1/01 INDIGENINDIGENOUSOUS AFFAFFAIRSAIRS RACISM IWGIAIWGIA Indigenous Affairs 1/01 1 contents editorial 4 Suhas Chakma international RACIAL DISCRIMINATION AGAINST INDIGENOUS PEOPLES A GLOBAL PERSPECTIVE 8 Chandra Roy america RACIAL DISCRIMINATION AGAINST INDIGENOUS PEOPLES IN THE UNITED STATES 16 Alberto Saldamando RACISM AND DISCRIMINATION AGAINST THE DAUGHTERS OF MOTHER EARTH 24 Tarcila Rivera Zea DECLARATION OF THE INDIGENOUS PEOPLES OF THE AMERICAS IN SANTIAGO DE CHILE WORLD CONFERENCE AGAINST RACISM, RACIAL DISCRIMINATION, XENOPHOBIA AND RELATED INTOLERANCE 32 oceania AUSTRALIA & RACE: STOP THE WORLD, WE WANT TO GET OFF! 34 Peter Jull and Kathryn Bennett THE PINTUPI LOSE A HERO OBITUARY FOR KUMANTJAYI ZIMRAN 1949-2000 41 David Ross 2 Indigenous Affairs 1/01 contents asia THE RESISTANCE OF THE INDIGENOUS PEOPLES OF ASIA AGAINST RACISM AND RACIAL DISCRIMINATION 42 Victoria Tauli-Corpuz THE ADIVASIS OF INDIA - A HISTORY OF DISCRIMINATION, CONFLICT AND RESISTANCE 54 C.R. Bijoy africa EVOLVING DISCRIMANION AGAINST THE FOREST PEOPLE (‘PYGMIES’) OF CENTRAL AFRICA 62 Justin Kenrick and Jerome Lewis Cover: Pygmy man, the Democratic Republic of Congo. Photo: Espen Wæhle Dao woman, Lao Cai Province, Vietnam. Photo: Christian Erni Young man from Jharkhand, India. Photo: Roger Begrich Indigenous Affairs is published 4 times per year INTERNATIONAL WORK GROUP FOR INDIGENOUS AFFAIRS International secretariat Editor: Marianne Jensen Classensgade 11 E, DK-2100 Price: Single copies US$ 5.00 + postage - (ISSN 1024-3283) Copenhagen, Denmark Subscription rate: Phone.: (+45) 35 27 05 00 US$ 40.00 (individuals) US$ 70.00 (institutions) Fax: (+45) 35 27 05 07 Please note that the views in this journal are those of the authors and do not E-mail: [email protected] necessarily reflect those of the Work Group. No reproduction of any part of this Website: www.iwgia.org journal may be done without the permission of IWGIA. IndigenousIndigenous Affairs Affairs 1/01 1/01 3 3 EDITORIAL EDITORIAL By Suhas Chakma “Notwithstanding the commitments made by the international community, especially at the World Conference on Human Rights (Vienna, June 1993) at which the rapid and complete elimination of all forms of racism and racial discrimination was declared to be a priority task of the international community, contributions to the Fund have remained below the levels hoped for. On 2 June 1995 it was reported that no contributions had been received for 1995… It is therefore certain that, unless a supplemen- LOOKING tary financing effort is made, very few of the activities planned for the period 1994-1997 will be carried out.” – The Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights on the Trust Fund for the Programme of Action for the Third Decade to BEYOND Combat Racism and Racial Discrimination (http:// www.unhchr.ch/html/menu2/9/vfracism.htm). APARTHEID he Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC), in its resolution no. 1993/8 stated that “voluntary contri- T butions to the Trust Fund for the Programme for the Decade for Action to Combat Racism and Racial Discrimination are indispensable for the implementation” of the programmes. In numerous resolutions, various United Nations bodies called for “generous contributions”. The Trust Fund has received no generous contributions and neither has the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) felt the need to update the website noted above. The state of the Trust Fund to Combat Racism does not bode well for the forthcoming “World Conference Against Racism, Racial Discrimination, Xenophobia and Related Intol- erance” (WCAR) to be held in Durban, South Africa from 31st August to 7th September this year. Background Since 1973, the General Assembly has designated three decades of action to combat racism and racial discrimina- tion. The UN has also organized two World Conferences Against Racism in 1978 and 1983 respectively. The First and Second World Conferences primarily focused on apartheid. But the scourge of racism continues to plague all societies. In 1993, the General Assembly, in its resolution (A/ RES/132 of 23 February 1993), proclaimed the “Third Decade to Combat Racism and Racial Discrimination and the convening of the World Conference against Racism, Racial Discrimination, Xenophobia and Related Intolerance”. The General Assembly resolution acknowledged that “indig- enous peoples are at times victims of particular form of racism and racial discrimination” and urged “The Secretary General, the United Nations bodies, the Specialised agencies, all Govern- ments, intergovernmental organizations and relevant non-gov- ernmental organizations, to pay particular attention to the situation of indigenous people”. Young girl from the Andean area of Peru. Photo: The International Labour Office 4 IndigenousIndigenous AffairsAffairs 1/011/01 In 1997, as part of the Third Decade to Combat Racism and mental Preparatory Conferences held in France, Chile, Racial Discrimination, the General Assembly decided Senegal and Iran, NGO fora prior to the Regional Prepara- (resolution 52/111) to convene the Third World Confer- tory Conferences and NGO Networking Meetings in Po- ence Against Racism no later than 2001. The Commission land, Botswana, Jordan, Nepal, and Ecuador. A cursory on Human Rights, in its resolution 2000/14, requested the scrutiny of the preparatory processes reveals that there preparatory processes for the WCAR “to identify trends, has been little introspection as to why the Programme of priorities and obstacles at the national and regional levels, to Action for the Third Decade to Combat Racism and Racial formulate specific recommendations for the action to be carried Discrimination has failed to make any progress. out in future to combat racism, racial discrimination, xenopho- The Regional Expert Seminars were organised on the- bia and related intolerance and to submit to the Preparatory matic issues. None of the Regional Expert Seminars fo- Committee, by its 2001 session at the latest”. cused exclusively on indigenous peoples. In the European region, indigenous peoples’ representatives were not in- cluded – not even in the NGO Steering Committee. Indigenous perspectives Among the Governmental Regional Preparatory Con- ferences, only the Regional Preparatory Conference for the The forthcoming WCAR is potentially of great signifi- Americas – held in Santiago de Chile - addressed indig- cance to the indigenous peoples of the world. Indigenous enous issues with any substance, as the large group of peoples face all kinds of racial discrimination on the basis indigenous representatives successfully managed to in- of their race, colour, descent, national or ethnic origin. fluence the governments. The European Regional Confer- Many states in Asia, Africa and South America not only ence failed to refer to indigenous peoples. The African, deny equal rights for indigenous peoples through racially East European and Asian Regional Conferences referred motivated laws but also legally sanction summary execu- only obliquely to indigenous peoples. tions to silence all forms of opposition on the part of Most of the NGO Fora had little influence on the indigenous peoples against domination and assimila- Regional Governmental Declarations and the participa- tion. Racial discrimination against the aborigines in Aus- tion of NGOs was restricted. In the Tehran Asian Regional tralia and Native Americans in North America requires Preparatory Conference, Ambassador Ali Khorram of Iran, little introduction. Although many national constitutions Chairman of the Drafting Committee publicly regretted prohibit racial discrimination, there is a yawning gap that the contributions of the NGOs could not be accommo- between rhetoric and reality. Institutionalised, pervasive dated. Even the “Elements for a Draft Declaration and and rampant societal discrimination against indigenous Programme of Action” of the Secretary General of the peoples impairs the recognition, enjoyment or exercise, on WCAR, which was presented for the Inter-sessional Open- an equal footing, of human rights and fundamental ended Working Group meeting in Geneva in the begin- freedoms in the political, economic, social, cultural or any ning of March 2001, did not include a single paragraph other field of public life. Although the First and Second from any of the Declarations of the NGO Fora facilitated World Conferences recognised indigenous peoples’ rights, by the Secretariat. This fact alone seems to make a farce of only a few programmes of action for indigenous peoples NGO participation altogether. have in fact been implemented. Apart from participating in the various preparatory The Final Declaration and Programme of Action of the meetings around the world in order to try to influence the WCAR will be a statement of intent. The right to self- texts in terms of addressing indigenous issues, indig- determination, the right to the ownership, exploitation, enous peoples have also organized their own conferences control and utilisation of their land and territories, the in order to make a substantial input to the process. One recognition of indigenous peoples’ special relationship such major meeting was a preparatory meeting on indig- with land, the right to determine their own pace of devel- enous peoples and racism in Australia, New Zealand, opment, compensation for all forms of racial discrimina- Canada, Hawaii and the United States, held in Sydney, tion and, most importantly, the right to be recognised as Australia. Also, the indigenous peoples from Nunavut, “peoples”