U N I T E D N A T I O N S
Economic and Social Council ENGLISH
Distr. Original: ENGLISH/SPANISH
GENERAL
E/CN.4/Sub.2/AC.4/1994/7 GE. 94-12876 (E)
6 June 1994
COMMISSION ON HUMAN RIGHTS
Sub-Commission on Prevention of
Discrimination and Protection of Minorities
Working Group on Indigenous Populations
Twelfth session
25-29 July 1994
Item 5 of the provisional agenda
REVIEW OF DEVELOPMENTS PERTAINING TO THE PROMOTION AND
PROTECTION OF HUMAN RIGHTS AND FUNDAMENTAL FREEDOMS OF
INDIGENOUS POPULATIONS
Information received from indigenous peoples'
and non-governmental organizations
INTRODUCTION
1. By its resolution 1982/34 of 7 May 1982, the Economic and
Social Council authorized the Sub-Commission on Prevention
of Discrimination and Protection of Minorities to establish
annually a working group on indigenous populations to review
developments pertaining to the promotion and protection of
the human rights and fundamental freedoms of indigenous
populations, including information requested by the
Secretary-General annually, and to give special attention to
the evolution of standards concerning the rights of
indigenous populations.
2. The Sub-Commission, in its resolution 1993/46 of 26
August 1993, requested the Secretary-General to transmit the
report of the Working Group to indigenous and non-
governmental organizations. The Commission on Human Rights
in its resolution 1994/29 of 4 March 1994 urged the Working
Group to continue its comprehensive review of developments
and of the situation and aspirations of indigenous people
throughout the World. In accordance with these resolutions,
appropriate communications were sent. The present document
contains replies received as of 1 June 1994 from indigenous
and non-governmental organizations concerned with the
promotion and protection of the human rights and fundamental
freedoms of indigenous populations. Further replies, if any,
will be included in addenda to this document.
WORLD URANIUM HEARING
[Original: English]
[15 May 1994]
THE WORLD URANIUM HEARING,
HAVING MET at Salzburg, Austria, from 13 September to 18
September 1992;
HAVING HEARD testimony concerning the environmental,
cultural, spiritual, physiological, and economic impact of
the use of radioactive substances from all regions of the
world; and having heard the results of related discussions
following the World Uranium Hearing, in over 100 communities
worldwide;
CONVINCED of the inherently destructive nature of all phases
of the nuclear chain and that nuclear contamination is a
threat to all peoples and environments irrespective of
political boundaries;
ACUTELY AWARE that indigenous peoples have suffered
particularly devastating consequences from the extraction
and utilization of nuclear substances;
REAFFIRMING that the survival of indigenous peoples requires
respect for their rights of self-determination and to
territorial and environmental integrity;
OBSERVING that the spiritual and cultural values of
indigenous peoples in their relationship with the natural
world offer a perspective capable of transforming prevailing
destructive materialistic attitudes and practices;
RECALLING the disastrous impact of nuclear weapons testing
on indigenous and other land-based peoples in such places as
Nevada, Bikini and Eniwetok, Tahiti, Maralinga, and Central
Asia;
DEEPLY MOVED by the horror of Hiroshima and Nagasaki which
marked the opening of the nuclear era;
ALARMED by the experience of Chernobyl and Three-Mile
Island;
CONVINCED that there is no completely safe technology for
the containment of radioactive substances;
DISMAYED by distorted economic values and priorities,
including inappropriate consumption patterns, which threaten
a sustainable future;
APPREHENSIVE of the fate of future generations confronted
with the intractable consequences of nuclear development;
DETERMINED to end the danger posed by the entire nuclear
chain and to ensure an enduring harmonious relationship with
the natural world;
SOLEMNLY DECLARES:
I. GENERAL PRINCIPLES
1. The natural world, in its richness and complexity, is the
foundation of all life.
2. All peoples and individuals have the fundamental right to
a safe and healthy environment and the corresponding duty to
maintain the integrity of the natural world.
3. Each generation bears the obligation of effective
stewardship for the benefit of future generations of all
living beings.
II. THE PROCESS OF NUCLEAR DEVELOPMENT
EXPLOITATION, MINING AND PROCESSING
4. The mining and processing of uranium and other
radioactive minerals result in the contamination and
degradation of large ecosystems.
5. Radioactivity and chemical pollutants contained in
tailings are spread by the flow of ground and surface waters
and by wind currents.
6. Inhabitants of affected areas risk immediate and lasting
health and genetic consequences from exposure to radioactive
substances. Miners are exposed to particularly intensified
levels of radiation.
MILITARY USES
7. Over time, nuclear weapons testing has produced
atmospheric fallout, contamination of land and sea areas,
forced removal of peoples, cultural disintegration, and a
range of adverse health consequences, in particular cancer
and threats to genetic inheritance.
8. The development of thermonuclear weapons involves the
production of large quantities of fission products and
plutonium, the most toxic substance known; plutonium
persists in the environment for up to hundreds of thousands
of years. Nuclear power generation
9. Nuclear power facilities, whether civilian or military,
produce emissions of radiation and inevitably pose serious
and unacceptable risks, including transportation spills,
theft of radioactive materials, accidents that spread
contamination over vast regions, and the catastrophic
effects of a reactor core meltdown.
10. No nuclear power plant has ever been safely and
completely decommissioned. The ultimate environmental and
economic costs of decommissioning remain incalculable.
NUCLEAR WASTE
11. No safe method for the disposal of medium and high-level
nuclear wastes has been devised. Solutions offered can only
provide for storage or dumping, which carry an ever-present
risk of lethal contamination. The problem is simply thrust
onto future generations.
12. The territories of indigenous peoples, impoverished
developing countries, and the global commons are frequently
targeted for storage or dumping of waste, thus compounding
international injustice.
III. INDIGENOUS PEOPLES
13. Vast quantities of the world's uranium resources are
located and extracted in the territories of indigenous
peoples; these territories are often exploited for weapons
testing and the storage or dumping of nuclear substances. In
violation of their right to self-determination, indigenous
peoples have been victimized by dispossession and forced
removals, direct contamination, and the desecration of
sacred sites.
14. The dispossession of peoples and the destruction of the
natural ecology that result from the nuclear chain imperil
the social cohesion and cultural, material, and spiritual
relationship with the natural world upon which indigenous
survival depends.
15. In order to defend themselves against the physical and
cultural genocide that results from nuclear development,
indigenous peoples must be able to freely exercise their
right to determine and control, without external
interference, all matters relating to their societies and
territories.
IV. ECONOMIC POLICY
16. The monetary price of nuclear energy does not reflect
the cost of damage to the biosphere and the profound risks
to present and future generations.
17. Governments, communities, organizations, and individuals
have a duty to ensure that energy is produced and used in a
clean, safe, and efficient manner; the global ecology cannot
support inappropriate energy consumption patterns.
18. The view that unlimited economic growth can be sustained
on a habitable planet is fallacious and constitutes a
significant threat to future generations.
19. Current international policies perpetuate unjust
economic disparities which cause developing countries to
adopt destructive environmental practices such as uranium
mining, nuclear power generation, and the provision of
dumping sites for radioactive waste. Sharing safe and
efficient energy technologies is essential for equitable and
environmentally sound economies in those countries.
20. The Precautionary Principle, as recognized by the
international community, requires that the safety of
potentially dangerous activities must be conclusively
established prior to taking any measures towards their
implementation. In the case of the nuclear chain, any
reasonable application of the Precautionary Principle would
require that uranium and other radioactive minerals remain
undisturbed in their natural location.
V. RECOMMENDATIONS
THE WORLD URANIUM HEARING calls upon Governments and, within
their respective spheres of responsibility and competence,
transnational and other corporations, organizations,
communities and individuals,
1. To recognize and respect the inherent right to self-
determination of indigenous peoples, including their right
to determine and control, without external interference, the
nuclear process as it affects their societies and
territories,
2. To provide reparations for peoples, communities, and
individuals victimized by the mining of radioactive
minerals, the use of nuclear weapons, or the storage or
dumping of nuclear waste. To make every conceivable effort
to alleviate risks and damage caused by past and existing
uses of radioactive materials,
3. To ensure that liability for social and environmental
damage resulting from the nuclear chain is jointly born by
those controlling all its phases,
4. The integrity of the natural world should be recognized
juridically and be enforceable in its own right,
5. The lands of indigenous and other land-based peoples,
contaminated by nuclear development must immediately be
rehabilitated to as near as practicable to their
precontaminate state,
6. To fundamentally alter existing economic and political
policies and institutions to ensure ecological
sustainability; energy development must shift to the use of
safe and renewable resources,
7. To provide assistance, including financial resources
where necessary, for the development of alternative energy
programmes in countries which utilize nuclear power,
8. To ensure that any economic analyses of the nuclear chain
fully account for the entire ecological and social impact of
radioactivity,
9. To provide peoples, communities, and individuals with
complete information about the dangers of radioactive
substances in all phases of the nuclear chain,
10. The separation of plutonium from spent fuel, its
transformation and use in breeder reactors, nuclear power
plants, or nuclear weapons constitutes an unacceptable
threat to humankind and the planet,
11. To support and promote community activities and
resistance aimed at ending the use of radioactive
substances,
12. To promote international and national standards,
policies, and practices designed to ensure that:
(a) Radioactive minerals are no longer exploited; and
(b) Existing radioactive products of the nuclear chain
are dealt with according to the safest available
technology irrespective of monetary cost,
13. To immediately cease production and testing of nuclear
weapons; the process of global nuclear disarmament must
continue to completion. All nuclear facilities utilized for
military purposes should immediately cease operation.
URANIUM AND OTHER RADIOACTIVE MINERALS
MUST REMAIN IN THEIR NATURAL LOCATION
************
ANDEAN INFORMATION NETWORK
[Original: English]
[1 March 1994]
1. Recently United States counter-narcotics strategies have
been subject to growing international criticisms. The main
points of dissatisfaction are that these policies have been
ineffective in reducing drug trafficking; unfairly focused
on drug supply in producing countries, rather than on drug
demand in consuming countries; and overbiased towards law
enforcement in its "supply side" efforts, while under-
emphasizing measures which might address the "local"
economic causes of drug production in producing countries.
Economist Milton Friedman mentioned the negative impact of
anti-drug strategies to be worse than the problems caused by
the drugs themselves.
2. In Peru, the world's first coca-leaf producer, the
economist and governmental adviser, Hernando de Soto,
recommended his Government to turn towards other than
repressive measures in resolving the trafficking problem in
the main coca producing area, the Alto Huallaga valley, to
prevent an increase in popular support of Shining Path
guerrillas. Bolivia, second largest coca producer, is not
affected by guerrilla movements, but its coca farmers
foresee a rise in violence induced by interdictive measures
towards the rural population in the coca growing areas,
stemming from United States anti-drugs policies.
3. One of the main points of concern is the growing
participation of repressive entities in the so-called "War
on Drugs". Whereas programmes of alternative development
have been proven to be insufficiently adapted to the
farmers' socio-economical situation, and to be lacking the
farmers' participation in design and planning, the
interdictive measures originate from the assumption that
coca growers are the first in the line of cocaine
production, and should therefore be considered a key element
in drug trafficking.
4. An example is the Bolivian Law 1008. Approved in July
1988 by the Bolivian Parliament, under strong United States
and international pressure, this Law regulates coca and
controlled substances. Human rights were never considered in
the Law's formulation. When Law 1008 was approved, the
Minister of Interior, Juan Carlos Duran, defended its
passage by saying, "We put human rights on a balance scale
to see if drug trafficking caused more harm to the country
than adhering to an orthodox (legal) procedure. We broke the
rules and tried to find an efficient mechanism that would
really battle drug trafficking".
5. Law 1008, in contradiction to most constitutions,
including the Bolivian, presumes guilt until innocence is
proven. Rather than establishing criminal activity or
intent, the anti-narcotics forces require a detainee to
prove his/her innocence. This contributes to the poor
standards of investigative work preceding arrests. The
weight of the Law has never fallen on the big-scale drug
traffickers. On the contrary, the extremely severe
procedures and penalties affect, specifically, the poor.
Gustavo Blacutt, lawyer and adviser to the Bolivian
Congressional Commission on Drugs, found that 99.35 per cent
of the inmates held under Law 1008 were indigent, and more
than 88 per cent used public defenders. The important drug
traffickers are seldom caught, and if they are, they have
the financial resources to pay off the anti-narcotics police
before they are turned over to the courts.
6. The 1993 United States State Department's human rights
report on Bolivia acknowledges accusations that the United
States funded and trained Bolivian anti-narcotics police
force UMOPAR, invaded privacy and illegally confiscated
property, but dismissed allegations of more serious
violations as "not substantiated". A document, recently
distributed by the Andean Information Network, which
presents 10 documented cases of gross human rights
violations perpetrated by UMOPAR, indicates the
incompleteness of the State Department's assessment of the
human rights situation in the coca-growing regions.
7. The coca leaf has proven its value in a variety of
scientific investigations. Some of them highlight the
nutritional values, others reflect upon one of more
applications as a natural medicine. A rather neglected
application, although remarkable because of its results, is
the use of integral coca products (concentrates of a
controlled quantity of coca leaves) in therapies among drug
addicts. Despite a growing number of scientific evidence
which points to the necessity to revalue the coca leaf, the
1961 United Nations's decision to include the coca leaf in
the list of stupefying drugs has, until now, not been
reconsidered.
8. While the coca leaf has offered the most viable
alternative for thousands of virtually destitute Andean
denizens, few of the growers and small-scale transporters
have become wealthy. The illegal status of the coca leaf
aggravates the economic crisis of Andean countries. Many
funds and efforts have unsuccessfully been spent in reducing
coca-leaf production. At the same time a valuable resource
which could be transformed into a number of important export
products (such as medicines and herbal tea) is being
disregarded. The international approval of the
industrialization of legal coca products, in a controlled
manner, would therefore be of great positive impact on the
economic possibilities of the Andean peasant population as
well as on the human rights situation in the Andean
countries.
*************
DUTCH CENTRE FOR INDIGENOUS PEOPLES
[Original: English]
[25 May 1994]
Congress "Voices of the Earth; Indigenous Peoples,
new partners, the right to self-determination in practice"
PREAMBLE
We, the indigenous peoples assembled at the Congress
"Voices of the Earth; Indigenous Peoples, new partners, the
right to self-determination in practice", hereby declare the
results of our deliberations as an important contribution
and milestone in our struggle for promotion, protection and
recognition of our inherent rights.
We, the indigenous participants consider the outcome of
our meeting as a continuation of ALL indigenous conferences
during this important United Nations Year of the World's
Indigenous People.
We, the indigenous peoples devote the results of our
deliberations to our ancestors and our children in our
common struggle for our right to determine our future.
We, the indigenous peoples express our deep gratitude
to the moral and political support of those who have
contributed to this Congress.
As we continue to walk to the future in the footprints
of our ancestors, we spoke in Amsterdam on 10 and 11
November 1993.
RECOMMENDATIONS:
POLITICAL RIGHTS
1. The right of indigenous peoples to self-determination as
stated in the Preamble of the Kari-Oca Declaration and
Indigenous Peoples Earth Charter and in article 3 of the
draft United Nations declaration on the rights of indigenous
peoples must be fully recognized.
2. Indigenous peoples are clearly to be distinguished from
minorities. Therefore, the protection of their rights cannot
be adequately considered under article 27 of the
International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.
3. Procedures should be developed for indigenous peoples to
bring conflicts with national government concerning
political self-determination and other questions before an
independent international body such as the International
Court of Justice. The European Community, the Dutch
Government and all other governments should take the
initiative to work toward the establishment of those
procedures.
4. Indigenous peoples should be provided with legal and
technical assistance, at their request, to effectively
defend their rights.
5. The European Community, the Dutch Government and all
other governments should fully support the draft United
Nations declaration on the rights of indigenous peoples
(E/CN.4/Sub.2/1993/29) that will be up for adoption by the
United Nations Working Group on Indigenous Populations at
its 1994 session.
6. The European Community, the Dutch Government and all
other governments should work towards facilitating open
access and full participation for indigenous peoples in the
entire process of debate concerning the adoption of the
draft declaration and in all other forums discussing
indigenous issues.
7. The European Community, the Dutch Government and all
other governments should support the designation of an
International Decade of Indigenous Peoples by the United
Nations General Assembly. This Decade should start in 1995
with a preparatory year in 1994.
8. The European Community, the Dutch Government and all
other governments should take the initiative for the
implementation of the recommendation of the Vienna World
Conference on Human Rights that a permanent forum be
established in the United Nations for the rights of
indigenous peoples, in cooperation with the representatives
of indigenous peoples.
9. The European Community should also recognize the full
right to self-determination of the indigenous peoples
presently living on European Community territory (New
Caledonia, French Polynesia and French Guyana).
ECONOMIC RIGHTS
The effective enjoyment of the economic rights of
indigenous peoples depends on a recognition of their right
to self-determination.
Territories:
1. Indigenous peoples's rights to their territories,
meaning full ownership of their lands and natural
resources above and below the earth and waters, must be
fully recognized.
Control:
2. Indigenous peoples' rights to control the use of
resources in their territories must be fully
recognized.
Trade-offs:
3. These rights are non-negotiable and cannot be traded
off in the name of development of the nation State or
other sectors. However, indigenous peoples may choose
to promote the use of their resources in ways that
benefit others: they need to be assured that they enter
such discussions from a position of power.
Private sector:
4. (i) The private sector must assume responsibility
for its activities. A wider notion of profit
should be a condition of investment practice,
giving emphasis to the quality of life, not
just the quantity of money.
(ii) NGOs monitoring transnational corporations
should focus more on indigenous peoples and
share information widely with them.
(iii) In developing codes of conduct companies must
engage in dialogue with indigenous peoples
and create mechanisms that allow public
scrutiny of their adherence to these codes.
(iv) An organization parallel to the International
Centre for the Settlement of Investment
Disputes must be established to resolve
conflicts between transnational corporations
and indigenous peoples.
Role of the State:
5. States should provide adequate assistance to
indigenous peoples to enable them to develop their own
economic base and power. Control over this process must
be vested with the indigenous peoples concerned to
avoid the creation of dependency.
Environment:
6. Bearing in mind the two major international human
rights covenants of December 1966, according to [common
article 1 of which in no case may a people] be deprived
of its own means of subsistence,
Conscious that the 1992 Rio Summit recognized the
valuable role of indigenous peoples in maintaining a
sustainable use of natural resources, and underlined in
principle 22, the pressing need for indigenous peoples'
active participation in environmental management,
Acknowledging the Brundtland Commission report's
recommendation of 1987 about the empowerment of
vulnerable groups,
Aware that the World Conservation Strategy of
1991, "Caring for the Earth", supports a special role
for indigenous peoples in global efforts for a sound
environment,
Mindful that the World Conservation Union (IUCN)
at its eighteenth General Assembly unanimously adopted
two resolutions supporting the indigenous peoples'
cause, including their right to use nature's resources
wisely,
Conscious of the Biodiversity Convention and ILO
Convention No. 169, both of which lend support to
indigenous peoples and their role in sustainable
development,
Pointing to the fact that as a general rule,
ecosystems that appear as the most sound, are also
those which are under indigenous control,
Now, therefore, the "Voices of the Earth"
Congress, assembled in Amsterdam, calls on governments:
(i) to heed the concerns of indigenous peoples
worldwide,
(ii) to give effect in their respective national
policies to the above-cited international
instruments to which they have given their
assent,
(iii) to properly protect the market access for
indigenous peoples' products derived from a
sustainable and wise use of nature, and
(iv) to give financial support to the United
Nations International Decade of the World's
Indigenous People.
International legislation:
7. States should recognize the draft declaration on the
rights of indigenous peoples as presently drafted. It
was suggested that an ombudsman be nominated to oversee
the adherence of States to this declaration. An
independent tribunal might also review adherence to the
declaration.
Demilitarization:
8. There should be a demilitarization of indigenous
territories, including cessation of nuclear testing on
indigenous territories. In this respect it is the
special responsibility of the Dutch Government to
immediately stop the low-level flying activities of the
Royal Dutch Air Force above the territories of the Innu
people in Canada. Compulsory military service for
indigenous people must be abolished.
Dutch Government's responsibilities:
9. In addition to observing the above recommendations,
the Dutch Government is urged to press for an enhanced
allocation to indigenous peoples of the resources of
the United Nations agencies and other multilateral
bodies.
CULTURAL, SCIENTIFIC AND INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY
1. All relevant agencies and programmes of the Dutch
Government, European Community and the United Nations (e.g.
World Bank, WIPO, UPOV, UNCTAD, UNEP, UNDP, Centre for Human
Rights, ILO, GATT, etc.) should develop a common policy,
based on dialogue with and consent of indigenous peoples, on
how protection of and compensation for indigenous
intellectual, scientific and cultural property can be
established and effected.
2. A "Council on Indigenous Intellectual, Cultural and
Scientific Property Rights", composed of indigenous people,
should be established, funded and given special
international status in order to:
(a) develop educational materials on intellectual,
cultural and scientific property rights;
(b) develop mechanisms for protection and compensation;
(c) advise indigenous and traditional communities on
legal and political actions;
(d) monitor unethical activities by individuals,
institutions and governments that are misusing
intellectual, scientific and cultural property;
(e) develop mechanisms for enforcement of rules,
regulations and laws for protection and
compensation, including legal advice and counsel;
and
(f) establish a network to exchange information about
successful and unsuccessful attempts by local
communities to secure their rights.
3. Governmental and non-governmental organizations, as well
as scientific and professional groups, should develop Codes
of Ethics and Conduct regarding respect for indigenous
peoples and their intellectual, cultural and scientific
property. Funding agencies should require that effective
measures for protection and compensation for intellectual,
cultural and scientific property be an integral part of all
projects and such measures be a requirement for funding.
4. Rights of indigenous peoples to their traditional
properties supersede the rights of anyone, including the
rights of museums to possess these properties. No
international or national agencies may infringe on the right
of indigenous peoples to refuse to share their intellectual,
cultural and scientific properties. Museums all over the
world should cooperate fully with indigenous peoples to
reidentify their cultural heritage and recognize their right
to repossess it.
5. All governments, international institutions, non-
governmental organizations and indigenous peoples are called
upon to establish the "University of the Earth" which shall
incorporate the values and the knowledge of both indigenous
and non-indigenous peoples. This university need not have a
specific location but would take the form of a global
network of journalists, farmers, foresters, engineers,
shaman, hunters, scientists, artists and others who will
exchange information through journals, television, films,
videos, conferences and other forms of mass-media. The
mission of this "University of the Earth" will be to enhance
all peoples' respect for and knowledge of the Earth. The
European Community and the Dutch Government are called upon
to strengthen indigenous peoples' newspapers and other forms
of information dissemination.
RIGHT TO SELF-DEVELOPMENT
1. Effective enjoyment of indigenous peoples' right to self-
development depends on the recognition of the right of
indigenous peoples to self-determination.
2. International institutions and funding agencies should
adopt their requirements, structures and policies to the
cultures, needs and aspirations of indigenous peoples.
3. Indigenous peoples must have full control over the
planning, implementation, monitoring, evaluation and follow-
up of projects affecting them.
4. Indigenous peoples' knowledge and culture should be fully
taken into consideration before entering into development
relations with indigenous peoples.
5. Results of studies, carried out with the full
participation of indigenous peoples, concerning the impacts
of development projects on indigenous peoples should be
carefully taken into account before implementing a proposed
project.
6. The European Community, the Dutch Government and all
other governments should respect the indigenous peoples'
social and political organizations, and assist them to give
these institutions an impulse by institution building for
the sake of sustainable, "grass-roots" development.
7. A code of conduct for international institutions such as
the World Bank, the IMF, the EC Development Fund and UNDP
must be established in collaboration with indigenous peoples
to ensure that funding for development activities does not
infringe on the territorial and environmental integrity of
indigenous peoples.
8. The European Community, the Dutch Government and all
other governments should take into consideration the actual
situation of indigenous peoples in developed countries.
Indigenous peoples in developed countries should not be
overlooked or discriminated against by funding institutions
because they may be in circumstances similar to those in
developing countries.
9. The European Community, the Dutch Government and all
other governments, international institutions and funding
agencies should take into consideration the specific
interests of indigenous women and children in planning and
implementation of development projects.
10 and 11 November 1993
Amsterdam, The Netherlands
***************
AMERINDIA FOR THE RIGHTS OF THE INDIGENOUS PEOPLES
[Original: Spanish]
[16 February 1994]
THE RIGHTS OF THE INDIAN PEOPLES IN ARGENTINA,
IN RELATION TO THE ENVIRONMENT
1. In the Argentine Republic our situation as Indian peoples
has been marked by continuous violation of our most
fundamental rights. The mass slaughter of earlier days
perpetrated by landowners and military expeditions was
succeeded by a colonialist policy which maintained slavery
and by political and cultural paternalism paradoxically
based on denial of our existence and even our status as
peoples. Of the 14 surviving Indian groups, some like the
Mapuches have been pushed out to the most inhospitable
areas; the forest dwellers such as the Guarani, the Toba,
the Wichi, etc. have seen their traditional lands devastated
by the indiscriminate felling of forests, the exhaustion of
the land by intensive plantations and crop growing and the
elimination of the fauna and flora. The food supply is gone
and it is increasingly difficult to find our medicinal
herbs.
2. With the advent of democracy we are beginning to obtain
recognition of our existence and our rights as distinctive
peoples within the national community. The Indigenous Policy
Act No. 23.302/89 and various ad hoc provincial laws have
been passed. But after years of protests the National Indian
Institute envisaged by the law has still not been organized
and there is not the slightest sign of the law being
enforced. As a result we have not obtained titles of
ownership to our own lands.
3. Although ILO Convention No. 169 on indigenous peoples has
been ratified by the National Congress under Law 24.047 of 4
April 1983, the Government of Carlos Menem refuses to
present the instruments of ratification to the ILO, this in
order to prevent us from using international law to back our
claims. Trickery and deceit are the justicialist
administration's only responses to our urgent needs.
EMPLOYMENT RIGHTS
4. We Indian peoples suffer from blatant discrimination and
lack of protection in employment. Members of the communities
are still relegated to marginal employment, such as
temporary work in mining, and migratory work such as the
sugar harvest, the extraction of minerals, road works,
herding flocks and so on.
5. Cruel exploitation of the whole family including child
labour and illegal employment from infancy up is made worse
by the fact that in the shanty towns, companies do not
provide proper sanitary facilities or living quarters. In
addition, in these areas the Indians have never obtained the
protection of the labour and social security laws, nor the
protection of trade unions.
6. The usurpation of our traditional lands or dwelling
places by companies which are destroying the environment,
coupled with growing unemployment, forces us to migrate, as
individuals or in groups, to urban centres where there may
be better prospects of survival. But we always live in the
grip of poverty in slums in which the disorder and absolute
lack of facilities decent housing, health facilities, open
spaces and schools that are interested in our cultural needs
- deepen our pain of exile and difficulties of adjustment.
RIGHT TO HEALTH
7. The absence of basic sanitary facilities which afflicts
broad sectors of the population is accentuated in the
regions to which we, the indigenous peoples, have been
relegated. In addition to the absence of decent housing,
sewage systems and electricity, there is a lack of drinking
water. There are communities where the only source of water
is cholera contaminated rivers. Some receive water from the
authorities but often days go by without a drop other than
what they can collect if it rains. Others have access to a
pipe which comes from many miles away and which may provide
a trickle of water heated to boiling point by the sun ... if
a tap has not been turned on somewhere else.
8. We live in a state of exhaustion, because of hunger,
sickness and despair. Chaga's disease, an endemic disease
that makes sufferers unfit for work, has spread and is
transmitted from mother to child. Finally it kills the
victim. Traditional dwellings are a deadly trap. Cholera has
established itself in our settlements, where the death toll
is higher than anywhere else in the country. The only
protective measure proposed by the Government is two drops
of bleach in water, which in most cases is not available.
9. Some communities have an indigenous health worker but
everything needed to provide even minimum care of our
brothers is lacking.
10. Hospitals are miles away and generally refuse to give us
proper attention. In Embarcacion-Salta, North of Salta, an
elderly worker who had walked many miles back from work
under a 45 degree sun was taken miles by his family to
hospital with sun stroke. They did not want to keep him in
hospital to treat his dehydration which had been aggravated
by age, fatigue and malnutrition. He had to travel miles
back to his home and died there the same night.
11. Another aspect of the violations of our human rights,
our identity and our psychological integrity are the
kidnapping, seizure and illegal adoption of many Indian
children, on the grounds of poverty, lack of care and so on.
Complaints and protests have been made to the legal
authorities but no response has been received from them and
the kidnapping of our children continues. The indifference
of the Argentine legal authorities to the kidnapping of
children has a tragic parallel in the fate of the children
of those who disappeared under the late dictatorship.
12. A case involving repression, insecurity and
discrimination occurred a few days ago to a young man in
Santiago del Estero. Of Indian extraction and a recent
arrival in greater Buenos Aires where he was looking for
relatives, he went into a police station to ask for
information about an address. He was kept in the police
station and tortured by the police for six days before he
was found. When this outrage was discovered the police tried
to have him declared insane to hush up their crime. His is
now in a hospital under judicial ... and police custody.
RIGHT TO A HEALTHY ENVIRONMENT
13. We have mentioned the destruction of the environment
which threatens the population generally. In the particular
case of the Indian peoples this affects our lives more
directly. It destroys our community life and cuts us off
from traditional employment and sources of sustenance.
Although we belong to human groups that are deeply attached
to a natural habitat and keenly aware of the need to defend
it both to ensure survival and for philosophical reasons,
the State does not allow us to make use of our ideas and
experience in the preservation of the environment. In
rejecting us as human beings, they also reject everything we
could contribute to Argentine society as it faces ecological
crisis. Our migrations are also related to this matter, as
in the case of the Chaco, where the land cannot continue to
absorb the floodwater and where marshes are forming and
cultivation is impossible. This is the case in Pilcanilleu
del Limay, where flooding has devastated our homeland and
our sacred places in which our ancestors lie. These are
tragic ways in which the social environment of each
community and the authorities discriminate against us and
permanently marginalize us.
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