Concordia International School Shanghai Model United Nations ◆ Eleventh Annual Session Forum: UN Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues Issue: Guaranteeing the rights and welfare of uncontacted peoples in the , New Guinea and other remote locations Student Officer: Ye Eun Choi Position: Deputy Chair Introduction

Uncontacted people in the Amazon basin, New Guinea, and other remote locations have been continuously exposed to the threat of illegal loggers, miners, and drug traffickers. Throughout the past centuries, these isolated civilizations have been subjected to massacres and violence in the process of development. Due to encroachment upon the ’s territory by outsiders, some indigenous people are forced to abandon their habitat of life. Moreover, since the authorities can only have rough estimates of the existence of uncontacted communities, it is difficult for organizations to provide support for them.

Definition of Key Terms

Uncontacted people Uncontacted people are defined as communities that have lived or are living without significant contact with outside global civilization. This isolation may result from their own choice or external circumstances. Currently, an estimated 100 uncontacted civilizations exist around the world. Welfare Welfare is defined as a level of well-being and standard of living of a group or individual. This includes the area of mental health, environmental and cultural resilience, community vitality, and life satisfaction.

History

Push for development of the rainforest In the 1960-70s, countries, including , implemented a development plan for the Amazon basin and other unexplored regions. A large population of indigenous people was forced out of their lands or murdered. Those who stood in the way of road construction or resource extraction were subjected of violence.

Government efforts to settle uncontacted people Throughout the 1980-90s, governments aimed to lure indigenous out and to settle them down as a contemporary population. In the process, these isolated communities were forced into

Background Guide◆ Page 1 of 5 Concordia International School Shanghai Model United Nations ◆ Eleventh Annual Session assimilation programs, which led to a vast number of deaths due to imported diseases. This allowed local governments to recognize the vulnerability of the uncontacted people to the external world.

Canceling contact attempts Nowadays, most of the governments and international society adapted policies to prevent contact from outsiders. Instead, they are focusing on adopting protective measures for isolated people. However, the constant threat is still imposed upon them as a result of illegal natural resource extraction and drug trafficking.

Key Issues

Threats from illegal loggers, cattle ranchers, and traffickers

Territorial threat Isolated regions of the Amazon Basin and New Guinea are often under the intense pressure of oil exploration, illegal logging, and mining. People extracting natural resources are continually encroaching upon the uncontacted community's territory, often forcing the tribes to abandon the forest.

Genocide People conducting illegal activities in remote areas are deliberately committing mass murder of the isolated tribes in an attempt to remove them from the area of crime and take advantage of their habitat.

Threats from the government

Absence of governmental regulation Governments of countries mainly involved in the issue of uncontacted tribes, including Peruvian and Brazilian governments, are not taking active measures to restrict natural resource extraction of remote regions, despite the call of the international community and non-governmental organizations. Some governments even refuse to recognize the existence of isolated people, abandoning their responsibility for regulation.

Development projects The governmental development projects can lead to significant devastation of the natural habitat of indigenous people. This includes territorial threats of constructing roads

Background Guide◆ Page 2 of 5 Concordia International School Shanghai Model United Nations ◆ Eleventh Annual Session and other infrastructure, as well as cultural threats of assimilation programs, in an attempt to forcibly incorporate indigenous tribes as a part of their society.

Major Parties Involved and Their Views

Brazil Brazil is a country with the largest number of uncontacted tribes. They should address the issue of illegal loggers, miners, and drug traffickers utilizing the indigenous community's habitat and forcing the tribes out of the habitat or murdering them. Currently, FUNAI (Brazilian governmental agency in charge of indigenous Indian affairs) is working to resolve issues regarding uncontacted people’s rights but with limited regulation.

Bolivia Bolivia is one of the most active countries in addressing the issue. The Bolivian government is working with the international community, including cooperation with UNHCR and the Confederation of of Bolivia (CIDOB).

New Guinea New Guinea was once believed to have the largest uncontacted population until Brazil took its position. Since the majority of areas in New Guinea remain unexplored, information of the isolated community is difficult to collect.

Peru , also bordering the Amazon basin, needs to recognize the existence of uncontacted people and the situation they face, yet the Peruvian government is currently ignoring the presence of outside threat towards indigenous people in the remote areas.

Timeline of Relevant Resolutions, Treaties, and Events

Date Description of event

Brazilian military engineer lures members of the isolated tribe out of the Amazon 1910 basin and murders 4,500 people.

The Amazon development project starts. The mass murder of indigenous people 1960-70 who stood in the way of progress and destruction of their life inhabitant.

1970 Construction of major highways leads the occupation of by loggers, cattle

Background Guide◆ Page 3 of 5 Concordia International School Shanghai Model United Nations ◆ Eleventh Annual Session ranchers, colonists, and land speculators.

1985 FUNAI finds evidence of genocide of Indian Maloca by ranchers.

2007 UN General Assembly adopts the UNDRIP (UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples) Evaluation of Previous Attempts to Resolve the Issue

NGOs There are few non-governmental organizations actively working to support the rights of uncontacted people, including . They worked through measures of calling the government for a total ban of natural resource extraction in the reserved area and stop the extermination of isolated communities. Although they had some success in raising international awareness, they were not very effective in provoking local government actions.

Governmental Attempts Previous governmental attempts to resolve the issue by creating reserved areas for indigenous people and adopting laws to protect the community have not been effectively implemented for the past decade. Yet, continuous advancement is being made.

UN actions There were also varying degrees of international action taken by the UN, but with limited success. There were efforts including the adaptation of the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP) in 2007 and the formulation of protection guidelines for the isolated indigenous communities. However, the non-binding nature of the proposal inevitably involves a delay in an adaptation of international standards into local areas. Many countries are repeatedly accused of human rights abuses of uncontacted people despite their agreement of UNDRIP and International Labor Organization Convention on Indigenous and Tribal Peoples.

Possible Solutions

Governmental Actions Governments should pay close attention to uncontacted people, especially to those who are under threat of extinction; thus need to be adopting transparent and concrete action to strengthen mechanisms for identification and protection of isolated indigenous people's human rights. They include the prohibition of any economic activity in buffer zones of uncontacted people and restricted access towards these areas.

International community

Background Guide◆ Page 4 of 5 Concordia International School Shanghai Model United Nations ◆ Eleventh Annual Session The international society needs to guarantee the protection of human rights of uncontacted people, and fully recognize the situation of extreme vulnerability and exposition towards large scale aggression. They must fulfill the role of protecting the cultural diversity of the tribes. The identification and analysis of indigenous people’s circumstances could require collaboration with the indigenous community that has already been contacted and with any other non-governmental organizations working to the protection of isolated people.

Bibliography

Nuwer, Rachel. "Anthropology: The Sad Truth About Uncontacted Tribes." BBC - Homepage, 4 Aug. 2014, http://www.bbc.com/future/article/20140804-sad-truth-of-uncontacted-tribes. Accessed 30 Oct. 2019. Survival International. "Uncontacted Indians of Brazil." Home - Survival International, http://www.survivalinternational.org/tribes/uncontacted-brazil. Accessed 23 Oct. 2019. Watts, Jonathan. "Video of Uncontacted Amazon Tribe Highlights Threat from Illegal Loggers." The Guardian, 24 July 2019, http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2019/jul/22/uncontacted-tribe- video-amazon-rainforest-awa-people. Accessed 3 Nov. 2019. General Assembly. OHCHR Homepage, 10 Aug. 2009, www2.ohchr.org/english/issues/indigenous/ExpertMechanism/2nd/docs/A_HRC_EMRIP_2009_6. pdf. Accessed 1 Nov. 2019. Ryan, Eva. "Opinion: Brazil Must Protect Its Remaining 'uncontacted' Indigenous Amazonians." Phys.org - News and Articles on Science and Technology, 19 Sept. 2017, phys.org/news/2017-09-opinion- brazil-uncontacted-indigenous-amazonians.html. Accessed 5 Nov. 2019. Survival International. "." Home - Survival International, http://www.survivalinternational.org/ tribes/akuntsu. Accessed 4 Nov. 2019.

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