Mexico: Racism, kicking and alive
In August 2007, Nobel Laureate Rigoberta Menchu, wearing a Mayan dress, the traditional attire of indigenous peoples in central America, was virtually thrown out by the staff at Cancun's five-star Hotel Coral Beach until other guests recognised Ms Menchú and interceded. She was in the Mexico at the request of President Felipe Calderón to participate in a conference on drinking water and sanitation and was due to give interviews at the hotel.
Nepal: Ratifies ILO Convention No. 169
On 22 August 2007, the Interim Parliament of Nepal
ratified the International Labour Organization
Convention No. 169 concerning Indigenous and Tribal Peoples in Independent
Countries. Ratification of ILO convention No. 169 was one of the 20-point
agreement reached between the government and the indigenous nationalities on 7
August 2007.
Peru: Ordered to report on the uncontacted tribes
About 15 different "uncontacted tribes" of Peru have been facing extinction by the impacts of the
outsiders. In August 2007, the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights
(IACHR) asked the government of Peru to submit a report on the measures taken
to protect the "uncontacted tribes" of
Amazon. The IACHR's directive came after the National
Association of Amazon Indians in Peru sent two appeals to the Commission
regarding the forcible displacement and the threat of assimilation due to gas
exploration in the Kugapakori-Nahua-Nanti Reserve in
the south-east of Peru and Barrett Resources and Repsol YPF in northern Amazon where at least two uncontacted tribes live.
BostwanaBushmen arrested for hunting
On 4 September 2007, the police withdrew all
charges against 21 Bushmen who were arrested in June and July 2007 for hunting
on their ancestral land in the Central Kalahari Game Reserve in Botswana. But
in the last week of August 2007, six other Gana and Gwi Bushmen were also arrested for hunting and they have
not been released. Earlier, on 13
December 2006, the High Court of Botswana upheld the rights of the Bushmen to
live in their ancestral lands in the Central Kalahari Game Reserve as well as
their hunting rights. But the government of Botswana continued to insist that
the Gana and Gwi tribals do not have the right to hunt within the reserve
and arrested those who were caught hunting. Contempt of the court by the
government!
Bangladesh: The CHTs Accord in tatters
On 27 August 2007, the High Court of Bangladesh
directed to the government of Bangladesh to explain as to why the Chittagong Hill Tracts (CHT) Peace Accord of 1997 signed
with the Parbatya Chattagram Jana Sanghati Samity (PCJSS) should not be declared "illegal". The two-judge bench
comprising Justice Shah Abu Nayeem Mominur Rahman and Justice Zubayer Rahman Chowdhury also set aside certain provision of the Peace
Accord by directing the authorities to allow the illegal plain settlers who
were implanted into the Chittagong Hill Tracts to
register themselves in the voters' list.
Although the Chittagong Hill Tracts Accord of 1997 has never been implemented by both the governments
of Sheikh Hasina who inked the Accord and her
successor Begum Khalida Zia,
the CHTs Accord remained to be the country's only
legal instrument to which the indigenous peoples of Chittagong Hill Tracts can look upto to safeguard their rights.
The direction of the High Court has come as a shot
in the arms of the military who have been involved in blatant violations of
human rights in the CHTs. It is strongly believed
that the government will not challenge part of the High Court's direction
relating to enrolment of the plan settlers in the voters' list in CHTs.
Sri Lanka: Veddas arrested for collecting honey
In August 2007, four indigenous Veddas were arrested for collecting honey at Maduru Oya National Park, Sri Lanka. They were collecting honey
for the annual Esala Perahera festival scheduled to be held at the Tooth Temple, Kandy on 24 August 2007. The festival is held to ward off hunger, disease and other
disasters. In 1983, the government designated their forest habitat as the Maduru Oya National Park and
banned them from hunting and gathering. In 1998, the government allowed a
specific number of tribals to hunt and gather in a
small area of the national park but those without permits face fines or
imprisonment if they are caught. The
four arrested indigenous persons were charged with illegal trespass and
carrying arms with intention to hunt..
SR on IPs: Limited promotion
On 28 September 2007, Human Rights Council extended
and revised the mandate of the Special Rapporteur on
Indigenous Peoples. S/he can promote UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous
Peoples “where appropriate” i.e. not in the US, Australia, Canada and New
Zealand!