By Gustavo Capdevila
GENEVA, Aug 7 1999 (IPS)

Delegates from several governments employ tactics that prevent approval of United Nations (UN) resolutions and declarations that concern indigenous people, denounced a UN official.

Erika-Irene A. Daes, chairwoman and rapporteur of the Working Group on Indigenous Populations, declared the attitude of certain governments is “unacceptable” because they are blocking the efforts made by another UN working group.

The working group created by the UN Commission on Human Rights to draft a declaration on the rights of indigenous peoples has approved only two articles in five years of deliberations due to such obstructionist manoeuvres, she said.

Daes stated at a press conference that she would not identify the countries she accuses of obstruction, but Willie Littlechild, an indigenous leader representing Canada’s Cree Nation, indicated that delegates involved in blocking debates were from Australia, Canada, New Zealand and the United States.

According to Littlechild, one of the tactics used by the representatives of these governments is to repeatedly interrupt working group discussions by asking “Who are the indigenous peoples?” which diverts the debate in many different directions.

The goal of these countries, said Littlechild, is to “deny the right of self-determination” for indigenous peoples.

The obstructing countries “refuse to recognise us as peoples” and use delay tactics through the working group’s chairman, Jose Urrutia of Peru, maintained Littlechild.

Daes, said indigenous representatives have requested that the president postpone debate on the most controversial topics, such as the right to self-determination, but were unsuccessful. So discussion on less polemical articles, which cover health, education, and economics, has not progressed, she added.

As a result, the organisation’s work is buried in the most difficult issues, such as questions of nationality. But when a final text seems to be on the verge of approval, some delegate will reopen the debate by demanding that a word be changed, complained Daes, who is a UN diplomat from Greece.

Urrutia, who Daes said is “a very nice man,” accepts the proposed change, but then leaves the article pending.

She stated that others will be able to observe the repeated use of such obstructionist tactics during the working group’s October session in Geneva.

Indigenous delegate Littlechild pointed to the high participation rates of representatives from native populations – approximately 1,000 delegates – in the working group’s session on indigenous populations the last week of July.

In contrast, he said, in the Organisation of American States (OAS), which is currently debating a regional declaration on the rights of indigenous peoples, participation by indigenous delegates is minimal.

Daes declared “it is anti-democratic that international decisions affecting indigenous peoples and their homelands are discussed without indigenous representatives present.”

The growing interest among indigenous groups to take part in the larger world forums is due to the fact that these communities still suffer violations of their rights in many countries, said Daes.

“Indigenous peoples continue to suffer problems related to health, education, poor housing, alcoholism, unemployment, and disadvantages in other areas,” Daes added.

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By Gustavo Capdevila
GENEVA, Aug 4 1999 (IPS)

Delegates from several governments employ tactics that prevent approval of United Nations (UN) resolutions and declarations that concern indigenous people, denounced a UN official.

Erika-Irene A. Daes, chairwoman and rapporteur of the Working Group on Indigenous Populations, declared the attitude of certain governments is “unacceptable” because they are blocking the efforts made by another UN working group.

The working group created by the UN Commission on Human Rights to draft a declaration on the rights of indigenous peoples has approved only two articles in five years of deliberations due to such obstructionist manoeuvres, she said.

Daes stated at a press conference that she would not identify the countries she accuses of obstruction, but Willie Littlechild, an indigenous leader representing Canada’s Cree Nation, indicated that delegates involved in blocking debates were from Australia, Canada, New Zealand and the United States.

According to Littlechild, one of the tactics used by the representatives of these governments is to repeatedly interrupt working group discussions by asking “Who are the indigenous peoples?” which diverts the debate in many different directions.

The goal of these countries, said Littlechild, is to “deny the right of self-determination” for indigenous peoples.

The obstructing countries “refuse to recognise us as peoples” and use delay tactics through the working group’s chairman, Jose Urrutia of Peru, maintained Littlechild.

Daes, said indigenous representatives have requested that the president postpone debate on the most controversial topics, such as the right to self-determination, but were unsuccessful. So discussion on less polemical articles, which cover health, education, and economics, has not progressed, she added.

As a result, the organisation’s work is buried in the most difficult issues, such as questions of nationality. But when a final text seems to be on the verge of approval, some delegate will reopen the debate by demanding that a word be changed, complained Daes, who is a UN diplomat from Greece.

Urrutia, who Daes said is “a very nice man,” accepts the proposed change, but then leaves the article pending.

She stated that others will be able to observe the repeated use of such obstructionist tactics during the working group’s October session in Geneva.

Indigenous delegate Littlechild pointed to the high participation rates of representatives from native populations – approximately 1,000 delegates – in the working group’s session on indigenous populations the last week of July.

In contrast, he said, in the Organisation of American States (OAS), which is currently debating a regional declaration on the rights of indigenous peoples, participation by indigenous delegates is minimal.

Daes declared “it is anti-democratic that international decisions affecting indigenous peoples and their homelands are discussed without indigenous representatives present.”

The growing interest among indigenous groups to take part in the larger world forums is due to the fact that these communities still suffer violations of their rights in many countries, said Daes.

“Indigenous peoples continue to suffer problems related to health, education, poor housing, alcoholism, unemployment, and disadvantages in other areas,” Daes added.

Excerpt: