ENVIRONMENT: Indigenous Peoples, Still Invisible to Governments

By Mario Osava Reprint | | Print |

Mario Osava

RIO DE JANEIRO, Mar 19 1997 (IPS) - The indigenous people of the world remain invisible to governments, and their situation today is much worse than in 1992, when their importance for sustainable development was recognised at the Rio Earth Summit, indigenous leaders denounced Wednesday.

A statement distributed on the last day of the “Rio Plus Five” forum, which assessed follow-up to government commitments made at the 1992 Earth Summit here, protests that “the guardians of the earth” – as they have been dubbed by the international community – “have been murdered, and their land invaded and exploited by transnationals.”

“International conventions and accords on trade and integration, and others tied to macro-environmental projects, have been imposed on them without their participation,” state the 12 leaders from all the continents, who signed the document.

But even more than participation in agreements and declarations, what indigenous people really need is a formally recognised status that allows them to have control over their land and to organise their own governments and budgets – a statute granting them autonomy similar to that enjoyed by provinces and municipalities within national States, Jorge Valiente, the head of the World Council of Indigenous Peoples, told IPS.

A proposal currently being studied demands that indigenous people be given special representation in the U.N. General Assembly, as the Palestinians were granted, said Valiente, an economist of the Kunza Livan Antai indigenous group from Argentina.

Several countries have made progress over the past few years in legislation recognising the rights of indigenous people, the document states, while warning that the overall situation has worsened.

Roads, oilwells, mining, tourist and energy projects have invaded indigenous territory, while bilateral and trade bloc accords hit indigenous communities hardest in regions like Central America and the Amazon, underlined Jesus Alemancia, of Panama’s Kuna indigenous people. “They never consult us, but just go ahead and negotiate with our resources and territories,” he complained.

The document demands that an indigenous representative participate in the commission of non-governmental organisations that is putting the final touches on the Earth Charter, the draft of which was approved at the Mar. 13-19 forum. Vic White of the Keetowah people from the United States was chosen for that task.

The indigenous lobby was successful in getting a clause recognising their contribution to sustainable development in the draft of the 18-point Earth Charter.

Indigenous people have demonstrated that their values and cultures “are forms of sustainable development that are still in practice.” Their traditional knowledge “must be respected by the governments and societies of the countries in which they live,” the declaration underlines.

Ezemei Aipin, president of the Association of Indigenous People from Siberia, Northern and Eastern Russia, said his organisation has been recognised by the government, and has even extended to other countries including Iceland, Denmark, Sweden and Canada, as an interlocutor for government authorities.

Unfortunately, he added, that kind of relationship has not been established in regions like Latin America.

Valiente said Canada has decided to cancel funding for the World Council of Indigenous People, which has been based in that country for 22 years. The organisation will now have to move elsewhere, preferibly to a country that permits easy communication with the United Nations.

One of the key struggles of the Council, which coordinates discussion on indigenous issues, is the defence of the intellectual property rights of indigenous people, he added.

Valiente protested that indigenous knowledge, even more valuable than wood and other natural resources in the world today, is appropriated by transnational companies, with no benefits for the indigenous people themselves or the rest of the population.