adminWenceslaus Murape
ON August 9 this year, the world commemorated the International Day of the World’s Indigenous Peoples. The commemoration was aimed at celebrating the achievements of indigenous peoples over the years, while also resolving to act against persistent injustices that continue to prevent them from living and working in dignity.
This year’s theme “Indigenous peoples building alliances: Honouring treaties, agreements and other constructive arrangements,” resonated with the International Labour Organisation which has had a unique and decades-long experience in forging alliances and partnerships to advance the rights of indigenous peoples.
That experience is rooted in social dialogue and tripartism, keystones of the ILO governance paradigm for promoting social justice, fair and peaceful workplace relations and decent work. They are also essential tools in promoting social rights for indigenous peoples.
Next year there will be celebrations for the 25th anniversary of the ILO’s Indigenous and Tribal Peoples Convention, 1989 (No. 169), a treaty developed in co-operation with the UN system. This Convention represents a consensus reached by the ILO’s tripartite constituents and it calls upon states to build partnerships with indigenous peoples through consultation and participation in decision-making processes on matters affecting them.
Earlier this year, the ILO published a Handbook on Convention No. 169 to help renew the impetus for implementation. It promotes understanding of the Convention and encourages joint implementation efforts and strengthening of dialogue between the ILO’s tripartite constituents and indigenous peoples.
Convention No. 169 has also served as an important instrument to build alliances and strengthen partnerships with the UN system.
A recently launched inter-agency study on “Breaking the silence on violence against Indigenous Girls, Adolescents and Young Women” by the ILO, UN Women, United Nations Children’s Fund (Unicef), the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), and the Office of the Special Representative of the Secretary-General on Violence against Children, calls for concerted action to stop such violence.
It reflects the fundamental importance of building alliances including among social partners and stakeholders to advance indigenous people’s rights.
On this day, the ILO, the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), UNDP (United Nations Development Programme), Unicef and UNFPA have made a joint appeal for support to the United Nations Indigenous Peoples Partnership (UNIPP), an inter-agency initiative launched in 2011.
It is aimed at promoting alliances and partnerships between indigenous peoples, governments and social partners at the country level for effective implementation of Convention No. 169 and the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP).
The high-level meeting of the UN General Assembly on indigenous peoples — the World Conference taking place in September 2014, as well as the shaping of the post-2015 development agenda are further opportunities to enhance partnerships and alliances with indigenous peoples in the world of work and beyond, in their quest for equal access to decent work and sustainable livelihoods. On this important day, the ILO reaffirms its commitment to working together for the realisation of indigenous people’s rights so that they may have a fair chance of decent work.
The creation of the ILO as a specialised agency of the United Nations in 1919 was after the realisation that universal and lasting peace could not be based sorely on the basis of social justice.
Among the first issues of the ILO was the 1929 Convention against Forced Labour. In 1936, it adopted Convention No. 50 on the recruitment of indigenous workers. The 1949 Resolution of the UN General Meeting 275 requested the conducting of a study on the social problems of aboriginal peoples in Latin America. According to the ILO, labour rights — in the broad sense — includes not only the rights of employed people’s wages. It also includes the rights of those who, for some reason beyond their good will and due to unjust phenomena — do not have access to employment.
These social groups include women, disabled people, youths and indigenous and tribal people. The ILO eventually came up with Convention No. 107 concerning indigenous and tribal peoples, which was ratified by 27 countries, including six from Africa.
Convention No. 169 was later introduced in 1989 as a revision of Convention No. 107, and some countries denounced it because of its goals and provisions.
Its emphasis is on correcting historical injustices through principal participation and consultation. This is in order to correct the assimilationist approach and allow the indigenous people to determine or participate in defining their destiny.
Convention No. 169 also aims at reducing socio-economic disparities in areas such as rights to land, health, education, and employment, among many others.
This is through adoption of special measures (positive discrimination), but with no new special rights such as equal rights. The other emphasis is on recognition of cultural identities, lifestyles and traditional institutions to rebuild self-esteem and pride in their culture once considered as savage and due to disappear.
Only 22 countries have ratified Convention No. 169 with surprisingly only one African country. The other countries are 15 from Latin America, two from Asia and four from Europe.
In 1958, the ILO adopted Convention No. 111 concerning discrimination in employment and occupation. This Convention was ratified by more than 160 countries and is aimed at restoring, recognising and protecting indigenous people’s traditional occupations.
The objective is to correct discrimination against the traditional occupations considered as economically unsustainable and incompatible with the major development projects. Some of the occupations are not recognised and protected and sometimes not well known.
There may be a lack of access to market and financing, while the spoliation of land and non-recognition of the indigenous customary land rights may affect the occupations.
Other ILO Conventions in the interest of indigenous people are Convention No. 29 on forced labour, Convention No. 82 on the worst forms of child labour and Convention No. 138 on minimum wage.
Governments across the world have obligations to use positive action. This is in implementing special measures to protect individuals, institutions, property, jobs, cultures and environment of indigenous people.
They should ensure institutions and other appropriate mechanism must be created to administer the programmes and they must be given the means necessary to perform their duties.
Governments have to take action on planning, co-ordination, implementation and evaluation of measures in co-operation with indigenous people. The nature and scope of the measures should be determined flexibility, taking into account the specific conditions of each country.
The Convention recognises indigenous people’s property and possession rights on natural resources present on their land. This includes the right to participate in the use, management and protection of these resources. However, in cases where the state retains the ownership of mineral and underground resources, the people concerned should be consulted in order to determine if and how their interests are threatened. Traditional indigenous people should be among the beneficiaries of these activities and receive compensation for any damage. When it comes to the elimination of economic and social disparities, on the issue of education, national languages must be taught as well as general knowledge and skills. The history of the indigenous and traditional people should be taken into account while teaching.
This includes their knowledge, techniques, systems of values and other social, economic and cultural wishes.
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