UNSR Victoria Tauli-Corpuz

The Special Rapporteur on the rights of indigenous peoples, Victoria Tauli-Corpuz, visited Timor-Leste from 8 to 16 April 2019.

The present report contains recommendations relating to, inter alia, the formal and customary justice systems, land tenure, consultation and consent, conservation and climate change adaptation measures, education and nutrition.

Timorese indigenous culture and languages are particularly diverse and have been retained throughout colonization and occupation. The vast majority of the population shares indigenous values and spiritual beliefs which are reflected in strong local institutions, the customary justice system and communal land management. Indigenous practices have translated into important gains in environmental protection and biodiversity that can serve as inspiring examples for other countries. Further harmonization between the formal and customary justice systems is important to strengthen access to justice for all. Timor-Leste has made strong commitments to human rights standards and national rights-based development policies; however, additional resource allocations are required to ensure their effective implementation and monitoring, notably in the areas of education, health and nutrition.

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United Nations
General Assembly
Seventy-fourth session
Item 69 (a) of the preliminary list
Rights of indigenous peoples}

A/74/149

17 July 2019

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Report of the Special Rapporteur of the Human Rights Council on the rights of indigenous peoples

Summary

The present report is submitted pursuant to Human Rights Council resolution 33/12. In the first part of the report, the Special Rapporteur on the rights of indigenous peoples describes her activities during the past year and comments on her work on the rights of indigenous women and children. In the second part, she discusses the right of indigenous peoples to autonomy or self-government as an exercise of their right to self-determination, with a focus on identifying positive elements in existing arrangements, as well as limitations and challenges, and provides recommendations on ways to move forward in the adequate implementation of that right.

Human Rights Council
Forty-second session
9–27 September 2019
Agenda item 3
Promotion and protection of all human rights, civil,
political, economic, social and cultural rights,
including the right to development

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A/HRC/42/37

Rights of indigenous peoples
Report of the Special Rapporteur on the rights of indigenous peoples

Summary

The present report summarizes activities undertaken since the Special Rapporteur on the rights of indigenous peoples submitted her previous report to the Human Rights Council and provides a thematic study on the rights of indigenous peoples and justice. In the report, the Special Rapporteur analyses issues related to access to justice for indigenous peoples, whether through the ordinary justice system or through their own indigenous justice mechanisms. She explores the interaction and harmonization between ordinary and indigenous justice systems and the opportunities offered by legal pluralism.
The Special Rapporteur concludes with recommendations aimed at strengthening access to justice for indigenous peoples, while upholding international human rights standards, in both ordinary and indigenous justice systems.

GENEVA (29 August 2019) – The Government of Honduras must act now to address the root causes of social conflict and profound distrust in the ability of State institutions to promote a fair and inclusive economy, a team of UN human rights experts has concluded after a 10-day visit.

All people affected by development projects must have their rights fully respected and protected by the Government and businesses to avoid conflict, said the UN Working Group on human rights and transnational corporations and other business enterprises.

"The Working Group stresses that consultation with communities is a central aspect of human rights due diligence as set forth in the UNGPs, so as to identify early on concerns and grievances and to better understand the potential impacts of a project on local peoples and the environment. We recommend that any kind of consultation and engagement should take place at the earliest stage of a project. The right to participate should be recognized as a continuum that requires open and honest interaction between public authorities, the private sector and all members of society, including those most at risk of being marginalized or discriminated against, particularly women, indigenous and afro Honduran peoples, and persons with disabilities.

La Rapporteuse Spéciale des Nations Unies pour la promotion des droits des peuples autochtones, Victoria Tauli-Corpuz, a été invitée par le gouvernement de la République du Congo du 14 au 24 octobre 2019 afin de venir étudier la situation des peuples autochtones dans le pays. Il s'agit de la deuxième visite du mandate en République du Congo depuis 2010.

Cadre et objectifs de la visite

Les visites dans les pays sont un moyen essentiel d'obtenir des informations directes et de première main et d'évaluer les évolutions positives ainsi que les défis et les lacunes en matière de protection et de promotion des droits des peuples autochtones. Elles permettent d'évaluer la situation des droits de l'homme et facilitent un dialogue intensif avec toutes les autorités publiques compétentes, tant au niveau national que local. Les visites dans les pays permettent également de prendre contact et directement recueillir des informations auprès de victimes et de leurs proches, des personnes et communautés touchées par les décisions politiques, des institutions nationales des droits de l'homme, des membres de la société civile, des organisations communautaires, de la communauté universitaire, de la coopération internationale et les organisations non gouvernementales internationales, et des agences et entités des Nations unies.

12th Session of the United Nations Expert Mechanism on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples

Statement of Ms Victoria Tauli-Corpuz,
Special Rapporteur on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples
Geneva, 18 July 2019

Item 8. Dialogue with Special Rapporteur on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, the Chair of the UNPFII, the Board of Trustees of the UN Voluntary Fund for Indigenous Peoples, and members of the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women and the Human Rights Committee on UNDRIP implementation

Chair of the Expert Mechanism on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples,
Chair of the UNPFII,
Board of Trustees of the UN Voluntary Fund,
Distinguished Members of the CEDAW and the Human Rights Committee,
Distinguished Members of the Expert Mechanism,
Indigenous representatives, Excellences, ladies and gentlemen,

It is an honour for me to participate in this interactive dialogue on the implementation of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP). I want to thank the Expert Mechanism on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples for their invitation to this dialogue, which provides a good example of the ongoing coordination among the human rights mechanisms.

GENEVA (4 July 2019) ‑ UN human rights experts* have urged the Government of India to prevent the potential eviction of up to nine million people, most of whom are forest dwellers and members of scheduled tribes with an ancestral link to the land and forest. The threat of evictions follows a 13 February order by the Supreme Court of India in a case brought by wildlife organisations who claim human settlements encroach on protected forest areas.

"The basic premise of this decision, which treats tribal peoples as possibly illegal residents of the forest, is wrong ‑ indigenous peoples are the owners of their lands and forests," says the Special Rapporteur on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, Victoria Tauli-Corpuz. "This is a phenomenon seen around the world. Indigenous peoples and local communities are treated as squatters when in fact the land is theirs, and they have protected and stewarded their holdings for generations and play an important role for conservation."

Rights in the Landscape: lnspirational Leadership from Indigenous Peoples.
Victoria Tauli-Corpuz, UN Special Rapporteur on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples

Presented at the Global Landscapes Forum Bonn Annual Conference ,
Bonn, Germany, 22 June 2019

First let me thank the Secretariat of the Global Landscapes Forum, CIFOR and the Bonn City Government for inviting me to speak before you today. I will speak about the leadership of indigenous peoples in promoting the landscapes approach since time immemorial and their contributions to forest and biodiversity conservation and sustainable use. I will end with some recommendations to various actors.

Indigenous Peoples are the best guardians of the forests and biodiversity hotspots we all depend on. Research shows that lands managed by Indigenous Peoples with secure rights experience lower rates of deforestation, store more carbon, hold more biodiversity, and benefit more people than other lands—including protected areas.

GENEVA (25 June 2019) ‑ A group of UN experts* has warned the erosion of nature, the extinction of species and the loss of biological diversity at unprecedented rates severely threatens human rights for present and future generations.

In a statement following the release of a new scientific report from the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES), the independent experts said they were alarmed at the accelerating loss of biodiversity on which humanity depends. The most comprehensive global assessment of the state of nature found more than one million species are threatened with extinction.

"The loss of global biodiversity is having and will continue to have devastating effects on a wide range of human rights for decades to come. This report is a stark reminder that we can simply not enjoy our basic human rights to life, health, food and safe water without a healthy environment", David Boyd, a UN expert on human rights and the environment, said today.

GENEVA (18 June 2019) ‑ United Nations experts said today they are alarmed by the death in custody of a human rights defender after a 53-day hunger strike in Algeria.

Members of the Working Group on Arbitrary Detention said they had received reports that Kamel-Edine Fekhar, a doctor and the founder of Tifawt ‑ a foundation promoting the rights of the Mozabite indigenous peoples and minority from the M'zab region of the northern Sahara ‑ had not received timely or adequate medical care before his death on 28 May 2019.

"We are particularly concerned that the necessary care was not provided to Mr. Fekhar while he was under prison authority, which is contrary to Principle 24 of the Body of Principles for the Protection of All Persons under Any Form of Detention or Imprisonment," the experts said.

GENEVA (7 June 2019) – UN human rights experts* today called on the United Nations to establish an independent investigation into human rights violations in the Philippines, citing a sharp deterioration in the situation of human rights across the country, including sustained attacks on people and institutions defending human rights.

"Given the scale and seriousness of the reported human rights violations we call on the Human Rights Council to establish an independent investigation into the human rights violations in the Philippines," said the independent experts, referring to the body made up of 47 UN Member States elected by the UN General Assembly.

"We have recorded a staggering number of unlawful deaths and police killings in the context of the so-called war on drugs, as well as killings of human rights defenders. Very few independent and effective investigations have taken place, independent media and journalists are threatened, the law has been weaponised to undermine press freedom, and the independence of the judiciary is undermined," the experts said.

"Celebro el fallo dictado el 26 de abril de 2019, por el Juez Ravizzolli de Neuquén, Argentina, absolviendo a miembros de la comunidad mapuche Campo Maripe del delito de usurpación", declaró la Sra. Victoria Tauli-Corpuz, Relatora Especial de Naciones Unidas sobre los derechos de los Pueblos Indígenas.

Como afirma el texto del fallo: "En una cuestión tan medular y sensible como es el hecho de determinar un derecho sobre cierta geografía de la provincia no puede utilizarse el derecho penal para dar una solución en un caso en el cual no hay sólo un interés particular sino generacional y transgeneracional que tiene consagración constitucional". 

"Espero que el fallo sea respetado y aplicado por el Estado Argentino y el Gobierno Provincial de Neuquén y sirva para construir una nueva relación con las comunidades indígenas basada en el pleno respeto a sus derechos", señalo la Relatora Especial.

Ver texto completo del fallo aquí

GENEVA (1 May 2019) – UN human rights experts* have expressed grave concerns over renewed accusations brought against the UN Special Rapporteur on the rights of indigenous peoples, Victoria Tauli-Corpuz, by the Philippines authorities.

The Deputy Chief of Staff for Civil-Military Operations, Brigadier General Antonio Parlade, told a news conference in Manila on 13 March that the United Nations had been infiltrated by the Communist Party of the Philippines through Ms. Tauli-Corpuz.

"The new accusations levelled against Ms. Tauli-Corpuz are clearly in retaliation for her invaluable work defending the human rights of indigenous peoples worldwide, and in the Philippines," said the UN experts.

Statement of Ms Victoria Tauli-Corpuz
Special Rapporteur on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples
18th Session of the United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues
New York, 24 April 2019

Madame Chairperson of the Permanent Forum,
Madame Chairperson of EMRIP
Distinguished Members of the Permanent Forum,
Excellencies, Indigenous representatives, ladies and gentlemen,

It is an honour for me to address the Permanent Forum and all those attending the interactive discussion on the human rights situation of indigenous peoples. Let me congratulate you Madame Chair, for being elected to this post and offer my continuing cooperation with the Forum.

In my intervention today, I would like to provide an update on my work as Special Rapporteur since I reported last year, and to elaborate on some of the activities I have been involved in under four, interrelated areas of work: the preparation of thematic reports; the conduct of country visits; the response to cases of alleged human rights violations; and the technical assistance and promotion of best practices.

DILI/GENEVA (16 April 2019) – The UN Special Rapporteur on the rights of indigenous peoples, Victoria Tauli-Corpuz, says Timor-Leste's drive to promote indigenous customary practices has contributed to the progress in building the nation since the restoration of independence less than 20 years ago.

"I am impressed by the pride the Timorese take in their cultural heritage and how indigenous practices have translated into important gains in environmental protection and biodiversity," she said. "These can serve as inspiring examples for other countries."

In my capacity as Special Rapporteur on the rights of indigenous peoples, I have visited Timor-Leste from 8 to 16 April 2019. I thank the Government for having invited me and for its excellent cooperation during the visit.

I would especially like to appreciate the open and constructive dialogue that characterised all my discussions with authorities.

During my visit, I met with the President, the Minister of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation, the Minister for Legislative Reform and Parliamentary Affairs, the Minister for Education, Youth and Sports, the Minister for Justice, senior representatives of several Ministries, members of the judiciary, the Prosecutor General's Office, the Public Defender's Office, the independent national human rights institution (Provedora de Direitos Humanos e Justica), parliamentarians, several traditional Elders (Lia Nain) and a broad range of civil society organisations.

Indigenous peoples' own systems of justice is a subject which has recurrently been addressed by the Special Rapporteur's mandate, including through country visits, communications, and in seminars and conferences. The main concerns which have been raised by indigenous peoples are the lack of effective recognition of, and support for, their systems of justice by local, regional and national level authorities; ongoing discriminatory and prejudicial attitudes against indigenous peoples and their systems of justice; and the lack of effective methods of coordination between their justice systems and the State ordinary justice authorities. The observance of international human rights standards by both the ordinary and indigenous justice systems, particularly regarding the rights of women, children and persons with disabilities is also a concern that deserves due consideration.

GENEVA.– The United Nations Special Rapporteur on the rights of indigenous peoples, Victoria Tauli-Corpuz, will carry out an official visit to Timor-Leste from 8 to 16 April. During her visit, Tauli-Corpuz will examine diverse issues affecting indigenous peoples, including customary justice systems, community land issues, education, conservation and climate change adaptation and mitigation measures.

"I look forward to learn about Timorese culture and how the young Timorese nation is addressing challenges such as ensuring access to justice and the exercise of land rights," said the Special Rapporteur.

"I will also study conservation measures and how Timor-Leste is dealing with the impacts of climate change," she noted.

The Special Rapporteur, Ms. Victoria Tauli-Corpuz, will hold individual meetings with representatives of indigenous peoples and organizations during the 18th annual session of the UN Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues in New York. The meetings will be held in the afternoon between 3 and 6 PM of 25th and 26th of April 2019. Representatives of indigenous peoples and organizations may request a meeting with her with regard to matters that fall within her mandate, including allegations of human rights violations.

PARAGUAY. Indígenas del pueblo Ayoreo Totobiegosode recibieron el título del inmueble conocido como Finca 384, de 18.000 hectáreas, situado en el distrito de Puerto Casado, Patrimonio Natural y Cultural del pueblo Ayoreo Totobiegosode (Alto Paraguay, Chaco), por parte del Instituto Paraguayo del Indígena (INDI). El Estado paraguayo había pagado hace más de 20 años por esta propiedad que nunca pudo ser titulada, hasta ahora.

En un acto oficial, realizado el 21 de marzo de 2019,  la presidenta del Instituto Paraguayo del Indígena (INDI), Ana María Allen, procedió a la transferencia del título del inmueble. En la ocasión, Pohai Picanerai, presidente de la organización indígena Payipie Ichadie Totobiegosode (OPIT), asociación aglutinada a la Federación por la Autodeterminación de los Pueblos Indígenas (FAPI) suscribió los documentos durante el acto de la firma de transferencia.

Recomendaciones de la Relatora Especial

La Relatora Especial sobre los derechos de los pueblos indígenas, Victoria Tauli-Corpuz, tomó conocimiento detallado del caso del pueblo Ayoreo Totobiegosode durante du visita oficial a Paraguay realizada en noviembre de 2014. En su Informe de Misión a Paraguay ( A/HRC/30/41/Add.1) presentado al Consejo de Derechos Humanos en agosto de 2015, la Relatora Especial formuló recomendaciones a Paraguay relativas al caso del pueblo Ayoreo Totobiegosode: