenous peoples’ working conditions might be transitional, but decisions affecting them must be subjected to their free, prior and informed consent.  Police officers, judges and other members of law enforcement and the judiciary in the Chaco region must be trained about the human rights of indigenous people, including indigenous children, and the Declaration.  To that end, United Nations agencies in Paraguay should offer technical assistance and training programmes.  Indigenous people should have access to legal assistance and judicial bodies, and their collective rights should be recognized.

The legal office of Paraguay’s Ministry of Justice and Labour should ensure the rights of indigenous peoples, according to the Paraguayan Constitution and international law, he added.  He recommended reform of the Paraguay Indigenous Peoples Institute; it should no longer be part of the Ministry.  It should either become part of the President’s office or it should be an independent body.  He encouraged the Paraguayan Congress to take the necessary steps to make that happen.  Once the Institute was reformed and was recognized by indigenous peoples with their free, prior and informed consent, it should then work with indigenous people on a plan of action to address the causes of forced labour.

The Government of Paraguay, he continued, should conduct a land census in the Chaco region as soon as possible, within a specific time frame, he said.  That census should then be reviewed to establish the legitimacy of existing land deeds.  Given the fact that indigenous people in that region had been deprived of their land without compensation or their consent, in cases where land claims by indigenous people were questioned, the burden of proof must fall on the non-indigenous parties.

Hr urged elimination of the discriminatory system in the Chaco region, in which social services for indigenous peoples were separate from those of the rest of the population.  Under that subsidiary system, indigenous peoples did not receive a pension in old age, or worker’s compensation insurance for accidents.  The Mennonites should have no jurisdiction over health and other social and community services for indigenous peoples, nor should they be able to manage state funds for indigenous peoples.  The Paraguayan Government should improve telecommunications services in the Chaco region and put an end to the segregation of social services.  It must create a national action plan on forced labour and implement the rights of indigenous peoples.  The Forum must encourage United Nations agencies to provide support, including technical, capacity-building and financial support, to indigenous people in the Chaco region.

Presenting findings from Bolivia, LARS-ANDERS BAER, Forum member from Sweden, spoke first on free, prior and informed consent, saying that the three branches of Bolivia’s Government should take full responsibility for ending forced labour.  In those efforts, it should consult with indigenous peoples to institute plans of action.  All State institutions must ensure that departmental policies did not support or conceal, in any manner, forced labour practices, and that all departmental policies were implemented with indigenous peoples’ free, prior and informed consent, in line with the Constitution.

Regarding institutional strengthening, he said the Government must ensure the adequate presence of State institutions in zones affected by forced labour and child labour practices, including by enhancing the presence of the Ombudsman.  It should provide sufficient resources to the Ministry of Labour, Employment and Social Security to carry out timely labour investigations within the Chaco region.  Inspectors should receive human rights training, and United Nations agencies in Bolivia should offer support in that regard.  The Ministry should also ensure the integrity of labour inspectors through strict oversight.

For justice institutions, he said the Government and authorities of the Departments of Chuquisaca, Santa Cruz and Tarija must ensure the right of free movement, including on roads between communities.  They must respect the future autonomy of the Guarani peoples.  Armed forces, police, prosecutors and judges in the Chaco region needed human rights training, while prosecutors should “vigorously” prosecute cases of human rights abuses against Guarani peoples and their defenders.

In the area of financing, he recommended that Congress and the Government ensure funding for implementing all the report’s recommendations, notably, vis-à-vis the Ministry of Labour, Employment and Social Security, the Institute for Agrarian Reform, and various projects for Guarani people.  Concerning land reform, he said the “Programme for the Re-constitution of the Territory of the Guarani Nation” was a good example of effective application of the Declaration.  United Nations agencies ‑‑ such as the Food and Agriculture Organization and the World Bank ‑‑ should provide, as requested, support to the Government in that regard.  The Inter-ministerial Transition Plan (PIT) for Guarani must be refocused to resolve the food crisis affecting the Chaco regions.

As for development, he said Bolivia, the prefectures of relevant departments and the United Nations should help strengthen Guarani institutions and leadership.  In carrying out land reform, Bolivia must provide support and training for at least the first five years.  Regional cooperation was also important, and the Governments of Paraguay and Bolivia should share promising practices with regard to the elimination of forced labour in the Chaco regions of each country.  Further, a cross-border programme for protecting indigenous peoples should be considered.  As historic lands were divided among Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil and Paraguay, policies favouring the Guarani should be designed within the Southern Common Market (MERCOSUR).

Finally, he said the Forum must establish a follow-up strategy with the United Nations country team in Bolivia and with the Office of the High Commission for Human Rights to promote indigenous peoples’ human rights.  “This is particularly urgent”, he said, noting that with the coming elections, conflict was likely to grow, and that the Guarani were vulnerable to any conflict over patrimony rights.  United Nations agencies should coordinate efforts towards indigenous peoples in Bolivia’s lowlands.

PABLO SOLÓN-ROMERO, observer for Bolivia, thanked the mission to Chaco for verifying a matter of great importance:  indigenous communities living in enslavement.  There was an article on that topic in the new Constitution.  Having placed it at the highest legal level, one would have thought that it would have been practically resolved.  As outlined by the mission to the Chaco region, enslavement of the Guarani was a “painful reality” for a country that had arisen from indigenous people and sought to end such racial and cultural discrimination.  Such behaviour was unacceptable if the country sought respect for human rights.

Welcoming the recommendations, he pledged to investigate the best ways to channel them.  Indeed, the mission “has served us well”.  The matter had not been recognized as a reality by all social sectors.  To solve a problem, one had to recognize first that it existed.  The mission’s recommendations would assist Bolivia in moving forward with implementing what the Constitution mandated:  that any servitude work was banned and unacceptable on national territory.

HIPOLITO ACEVI, President de la Cordinadora por la Autodeterminacion de los Pueblos Indigenas del Paraguay (COPI), highlighted that Paraguay had ratified International Organization Convention No. 169.  Sixteen years had passed since that enactment and the mission’s visit to Chaco to investigate forced labour.  That had had a “very important impact on the region”, as seen in the reaction of regional authorities, which had taken a different view.  “It doesn’t help anyone not to see what is happening,” he said.  It was important to “hear and see the drama of being indigenous, cheap labour”.  Those responsible were previous Governments, which had had no interest in complying with the labour rights of indigenous brothers and sisters.

As such, he recommended, in the Second International Decade of the World’s Indigenous People, that the Forum urge Governments to implement the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples with the goal of forming “partnerships of dignity”.  Indeed, his country was experiencing a political era of hope.  A door had been opened.  The Foreign Ministry, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and COPI had helped to plan the mission and the results had been encouraging.  There might be further changes in mindsets so that, eventually, Governments, employers and employees could work together in dignity for the benefit of all.

JUSTA CABRERA DE FLORES, Confederacion de Mujeres Indigenas de Bolivia, representing several organizations, said the Guarani had been oppressed.  Bolivian President Evo Morales supported the Declaration, which had become law, but now had to be implemented.  Indigenous peoples’ achievements had not been gifts.  “We have paid with our blood,” she said.  For years, cows were deemed more important that the Guarani.  She described various demonstrations that her people had undertaken to battle discrimination.  Though the new Constitution enshrined indigenous peoples’ rights, for too long, those in charge did not look at the people who lived alongside them.  She hoped the Forum would continue to support her people until they achieved full freedom.  She urged the body to follow up what was being done at the legal level in her country, particularly vis-à-vis landowners.

ELISA CANQUI MOLLO, Forum member from Bolivia, drew attention to a similar situation in the Bolivian Amazon, where there was a non-monetized labour system.  People worked without monetary compensation.  Since 2000, indigenous peoples had urged Governments to address that problem with clear public policies, and there was now an opportunity to do that.  The historic demand from indigenous peoples was occurring in various countries.  On cattle ranches and in large agricultural enterprises, everything was being done to keep production costs as low as possible.  Could that situation be included in the Forum’s analysis?

HASSAN ID BALKASSM, Forum member from Morocco, said the cooperation seen in the mission among Governments and indigenous peoples was extremely important.  The adoption of the Declaration as law helped to promote its values.  It was a true “point of departure” for recognizing indigenous peoples’ rights.  The Forum should encourage such cooperation with authorities.  If not, indigenous peoples would be left in their current situation of servitude and forced labour.

Returning to yesterday’s topic of climate change, he cited the paper introduced on criteria for respecting climate change policies, which stated that the deadline for submission was at the end of August.  He hoped to see submissions.  To the idea of including linguistic issues as a standing agenda item, he said there was a recommendation for a conference on indigenous languages, which he hoped would be pursued.  Regarding indigenous prisoners, he said that that issue related to the situation in his country, where many students had been imprisoned because of their “struggle”.  Finally, he said the idea to set up national commissions to oversee the Declaration’s implementation should also be pursued.

MICK DODSON, Forum member from Australia, then introduced the Forum’s provisional agenda for its ninth session (document E/C.19/2009/L.4).  Among the agenda items was a discussion on the special themes for the year:  indigenous peoples’ development with culture and identity:  articles 3 and 32 of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.

STEDMAN FAGOTH, observer for Nicaragua, said the Forum’s ninth session should include on its agenda the theme of food security and its impact on indigenous peoples, as well as a theme on the Kyoto Protocol, carbon emissions and their impact on indigenous peoples.  He lamented that, during some meetings of the current session, participants were only allowed two meetings in which to speak.  That was too short.  During the ninth session, they should have three minutes or more.  He invited the Forum to visit Nicaragua to see the progress made and challenges that remained to improve the lot of indigenous peoples and implement their rights.

ANGELICA SARZURY, Consejo Nacional de Ayllus y Markas del Qollasuyo(CONAMAQ), Bolivia, said her group had had several good experiences working with the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) on various projects, including land management.  She thanked the Forum for its efforts to assist the indigenous people of Bolivia and pledged to work with the Forum in the future to advance its goals.

LES MALEZER, Indigenous Peoples Organizations of Australia, said the Forum should always be open to people who wanted to make statements.  Several participants had complained that they had not been able to speak due to time constraints.  He suggested that the discussions be held under an agenda item titled “development” or “human development”, with sub-items for cultural development and identity, and human rights, but also including a sub-item for general statements.  The dialogue with United Nations agencies could precede other discussions or be held in the morning, with time then allotted for more participation from the floor.  During the current session, participants had not been given adequate time to respond to the United Nations agencies’ presentations.  The two-hour time slot allotted for the dialogue with those agencies had not been enough, and it should be expanded.  He suggested that the theme of “addressing racism against indigenous peoples” be changed to “eliminating racism against indigenous peoples”.

WILLIAM CHELA, Feine, said climate change had not been discussed often in depth.  He described a caucus at which indigenous peoples had stressed the importance of addressing that issue.  He agreed with the representative of Nicaragua, who had discussed food sovereignty.  That was important for indigenous peoples.  Women’s rights were also very important and must be discussed at the Forum’s ninth session, as should indigenous migration and racism.

TOMAS ALARCON, Comision Juridica para el Autodesarrollo de los Pueblos Originarios Andinos, speaking on behalf of many organizations, urged the Forum to support the Forum on Water and Peace.  The subject of water should not be left out of climate change discussions, particularly as it had spiritual value for indigenous peoples.  His delegation had proposed a Special Rapporteur for water, indigenous peoples and human rights since 2007.  “We are defending water as a human right,” he said.  Such an initiative would need financing from the Economic and Social Council.  He requested the Forum to include that topic in its 2010 agenda.

AUDREY HOC, Autonomía Eraiki, proposed a standing agenda item on indigenous languages and education, as well as a half-day discussion on human rights.  In addition, there should be a half-day debate in 2010 on Western Europe, which would include an indigenous representative from her region.  She deplored discrimination against her people, including within the Forum.  “We demand that we be respected so that we can live a life in dignity,” she added.

LORI JOHNSTON, Yamasi People, called on the Forum to designate half a day in 2010 to unrepresented peoples.  In South-East North America, indigenous peoples lacked food, housing and education.  Some were being attacked by “chauvinistic forces”.  She asked that the United States work towards the empowerment ‑‑ and not the elimination ‑‑ of indigenous people in the south-east.  That country should provide them with food until they could live on the meat and fish of native lands.  The United States had made it illegal for indigenous peoples to live in the south-east, but “we are still here”, she said.  She called on that country’s states to restore indigenous peoples’ power to manage water, winds and lands, and on the Forum to denounce such colonial customs of denying indigenous peoples’ existence.

Right of Reply

SONGKAN LUANGMUNINTHONE, observer for Lao People’s Democratic Republic, exercising his right of reply, said his Government’s policy was to ensure solidarity among all of the country’s 40 ethnic groups.  It had done its utmost to protect and promote ethnic peoples’ rights and exerted all efforts to facilitate cohesion of all people.  All ethnic groups enjoyed equal rights, without discrimination.  The Constitution mandated the Government to pursue a policy of solidarity.  As result of such fair and equitable policies, the lives of all ethnic groups had improved.  The Hmong had significantly contributed to the country’s overall transformation.  They represented nearly 5 per cent of members in Government and more than 16 per cent of provincial governors.  In recent years, there had been charges of human rights violations against them.  However, most Hmong had been out of touch with the country for over three decades.  Those overseas tried to falsely accuse the Government.

Regarding those people retained in a temporary camp in Thailand, he said the Lao and Thai Governments had agreed that those people had illegally migrated, and had done so for economic reasons.  Thus, they had to be repatriated to their country of origin.  That repatriation process had been ongoing since 2006.  Over 2,800 people had been repatriated.  All such events had been open to the public.

To make that point, he said the Lao Government had welcomed visits to the “development village”, where returnees were being resettled.  The Thai Army had visited, as had the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees.  In January, the Director-General of Asia for the European Commission had visited, all of which showed his Government’s transparency.  Policies were fair and equitable, and there had never been actions to discriminate against any one ethnic group.  The goal was to improve living conditions and to bring prosperity to all Lao peoples.  Finally, the Lao Government had voted in favour of the indigenous peoples’ Declaration and was ready to cooperate with the Forum.  At the same time, he asked the secretariat to be more careful in its registration of participants.

Also exercising the right of reply, JORGE TAGLE, observer for Chile , confirmed his Government’s commitment to implement ILO Convention No. 169, which would enter force in Chile next September.  That was necessary for the due protection of indigenous peoples’ rights.  Indeed, dialogue was the only way to reach understanding among all Chileans, and the country had made progress in recognizing indigenous rights.  However, he also recognized that more work remained.  Tackling that work would be a goal of the both current and future Governments.

Statements

MIGUEL IBANEZ, Habitat Pro, said the Forum’s rules for the statements by indigenous peoples should be changed to enable the speakers to participate more fully in the dialogue with Governments and United Nations agencies.  Some of the indigenous peoples’ representatives had not been able to speak during the past two weeks, including one representing a community in Peru affected by mining companies, who had been sent to inform the Forum of his community’s plight.  That person was very upset and in tears.  The United Nations agencies had been able to discuss their projects, but the indigenous groups in the room had not been given the same time to discuss their projects, challenges and needs.  That must change.

GERSON KAMATUKA, observer for Namibia , said he had listened to the indigenous peoples and observer States, alike.  For 2010, he suggested an item that considered best practices of States in addressing the needs of marginalized communities.  The Forum must be one in which delegates learned from one another.  As article 32 of the Declaration focused on development, the Forum should also take up that issue.  “Development is so crucial” and plans must be presented by States from 2010 onward.  In addition, he highlighted a particular award-winning project that addressed indigenous peoples’ issues, which would encourage States that had not yet signed the Declaration to do so.  He thanked the secretariat for a well-organized eighth session and looked forward to participating in future ones.

MICHAEL PAUL HILL, Lipan Apache Band of Texas, speaking on behalf of several organizations, said he opposed the Southeast Arizona Land Exchange and the proposed Resolution Copper mine at Chich’il Bildagoteel.  Those activities would harm Apaches, which opposed large-scale mining.  The tribe’s Elder’s Cultural Advisory Council had written several letters to federal and local governments opposing them as inconsistent with conservative Apache values, which respected the natural world.  Apache survival depended on maintaining personal relationships with all living beings ‑‑ his people’s relationship with the land was deep and personal.  Apaches often needed to access ecosystems in person, or though prayer, song, vision or ceremony.  Damage to the ecosystems weakened their power.  Losing access to ecosystems ‑‑ through their closure or destruction ‑‑ severely limited Apaches’ ability to practice their religion, and ultimately resulted in physical harm.  The proposed mining area included cherished land for traditional food and medicine gathering and there was no way to mitigate the loss for Apaches.  The federal Government should undertake a full environmental review of the proposed activities.  He expressed his people’s desire to work with local, state and federal Governments in identifying responsible economic development strategies.

Also speaking on behalf of several organizations, JAVIER BARRIO, Mesa de Organizaciones de Communidades de Pueblos Originarios Almirante Brown, said the devastation done to ecosystems had prompted him to underline that the use of air, earth, fauna and water would grow increasingly scarce.  Powerful parties ‑‑ Governments and companies ‑‑ were colonizing indigenous territories.  The ninth session’s agenda should include the issue of water.  The Forum and other United Nations agencies should recommend special treatment of water, particularly to sustain water basins in South American areas.  In addition, customary justice was a tool to implement the Declaration.  Self-determination for indigenous peoples must be maintained.  As such, he proposed that customary law and the administration of justice for indigenous peoples be included on the next session’s agenda.

EGBERTO TAVO, Coordination of Indigenous Organizations of the Cuenca Amazonia(COICA), suggested that indigenous people should be able to contribute to the Forum’s reports.  There was scant participation of Amazonian women in the Forum and in contributing to implementation of the Declaration.  The role of indigenous women should be an agenda item at the ninth session.  The extractive industries should also be an agenda item, he said, noting that mining, petroleum and hydro-electric dam construction projects were infringing on the rights of indigenous peoples in the Amazon and elsewhere.  The Forum should invite the Inter-American Development Bank, World Bank, and others financing the work of the State to the Forum’s ninth session.  Those financial institutions should hear from the indigenous people, and that issue should also be on the agenda.  Indigenous peoples wanted to contribute to the Forum’s work, and thus the Forum should be restructured so that the affected persons were among its key participants.  That would help strengthen the Forum.

KENNETH DEER, Mohawk Nation At Kahnawake, said the Forum’s session during the last two years had included only nine working days per session.  He expressed hope that next year’s session would be for a full 10 days.

CHARMAINE WHITE FACE, Teton Sioux Nation Treaty Council, said the results of uranium exploration, extraction and development, and the processing and use of nuclear energy and nuclear weapons manufacturing had grave consequences for human beings and the planet.  That legacy could not be left to future generations.  The Forum should appoint a Member to conduct a study, without financial implications, on the impact of indigenous peoples of that uranium and nuclear activity.  The nuclear industry’s impact of indigenous peoples should be an agenda item during the ninth session.

QUEEN MOTHER Dr. DELOIS BLAKELEY, New Future Foundation, Inc., said the agenda should include the rights of the descendants of the transatlantic slave trade.  United Nations agencies should set up a historical site on the Goree island in Senegal, which was home to the most widely visited slave trade house in the world.  The “hip hop” generation in New York City should be an agenda item.  She called on the “hip hop” generation to return home to Africa.

ELEANOR DICTAAN, Asian Women’s Indigenous Network, said Asian Governments still ignored their obligations under the Declaration.  Economic development came in the form of mines, crops, and also included protected areas and eco-tourism.  That was disenfranchising indigenous peoples and impeding their ability to work towards and achieve sustainable development.  The region of the Association of South-East Asian Nations (ASEAN) was home to a large population of indigenous peoples.  She called on ASEAN to support the Declaration by institutionalizing human rights standards proposed by human rights research bodies.  She also asked ASEAN members in global financial institutions to ensure mechanisms for indigenous peoples’ rights, including women’s and children’s rights.

NINA SUSANA SETRA, Aliansi Masyarakat Adat Nusantara (AMAN), said the Forum should formally invite the Special Rapporteur to visit Indonesia.  She drew attention to the extractive industries operating in that country, many of which were violating the territorial and civic rights of indigenous peoples, who had traditionally lived there.  The extractive industries were often untouchable and protected by the law.  She called on the Indonesian Government to implement the Declaration and ILO Convention No. 169, and to review Indonesia’s Plantation Law, as recommended by the Committee for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination, as well as other laws that violated indigenous peoples’ rights.

RAPHAEL THANGMAWIA, Zo Reunification Organization, said he was fighting for the rights and reunification of the Zo people in India, Myanmar and Bangladesh, which had been violated since the British colonial period.  He called on the Governments of those three nations to recognize those rights and to implement the Declaration.

TUPAC ENRIQUE, TONATIERRA, asked if the situation and rights of indigenous peoples from Mexico working as migrant workers in Arizona in the United States could be the subject of a half-day debate during the Forum’s next session.  The rights of those workers were being violated by United States’ law enforcement and public officials.

Mr. DEER, Mohawk Nation At Kahnawake, spoke about Canada’s decision to arm its border guards.  His people were against that as a public safety issue.  The guards had been there for decades, but had never been armed.  Mohawks were now concerned that the new threat could lead to an unintended firing of arms.  Border guards with limited arms training could accidentally injure or kill Mohawks.  Indeed, 70 per cent of the border traffic was Mohawks and their risk of injury was higher than that for anyone else.  This weekend, peaceful demonstrations would be held to protest the decision.  He asked for dialogue with the Canadian and American Governments that would emphasize Mohawks’ right to peace and security.  He also asked the Forum to pay close attention to the situation.  It was a six-hour drive from New York, he added.

Responding to that statement, TONYA GONNELLA FRICHNER, Forum member from United States, also expressed concern that 70 per cent of traffic was Mohawk citizens going to school, work and other domestic duties.  When armed guards were put in the way of that, security issues could escalate into a situation that “none of us want”.  Dialogue was always the best way to move in such cases and she urged all parties to remain calm.  In terms of the Mexico-United States border, she had seen a “wild West mentality” where a sheriff had arrested people waiting by a corner for jobs.  She saw that as an interference with people’s right to work.

Right of Reply

Exercising her right of reply, GRATA ENDAH WERDANINGTYAS, observer for Indonesia, said her delegation had taken note of the statement of Aliansi Masyarakat Adat Nusantara (AMAN).  She reiterated Indonesia’s statement from yesterday that her Government was firmly committed to promoting the welfare of all citizens.  If her AMAN colleague had real concerns, her organization could channel them through democratic institutions, such as the Parliament, the media or the executive branch of the Government.  She was sure that the concern would be addressed.  Partnership was the key to addressing such issues.

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For information media • not an official record