La Relatora Especial de las Naciones Unidas sobre los derechos de los pueblos indígenas publica su informe de Comentarios acerca del documento denominado "Anteproyecto de Ley Marco de consulta libre, previa e informada a los pueblos indígenas y afrohondureños".
El informe ofrece, en primer lugar, observaciones sobre la elaboración y el proceso de socialización del Anteproyecto. Seguidamente, se tratan los aspectos de fondo en relación al texto del Anteproyecto. Ello comprende observaciones y recomendaciones sobre: las fuentes normativas de la consulta previa; el ámbito de aplicación de la consulta previa; los sujetos del derecho a la consulta y la representatividad indígena; el procedimiento para la consulta previsto en el Anteproyecto; el consentimiento libre, previo e informado; la institucionalidad estatal y los mecanismos de supervisión, monitoreo y exigibilidad de la consulta; y otras consideraciones relacionadas con la capacitación, asistencia técnica y fortalecimiento de las estructuras representativas indígenas. Finalmente, se presentan conclusiones sobre la elaboración y contenido del Anteproyecto y sobre el tema de la consulta previa en general.
GENEVA (30 December 2016) – A group of United Nations human rights experts* have criticized the Government of Ecuador for stifling civil society, after issuing an order for the closure of an NGO which supports environmental and indigenous rights.
On 18 December, 'Acción Ecológica' called for a Peace and Truth Commission to explore the attacks on indigenous and environmental rights. Two days later, the Ministry of the Environment initiated the dissolution process, giving the group 24 hours to respond and ten days to present defence evidence.
The move against 'Acción Ecológica' comes amidst a conflict involving indigenous Shuar people who are trying to halt mining on what they claim to be their territory. The campaign group, which has vocally supported the indigenous protesters, is the latest in a series of organizations to be targeted by the government.
The group of independent human rights experts urged the Ecuadorian authorities to reverse the decision and reform the legislation it is using to dissolve the groups. The UN experts have already censure the government for dissolving groups such as 'Pachamama' and the 'Unión Nacional de Educadores', and also attempting to close the NGO 'Fundamedios' over the past three years. "The Government of Ecuador seems to be systematically dissolving organizations when they become too vocal or challenge government orthodoxy," they said. "This strategy to asphyxiate civil society has been implemented via two decrees - 16 and 739 - which give the authorities powers to unilaterally dissolve any kind of organization."
A research meeting, "Consultation and consent: Intercultural perspectives in resource governance", was hosted by Matawa First Nations Management in Thunder Bay, Ontario over several days in late October 27, 2016. This event was a key milestone in the research project led by Dr. Terry Mitchell at Laurier University funded by a Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC) grant. The project is examining the experiences of consultation and processes of free, prior, and informed consent (FPIC) in resource development across four regions: northern Ontario, Northwest Territories, Nunavut, and Chile.
The United Nations Special Rapporteur on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, Victoria Tauli-Corpuz, was welcomed with a dinner and greetings from Chief Peter Collins from Fort William First Nation and Elder Gerry Martin. The Special Rapporteur then gave a public talk at Lakehead University, "Free, Prior, and Informed Consent: A local and global issue", which was attended by nearly 300 people, in which she shared about the challenges and opportunities in implementing free, prior, and informed consent.
Presentation by the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the rights of indigenous peoples, Victoria Tauli-Corpuz, for the International Colloquium on the free, prior, informed consultation: International and regional standards and experiences. Mexico City, 8 November 2016.
"In the course of my mandate, the issue of consultation and free, prior and informed consent has arisen in the context of specific cases brought to my attention through the communications procedure, in country visits, and meetings with indigenous and government representatives. The concern consistently expressed is the lack of effective implementation of consultation in the context of legislative measures or plans for natural resource development and investment projects."
"In this presentation, I will begin by addressing the legal foundations of the principles of consultation and consent and its intended purposes and objectives within the broader framework of international law on indigenous peoples' rights. I will then address the challenges faced in the implementation of consultation and consent standards, including in the process of developing legislation, institutional development and cross-cutting coordination. This would include some comparative experiences in other countries. Lastly, I will present some recommendations for the road ahead."
I just arrived in Mexico City where I will be speaking before the Congress of Mexico and in a colloquium organised by the Office of the High Commissioner on Human Rights. I arrived a day earlier because I was going to pay Rodolfo Stavenhagen a visit, tomorrow. I knew he was ill, which is why I requested that I visit him. Unfortunately, when I landed in the Benito Juarez Airport, I was informed that he passed away today. This is so sad. My deepest sympathies and condolences to his wife Elia, his children and whole family.
Professor Rodolfo Stavenhagen is the first Special Rapporteur on the Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms of Indigenous Peoples. This was the name of the mandate when it was established, which later was changed to what it is now. Rodolfo, is a person who has influenced me a lot in my life and work as a human rights and indigenous peoples' rights activist. I read one of his first books on indigenous peoples and minorities and since then I sought his writings.
He is one of the finest and dignified man I ever met. HIs commitment in fighting for the rights of indigenous peoples was unwavering. His writings on indigenous peoples rights are among the best ones I have read. During the drafting and negotiations of the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, I had several chances to be with him. He was with us when the Declaration was adopted in 13 September 2007 at the UN General Assembly in New York.
When he became the Rapporteur he and I discussed about how we can get him to the Philippines. This worked out and so the Philippines was the second country he visited after his appointment in 2001. When he visited, I was very impressed with him. He was so patient and uncomplaining even during the long and arduous round trip travel we did from Baguio to Mankayan and back. His report on the Philippines set the benchmark on the situation of indigenous peoples in my country.
Rest in peace, my mentor and friend, Rodolfo. You have done so much for indigenous peoples and I thank you very much for all these. As the first Special Rapporteur on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, you set a high standard for the mandate. I hope I will be able to meet even one half of the standard you set. You will be in my memories and prayers and all I learned from you will guide me in my life and work.
Victoria Tauli-Corpuz UN Special Rapporteur on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples
Statement of Ms. Victoria Tauli-Corpuz Special Rapporteur on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples
General Assembly Seventy-First Session Item 65: Rights of indigenous peoples
New York, 17 October 2016
Madame Chair, Distinguished delegates, indigenous peoples' representatives Ladies and gentlemen,
I have the honor to present today my third annual report to the General Assembly. I would like to start by expressing my gratitude to the numerous States, indigenous peoples, and others, and in particular to the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, for the support they have provided as I have carried out my mandate.
GENEVA (10 October 2016) –United Nations human rights experts today urged the Ethiopian authorities to end their violent crackdown on peaceful protests, which has reportedly led to the death of over 600 people since November 2015. They further called on the Government to allow an international commission of inquiry to investigate the protests and the violence used against peaceful demonstrators.
"We are outraged at the alarming allegations of mass killings, thousands of injuries, tens of thousands of arrests and hundreds of enforced disappearances," said the UN Special Rapporteur on freedom of peaceful assembly and of association, Maina Kiai, the Working Group on enforced or involuntary disappearances and on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions, Agnes Callamard. "We are also extremely concerned by numerous reports that those arrested had faced torture and ill-treatment in military detention centres."
"In light of the lack of progress in investigating the systematic violence against protesters, we urge the Ethiopian Government to allow an international independent commission to assist in shedding light on these allegations," they stated.
GENEVA (23 September 2016) – The United Nations Special Rapporteur on the rights of indigenous peoples, Victoria Tauli-Corpuz, today called on the United States to halt the construction of the Dakota Access Pipeline as it poses a significant risk to the drinking water of the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe and threatens to destroy their burial grounds and sacred sites.
Ms. Tauli-Corpuz's call comes after a temporary halt to construction and the recognition of the need to hold 'government-to-government consultations' made by the US Departments of the Army, Justice and of the Interior. The 1,172 mile (1,890 km) pipeline is being built by the US Army Corps of Engineers and the Energy Transfer LLC Corporation.
"The tribe was denied access to information and excluded from consultations at the planning stage of the project and environmental assessments failed to disclose the presence and proximity of the Standing Rock Sioux Reservation," the expert stressed.
"The United States should, in accordance with its commitment to implement the Declaration on the rights on indigenous peoples*, consult with the affected communities in good faith and ensure their free, and informed consent prior to the approval of any project affecting their lands, particularly in connection with extractive resource industries," Ms. Tauli-Corpuz said.
Statement of Ms. Victoria Tauli-Corpuz Special Rapporteur on the Rights of indigenous peoples
Human Rights Council 33rd Session
Geneva, 20 September 2016
Mr. President, Distinguished delegates, Indigenous Peoples' Representatives Ladies and gentlemen,
I have the honor to present today my third annual report to the Human Rights Council. I would like to start by expressing my gratitude to the numerous States, indigenous peoples, and others, and in particular to the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, for the support they have provided as I have carried out my mandate over the past year, as I begin my third as the Special Rapporteur.
The present report is submitted to the Human Rights Council by the Special Rapporteur on the rights of indigenous peoples pursuant to Council resolutions 15/14 and 24/9. In the report, she provides a brief summary of her activities since her previous report (A/HRC/30/41) and offers a thematic analysis of the impact of international investment agreements on the rights of indigenous peoples.
The present report is the second of three that the Rapporteur dedicates to this issue. She has previously introduced the topic and touched on some of the impacts of international investment agreements on indigenous peoples' rights and the more systemic issues associated with the international investment law regime. In the present report,she seeks to further contextualize and examine those impacts by focusing on cases involving such agreements and rights. In her final report,she will reflect on the standards of protections that those agreements afford and contextualize them in the light of developments in international human rights law and the sustainable development agenda as they pertain to indigenous peoples.
In doing so, the Special Rapporteur seeks to promote coherence in international investment law and international human rights law and ensure that State fulfilment of duties pertaining to indigenous peoples' rights is not obstructed by protections afforded to investors.
Report of the Special Rapporteur on the rights of indigenous peoples on the human rights situation of the Sami people in the Sápmi region of Norway, Sweden and Finland. The present report examines the situation on the basis of research and investigation carried out, including during a conference organized by the Sami Parliamentary Council in Bierke/Hemavan, Sweden, from 25 to 27 August 2015.
During her visit, the Special Rapporteur heard repeated and insistent concerns over the increase in natural resource investments in the Sápmi region and the States' balancing of interests in that context. The balance, which is rarely free of conflict, is a primary focus of the present report. The Special Rapporteur concludes that there are still challenges that the Governments must meet, in particular with respect to adequately defining and recognizing the Sami people's rights over their land and related resources, and that further efforts are needed to advance and strengthen Sami rights, particularly in the face of increased natural resource investments in the Sápmi region.
Report of the Special Rapporteur on the rights of indigenous peoples on her visit to Honduras. The report is based on information received by the Special Rapporteur during her visit to the country from 2 to 10 November 2015 and on independent research.
The situation of the indigenous peoples of Honduras is critical, since their rights over their lands, territories and natural resources are not protected, they face acts of violence when claiming their rights, in a general context of violence and impunity, and they lack access to justice. In addition, they suffer from inequality, poverty and a lack of basic social services, such as education and health.
They call for immediate and decisive protection measures, including the prevention, investigation and punishment of persons responsible for murdering, threatening and harassing members of indigenous peoples and also of those responsible for actions that infringe their rights over their lands, natural resources and other human rights. The legal, political and institutional framework must be overhauled and strengthened in order to deal with the situation properly and effectively, with reforms including coordination between government agencies to ensure the cross-cutting implementation of the Government's international commitments on the rights of indigenous peoples. All this requires more public resources and greater political will. Serious and committed participation by the international community and the international human rights bodies is essential in order to ensure international oversight of such efforts and to provide the necessary technical and financial assistance.
The Secretariat has the honour to transmit to the Human Rights Council the report of the Special Rapporteur on the rights of indigenous peoples, Victoria Tauli-Corpuz, on her mission to Brazil from 7 to 17 March 2016. The main objective of the visit was to identify and assess the main issues currently facing indigenous peoples in the country and to follow up on key recommendations made in 2009 by the previous mandate holder.
Brazil has a number of exemplary constitutional provisions pertaining to the rights of indigenous peoples and was, in the past, a leader in the area of demarcation of indigenous peoples' territories. However, in the eight years since the visit of the previous mandate holder, there has been a disturbing absence of progress in the implementation of his recommendations and the resolution of long-standing issues of key concern to indigenous peoples. The Special Rapporteur noted a worrying regression in the protection of indigenous peoples' rights. In the current political context, the threats facing ndigenous peoples may be exacerbated and the long-standing protections of their human rights may be at risk.
HONOLULU — Conservation organizations dedicated to protecting the world's biodiversity hot spots often fail to take into account why the forests are still standing. Often, it is the indigenous people who have lived there since time immemorial who protected and preserved these lands. This is a crucial issue that the major conservation organizations must address at the World Conservation Congress, taking place in Honolulu from now until Sept. 10.
Many of the initiatives sponsored by these organizations overlook the simple fact that environmentally valuable lands are often inhabited by communities, many of them indigenous, and that these communities' rights must be respected.
In India, for example, local people are being illegally forced from their homes in the Kanha tiger reserve and elsewhere, despite evidence that indigenous people and tigers can coexist.
Research by the Rights and Resources Initiative and the World Resources Institute shows that where indigenous people and local communities have legally recognized land rights, carbon storage is higher, biodiversity is richer and deforestation lower than in government-managed forests or those run by nongovernmental groups. Indigenous people and local communities are the best proven stewards of their traditional lands and resources, and respecting their rights is critical amid the climate crisis.
Conservation of bio-diversity appears to come at a price. But who really bears this cost?
The current friction which exists between conservation policies and indigenous communities is evident in the experiences of the Sengwer and Ogiek peoples in Kenya. Cherangani Hills in western Kenya, is home to several indigenous peoples including the Sengwer community. However, Kenya's conservation policies have resulted in alienation of indigenous peoples from their lands.
"We have been facing a lot of human rights violations, forceful evictions from our forest homes...and as a result we do not have a place where we can sit and say 'This is our home'," says Milka Chepkorir Kuto, herself a Sengwer, and a participant in the 2016 UN Human Rights Office Indigenous Fellowship Programme.
Many indigenous peoples around the world experience the same plight. They are violently displaced away from their traditional territories without their free, prior and informed consent, without satisfactory provisions for resettlement and without any adequate compensation. Consequently, they are denied their cultural rights and their means of livelihood. If they attempt to return to these lands, they are often arrested for poaching or even killed by 'eco-guards'.
GENEVA (29 August 2016) – Effective and sustainable conservation requires respect for human rights, two United Nations experts on environment and indigenous peoples rights said today, ahead of the largest global forum for the adoption of conservation policies on protected areas: the World Conservation Congress (WCC), which will take place from 1 to 10 September in Honolulu, USA.
"The escalating incidence of killings of environmentalists, among them many indigenous leaders, underlines the urgency that conservationists and indigenous peoples join forces to protect land and biodiversity from external threats, notably lucrative resource exploitation," stressed the UN Special Rapporteurs on human rights and the environment, John H. Knox, and on the rights of indigenous peoples, Victoria Tauli-Corpuz.
The WCC, organised every four years by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), brings together heads of States, high-level government officials, CEOs and business leaders, representatives from indigenous groups and leading civil society organisations along with scientists and academics.
"Protection of biodiversity is a human rights issue as a healthy ecosystem is important for the full enjoyment of a wide range of human rights," Mr. Knox emphasised. The expert, who will be attending the World Congress, has recently launched a project on biodiversity and human rights, which will culminate in a report to the Human Rights Council in March 2017.
The present report is submitted to the General Assembly by the Special Rapporteur on the rights of indigenous peoples pursuant to her mandate under Council resolutions 15/14 and 24/9. In the report, the Special Rapporteur provides a brief summary of her activities since her previous report to the Assembly, as well as a thematic analysis of conservation measures and their impact on indigenous peoples' rights.
Protected areas have the potential of safeguarding the biodiversity for the benefit of all humanity; however, these have also been associated with human rights violations against indigenous peoples in many parts of the world. The complex violations that have been faced by indigenous peoples in the wake of evermore expanding protected areas have been raised by respective special rapporteurs during numerous country visits and communications to governments.
The present report charts legal developments and commitments and measures taken made to advance a human rights-based paradigm in conservation, while also identifying key remaining challenges. The report concludes with recommendations on how conservation, in policy and practice, can be developed in a manner which respects indigenous peoples' rights and enhances sustainable conservation.
Washington, D.C. August 10, 2016. On the International Day of the World's Indigenous Peoples, Victoria Tauli-Corpuz, the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the rights of indigenous peoples, and Francisco Eguiguren, Rapporteur on the Rights of indigenous peoples of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) urge States in the Americas to ensure indigenous people's right to meaningful and effective participation in decision-making processes related to development or investment plans which may affect their rights and their cultural survival, and to affirm their right to a self-determined development.
Both human rights monitoring bodies express their concern with regards to the way development measures have historically been and remain undertaken at the expense of indigenous peoples in the continent, and in disregard of their recognized rights to consultation, effective participation, and benefit sharing. In its report on extractive industries, the IACHR acknowledged that the region is plagued by a constant structural problem that relates to the granting of concessions, authorizations and permits of all kinds without complying with indigenous peoples' right to consultation and, where appropriate, free, prior and informed consent. The IACHR also underlined how States often confuse benefit sharing agreements – which are mandatory pursuant to inter-American and International Human Rights Law – with voluntary or charitable deeds within the realm of corporate social responsibility policies.
International Day of the World's Indigenous Peoples Tuesday 9 August 2016
Nearly ten years since the United Nations adopted the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, indigenous children and youth still lack full access to adequate, accessible and appropriate forms of education, warned a group of four UN experts on indigenous issues in a joint statement* made public today.
Speaking ahead of the International Day of the World's Indigenous Peoples, on Tuesday 9 August, the experts called on governments to ensure discrimination-free and culturally-sensitive education systems for indigenous peoples, taking into account their languages and histories.
"States and indigenous peoples must work together to fulfil indigenous peoples' right to establish and control their educational systems and institutions," said Claire Charters, Chair of the UN Voluntary Fund for Indigenous Peoples, Victoria Tauli-Corpuz, UN Special Rapporteur on the rights of indigenous peoples, Alvaro Pop Ac, Chair of the UN Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues, and Albert K. Barume, Chair of UN Expert Mechanism on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.
Message by the Expert Mechanism on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, the Special Rapporteur on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, the UN Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues and the UN Voluntary Fund for Indigenous Peoples to mark the International Day of the World's Indigenous Peoples, Tuesday 9 August 2016.
The 2016 International Day of the World's Indigenous Peoples offers an opportunity for the international community to reflect on the overall human rights situation of indigenous peoples, as the world prepares to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the adoption of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.
This year's theme, Indigenous Peoples' Right to Education, enshrined in Article 14 of the Declaration and several other international instruments, is timely as States begin to take measures to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) with a view to leaving no one behind.
"Education is empowerment, and critical to the realization of all of the rights contained in the Declaration and international human rights treaties," stresses Claire Charters, Chair of the UN Voluntary Fund for Indigenous Peoples. "Unfortunately, indigenous children and youth often do not have access to adequate, accessible and appropriate forms of education. It is imperative that States, indigenous peoples, the United Nations and other stakeholders work together in order to increase awareness and efforts to ensure the fulfilment of this universal and fundamental human right".
La Relatora Especial de las Naciones Unidas sobre los derechos de los pueblos indígenas publica su informe de Comentarios acerca del documento denominado "Anteproyecto de Ley Marco de consulta libre, previa e informada a los pueblos indígenas y afrohondureños".
GENEVA (30 December 2016) – A group of United Nations human rights experts* have criticized the Government of Ecuador for stifling civil society, after issuing an order for the closure of an NGO which supports environmental and indigenous rights.
The present report is submitted to the Human Rights Council by the Special Rapporteur on the rights of indigenous peoples pursuant to Council resolutions 15/14 and 24/9. In the report, she provides a brief summary of her activities since her previous report (A/HRC/30/41) and offers a thematic analysis of the impact of international investment agreements on the rights of indigenous peoples.
Conservation of bio-diversity appears to come at a price. But who really bears this cost?
GENEVA (29 August 2016) – Effective and sustainable conservation requires respect for human rights, two United Nations experts on environment and indigenous peoples rights said today, ahead of the largest global forum for the adoption of conservation policies on protected areas: the World Conservation Congress (WCC), which will take place from 1 to 10 September in Honolulu, USA.
The present report is submitted to the General Assembly by the Special Rapporteur on the rights of indigenous peoples pursuant to her mandate under Council resolutions 15/14 and 24/9. In the report, the Special Rapporteur provides a brief summary of her activities since her previous report to the Assembly, as well as a thematic analysis of conservation measures and their impact on indigenous peoples' rights.
Washington, D.C. August 10, 2016. On the International Day of the World's Indigenous Peoples, Victoria Tauli-Corpuz, the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the rights of indigenous peoples, and Francisco Eguiguren, Rapporteur on the Rights of indigenous peoples of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) urge States in the Americas to ensure indigenous people's right to meaningful and effective participation in decision-making processes related to development or investment plans which may affect their rights and their cultural survival, and to affirm their right to a self-determined development.
