the indigenous world2010

631 Pages·2010·5.53 MB·English

I
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G THE INDIGENOUS WORLD 2010
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THE INDIGENOUS WORLD 2010
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This yearbook contains a comprehensive update
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on the current situation of indigenous peoples and
their human rights, and provides an overview of the E
most important developments in international and
regional processes during 2009. 72 indigenous and I
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non-indigenous scholars and activists provide their
insight and knowledge to the book with: D
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Region and country reports covering most of the G
indigenous world. E
Updated information on international and regional N
processes relating to indigenous peoples.
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The Indigenous World 2010 is an essential source U
of information and indispensable tool for those who
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need to be informed about the most recent issues

and developments that have impacted on indige- W
nous peoples worldwide. It is published in English
and Spanish. O
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INTERNATIONAL
WORK GROUP FOR
INDIGENOUS AFFAIRS
THE INDIGENOUS
WORLD 2010
Copenhagen 2010
THE INDIGENOUS WORLD 2010
Compilation and editing: Cæcilie Mikkelsen
Regional editors:
The Circumpolar North & North America: Cæcilie Mikkelsen
Central and South America: Alejandro Parellada
Australia and the Pacific: Cæcilie Mikkelsen
Asia: Christian Erni and Christina Nilsson
The Middle East: Diana Vinding
Africa: Marianne Wiben Jensen and Geneviève Rose
International Processes: Lola García-Alix and Cæcilie Mikkelsen
Cover and typesetting: Jorge Monrás
Maps: Ronan McHugh and Jorge Monrás
English translation: Elaine Bolton and Brenda Gonzalez
Proof reading: Elaine Bolton
Russian translation: Jennifer Castner
Prepress and Print: Eks-Skolens Trykkeri, Copenhagen, Denmark
© The authors and The International Work
HURRIDOCS CIP DATA
Group for Indigenous Affairs
(IWGIA), 2010 - All Rights Reserved Title: The Indigenous World 2010
Edited by: Cæcilie Mikkelsen
Pages: 632
The reproduction and distribution of informa-
ISSN: 1024-0217
tion contained in The Indigenous World is wel-
ISBN: 978-87-91563-75-1
come as long as the source is cited. However, the
Language: English
translation of articles into other languages and
Index: 1. Indigenous Peoples – 2. Yearbook –
the reproduction of the whole BOOK is not al-
3. International Processes
lowed without the consent of IWGIA. The arti-
Geografical area: World
cles in The Indigenous World reflect the authors’
Publication date: April 2010
own views and opinions and not necessarily
those of IWGIA itself, nor can IWGIA be held
responsible for the accuracy of their content.
Distribution in North America:
The Indigenous World is published Transaction Publishers
annually in English and Spanish. 300 McGaw Drive
Raritan Center - Edison, NJ 08857
Director: Lola García-Alix www.transactionpub.com
Administrator: Zoya Shahbazian
This book has been produced with financial support from the Danish Ministry of Foreign Af-
fairs and NORAD.
INTERNATIONAL WORK GROUP
FOR INDIGENOUS AFFAIRS
Classensgade 11 E, DK 2100 - Copenhagen, Denmark
Tel: [phone] - Fax: [phone]
E-mail: [email protected] - Web: www.iwgia.org
C ONTENTS
Editorial.............................................................................................................10

PART I – COUNTRY REPORTS

The Circumpolar North
Greenland ......................................................................................................18
Sápmi
Sweden......................................................................................................26
Norway .....................................................................................................31
Russian Federation.......................................................................................36
Inuit Regions of Canada ..............................................................................49
North America
Canada ..........................................................................................................56
United States of America.............................................................................67
Mexico and Central America
Mexico ...........................................................................................................78
Guatemala .....................................................................................................90
Honduras .....................................................................................................102
Nicaragua ....................................................................................................110
Costa Rica ....................................................................................................120
Panama ........................................................................................................127

South America
Colombia .....................................................................................................136
Venezuela ....................................................................................................148
Suriname......................................................................................................162
Ecuador ........................................................................................................169
Peru ..............................................................................................................183
Bolivia ..........................................................................................................195
Brazil ............................................................................................................207
Paraguay ......................................................................................................218
Argentina .....................................................................................................229
Chile .............................................................................................................243
Australia, New Zealand and the Pacific
Australia ......................................................................................................258
Aotearoa (New Zealand) ...........................................................................267
Guam ............................................................................................................275
West Papua ..................................................................................................281
Tuvalu ..........................................................................................................288
Hawaii ..........................................................................................................293

East and South East Asia
Japan ............................................................................................................300
China ............................................................................................................308
Tibet ..............................................................................................................315
Taiwan ..........................................................................................................320
Philippines ..................................................................................................327
Indonesia .....................................................................................................335
Malaysia.......................................................................................................344
Thailand .......................................................................................................352
Cambodia ....................................................................................................359
Viet Nam ......................................................................................................367
Laos ..............................................................................................................375
Burma ..........................................................................................................382

South Asia
Bangladesh ..................................................................................................392
Nepal ............................................................................................................400
India .............................................................................................................406
Nagalim .......................................................................................................422
Middle East
The Palestinian Bedouin in Israel ............................................................430
North and West Africa
Morocco .......................................................................................................438
Algeria..........................................................................................................446
Niger ............................................................................................................453
Burkina Faso ...............................................................................................459
The Horn of Africa and East Africa
Ethiopia ........................................................................................................468
Kenya ...........................................................................................................476
Uganda ........................................................................................................486
Tanzania .......................................................................................................492
Central Africa
Rwanda ........................................................................................................504
Burundi ........................................................................................................510
The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) ............................................516
The Republic of Congo ..............................................................................522
Gabon ...........................................................................................................527
Cameroon ....................................................................................................534

Southern Africa
Angola ..........................................................................................................540
Namibia .......................................................................................................545
Botswana .....................................................................................................554
South Africa ................................................................................................562
PART II - INTERNATIONAL PROCESSES
The UN Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues .....................................570
The Expert Mechanism on the Rights of Indigenous Peopes ..................576
The Special Rapporteur on Indigenous Peoples ........................................583
The Universal Periodic Review ....................................................................590
The UN Framework Convention on Climate Change .............................595
The Convention on Biological Diversity .....................................................604
The African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights ......................613
The Arctic Council .........................................................................................620
PART III - GENERAL INfORMATION
About IWGIA ..................................................................................................626
Becoming a member ......................................................................................627
IWGIA publications 2009 ..............................................................................628

EDITORIAL
10 IWGIA - THE INDIGENOUS WORLD - 2010
EDITORIAL
The right to self-determination is at the heart of indigenous peoples’
struggles worldwide. In 2009, some major steps were taken to-
wards this goal, especially in Greenland and Bolivia.
In 2009, Greenland entered a new era after some years of internal
deliberations followed by negotiations with Denmark, when on its na-
tional day of June 21, Danish Queen Margrethe officially handed over
the Self-Government Act to the President of the Greenland Parliament.
This Act gives Greenland greater autonomy and, for example, makes
Greenlandic the only official language and obliges the Danish Govern-
ment to hold prior consultation with the Greenland Self Government
before presenting bills that affect Greenland. The new Greenland-Den-
mark relationship began 30 years ago with the establishment of Home
Rule in 1979 and has been further developed by the principles laid out
in the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP).
In Bolivia, another kind of indigenous self-determination was
achieved when, in January, a long and difficult process was concluded
with the approval of the new State Constitution that declares Bolivia to
be a plurinational and communitarian state and improves the rights of
indigenous peoples with regard to, among other things, electoral rep-
resentation and language, and which stipulates the framework for im-
proved autonomy for indigenous territories. On December 6, the in-
digenous president, Evo Morales, was re-elected and the governing
party won a two-thirds majority that will enable the government to
speed up the implementation of the new Constitution. Although not
nearly as far reaching, the Indigenous World 2010 reports on various
other achievements for indigenous peoples in 2009. For example, al-
though the government of Cameroon is still only considering a draft
law on Marginal Populations, it this year officially engaged in celebrat-
ing Indigenous Peoples’ Day for the first time and took steps towards
further dialogue with indigenous organisations. In the Republic of
Congo, hopes were raised for the future of indigenous peoples when
the year ended with the adoption of a Law on promoting and protect-
EDITORIAL 11
ing indigenous peoples. It covers all the rights contained in the UN-
DRIP and thus represents a huge step forward in the endorsement of
indigenous rights in Africa.
It should also be mentioned that, in April, Australia finally en-
dorsed the UNDRIP, leaving New Zealand, Canada and the US as the
only remaining states to object to its adoption.
In spite of the positive developments achieved in 2009, the articles in
this year’s edition of The Indigenous World show once again a frighten-
ingly clear picture of the situation of indigenous peoples as of 2010 as
one of an uphill struggle for physical and cultural survival in a world
dominated by environmental insecurity, development aggression and
continuous criminalization of indigenous lifestyles and social protests.
It is noteworthy how many of this year’s articles refer to the UNDRIP,
ILO Convention 169 on Indigenous and Tribal Peoples, the Universal Pe-
riodic Review mechanism of the UN Human Rights Council and the Spe-
cial Rapporteur on the situation of human rights and fundamental
freedoms of indigenous people as key legal tools and human rights mech-
anisms used by indigenous peoples. However, it is also clear that interna-
tional agreements and human rights mechanisms are far from enough to
safeguard indigenous peoples from abuses of their fundamental rights.
The situation for indigenous peoples in Latin America in 2009 was
for example characterized by the huge implementation gap between
the law and actual practice. When national economic interests are bal-
anced against the indigenous peoples’ rights to consultation and free,
prior and informed consent, the latter systematically lose out. An ex-
ample of this is the Brazilian President’s high-profile “Growth Accel-
eration Plan”, which contains plans for the building of hundreds of
hydro-electric power plants on indigenous land in the Amazon rain-
forest, none of which have been presented for consultation with the
affected indigenous peoples.
The issue of indigenous peoples’ right to be consulted, as well as their
right to participate in decision-making processes, was also given particu-
lar attention by the UN Special Rapporteur and the Expert Mechanism on
the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. In his 2nd report to the UN Human
Rights Council in September 2009, the Special Rapporteur devoted the
second half of his report to an analysis of the duty of states to consult with
indigenous peoples on matters affecting them. Also in September 2009,