Indigenous Peoples and United Nations Human Rights Bodies A Compilation of UN Treaty Body Jurisprudence and the Recommendations of the Human Rights Council Volume IV 2009-2010 Compiled and Edited by Fergus MacKay Forest Peoples Programme 1c Fosseway Business Centre, Stratford Road, Moreton-in-Marsh GL56 9NQ, UK tel: (44) 01608 65289 email: [email protected] Preface This document contains Volume IV of the series of compilations of United Nations human rights bodies’ jurisprudence pertaining to indigenous peoples and covers the years 2009 and 2010.1 Among others, this jurisprudence reflects some degree of positive evolution in thinking about the rights of indigenous peoples in Africa, with three countries either adopting legislation that explicitly addresses indigenous peoples or ratifying ILO Convention No. 169. In the case of the Congo, the law was inspired by the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP). During 2009-2010, the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (CERD) continued to adopt detailed and responsive observations and recommendations, including under its follow up and early warning and urgent action procedures. CERD also clarified that indigenous peoples’ rights, which are permanent rights, should not be confused with temporary ‘special measures’ – which are measures intended to remedy past discrimination or to correct contemporary inequalities – in a general comment on special measures (see Sec I.C.1 herein). In the case of Guatemala, CERD recommended that participation procedures and protections against relocation be adopted in accordance with ILO 169 and the UNDRIP. It also urged that states increase their efforts to implement the UNDRIP (see, for example, Japan). The Committee on Elimination of Discrimination Against Women has continued to explicitly acknowledge “the multiple forms” of discrimination faced by indigenous women, as has CERD (see especially Canada, including in the Human Rights Council). The former has also begun, in some cases, to include specific sections in its concluding observations entitled ‘Indigenous and other minority women’. The Committee on the Rights of the Child adopted an important and extensive general comment on the rights of the indigenous child and made references to the UNDRIP in its examination of state reports (see Cameroon, for instance). The Committee against Torture also adopted concluding observations that address indigenous peoples in its reviews of five countries. The Human Rights Committee continues to invoke the right to self-determination in relation to indigenous peoples, particularly Article 1(2) (the right to freely dispose of natural wealth and the right to be secure in the means of subsistence) (see Sweden and Mexico, for example). The Committee also decided an important case in 2009 that recognises that indigenous peoples have a right to consent under certain circumstances: Ángela Poma Poma v. Peru (see Sec. II.B.1, para. 7.6, herein). The Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights has also made reference to Article 1 in relation to land and resource rights (see Brazil, Cambodia and Democratic Republic of Congo, for example). It also adopted an important general comment on non-discrimination in relation to economic, social and cultural rights that is very 1 Volume I (1993-2004) and Volume II (2005-2006) and Volume III are available at: http://www.forestpeoples.org/documents/law_hr/un_jurisprudence_comp_sept05_eng.pdf; http://www.forestpeoples.org/documents/law_hr/un_jurisprudence_comp_vol2_06_eng.pdf; and http://www.forestpeoples.org/sites/fpp/files/publication/2010/08/unjurisprudencecompvol30708en g.pdf. relevant to indigenous peoples. The results of the Human Rights Council’s Universal Peer Review, however, continue to be mostly disappointing. Finally, please be aware that the jurisprudence contained in this volume is excerpted from larger treatments of country situations so that only those sections that either directly refer to indigenous peoples or otherwise are known to be about indigenous peoples are included. Also, while we have tried to locate and include all jurisprudence from this period, this volume may not be comprehensive. We hope that you find it a useful tool that contributes to awareness about and, ultimately, respect for the rights of indigenous peoples in practice. January 2011 Contents Page I. Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination 1 A. Concluding Observations 1. Congo: CERD/C/COG/CO/9, 6 March 2009 1 2. Finland: CERD/C/FIN/CO/19, 5 March 2009 3 3. Suriname: CERD/C/SUR/CO/12, 3 March 2009 4 4. Tunisia: CERD/C/TUN/CO/19, 23 MARCH 2009 6 5. Colombia: CERD/C/COL/CO/14, 28 August 2009 7 6. Philippines: CERD/C/PHL/CO/20, 28 August 2009 13 7. Chile, CERD/C/CHL/CO/15-18, 7 September 2009 16 8. Peru, CERD/C/PER/CO/14-17, 3 September 2009 20 9. Argentina, CERD/C/ARG/CO/19-20, 29 March 2010 25 10. Cambodia, CERD/C/KHM/CO/8-13, 1 April 2010 28 11. Cameroon, CERD/ C/CMR/CO/15-18, 30 March 2010 30 12. Guatemala, CERD/C/GTM/CO/12-13, 19 May 2010 33 13. Japan, CERD/C/JPN/CO/3-6, 6 April 2010 38 14. Panama, CERD//C/PAN/CO/15-20, 19 May 2010 40 15. Australia, CERD/C/AUS/CO/15-17, 13 September 2010 44 16. Denmark, CERD/C/DNK/CO/18-19, 20 September 2010 49 17. El Salvador, CERD/C/SLV/CO/15, 14 September 2010 50 18. Morocco, CERD/C/MAR/CO/18, 13 September 2010 52 B. Follow Up & Early Warning and Urgent Action Procedures 54 1. Australia, 13/03/2009 (Urgent Action) 54 2. Canada, 13/03/2009 (Urgent Action) 55 3. El Salvador, 13/03/2009 (Urgent Action) 56 4. India, 13/03/2009 (Urgent Action) 57 5. Indonesia, 13/03/2009 (Urgent Action) 58 6. Laos, 13/03/2009 (Urgent Action) 59 7. Nepal, 13/03/2009 (Urgent Action) 60 8. Peru, 13/03/2009 (Urgent Action) 60 9. Tanzania, 13/03/2009 (Urgent Action) 61 10. New Zealand, 13/03/2009 (Follow Up) 63 11. Australia, 28/09/2009 (Urgent Action) 64 12. Niger, 28/09/2009 (Urgent Action) 64 13. Indonesia, 28/09/2009 (Urgent Action) 65 14. India, 28/09/2009 (Urgent Action) 65 15. United States of America, 28/09/2009 (Follow Up) 66 16. Nepal, 28/09/2009 (Urgent Action) 66 17. Brazil, 28/09/2009 (Urgent Action) 67 18. Niger, 12/03/2010 (Urgent Action) 67 19. Australia, 31/05/2010 (Urgent Action) 68 20. Botswana, 12/02/2010 (Urgent Action) 69 21. Brazil, 31/05/2010 (Urgent Action) 70 22. India, 12/03/2010 (Urgent Action) 70 23. Laos 12/03/2010 (Urgent Action) 71 24. Paraguay, 31/05/2010 (Urgent Action) 72 25. Peru, 13/03/2010 (Urgent Action) 73 26. Togo, 12/03/2010 (Follow Up) 75 27. Sweden, 12/03/2010 (Follow Up) 75 28. Canada, 12 March 2010 (Follow Up) 75 29. Niger, 27/08/2010 (Urgent Action) 76 30. Chile 27/08/2010 (Urgent Action) 77 31. Colombia 27/08/2010 (Urgent Action) 79 32. Costa Rica 27/08/2010 (Urgent Action) 79 C. General Recommendations 81 1. General Recommendation No. 32. The meaning and scope of special measures in the International Convention on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination, August 2009 81 2. General Recommendation No. 33: Follow-up to the Durban Review Conference, August 2009 81 II. Human Rights Committee 82 A. Concluding Observations 82 1. Australia: CCPR/C/AUS/CO/5, 2 April 2009 82 2. Rwanda: CCPR/C/RWA/CO/3, 31 March 2009 84 3. Sweden: CCPR/C/SWE/CO/6, 2 April 2009 84 4. Tanzania: CCPR/C/TZA/CO/4, 6 August 2009 85 5. Russian Federation, CCPR/C/RES/CO/6, 24 November 2009 85 6. Ecuador, CCPR/C/ECU/CO/5, 24 November 2009 85 7. Mexico, CCPR/C/MEX/CO/5, 17 May 2010 86 8. Argentina, CCPR/C/ARG/CO/4, 31 March 2010 86 9. New Zealand, CCPR/C/NZL/CO/5, 7 April 2010 86 10. Colombia, CCPR/C/COL/CO/6, 4 August 2010 88 11. El Salvador, CCPR/C/SLV/CO/6, 27 October 2010 89 B. Jurisprudence under Optional Protocol I 89 1. Ángela Poma Poma v. Peru, CCPR/C/95/D/1457/2006, 24 April 2009 89 III. Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights 100 A. Concluding Observations 100 1. Australia: E/C.12/AUS/CO/4, 22 May 2009 100 2. Brazil: E/C.12/BRA/CO/2, 22 May 2009 104 3. Cambodia: E/C.12/KHM/CO/1, 22 May 2009 106 4. Democratic Rep. of Congo, E/C.12/COD/CO/4, 20 November 2009 108 5. Algeria, E/C.12/DZA/CO/4, 21 May 2010 110 6. Colombia, E/C.12/COL/CO/5, 21 May 2010 111 B. General Comments 114 1. General Comment No. 20, Non-Discrimination in Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (art. 2, para. 2), E/C.12/GC/20, 10 June 2009 114 IV. Committee on the Rights of the Child 124 A. Concluding Observations 124 1. Democratic Rep. of Congo, CRC/C/COD/CO/2, 10 February 2009 124 2. Bangladesh, CRC/C/BGD/CO/4, 26 June 2009 124 3. Bolivia, CRC/C/BOL/CO/4, 16 October 2009 125 4. Philippines, CRC/C/PHL/CO/3-4, 22 October 2009 129 5. Cameroon, CRC/C/CMR/CO/2, 29 January 2010 132 6. Ecuador, CRC/C/ECU/CO/4, 29 January 2010 134 7. El Salvador, CRC/C/SLV/CO/3-4, 29 January 2010 137 8. Norway, CRC/C/NOR/CO/4, 29 January 2010 139 9. Paraguay, CRC/C/PRY/CO/3, 29 January 2010 139 10. Argentina, CRC/C/ARG/CO/3-4, 11 June 2010 142 11.