Events in the international community

United Nations General Assembly

57th Session, New York, 2002

Statement by Caroline Lewis, ILO Liaison Office, New York

Agenda Item 106: Programme of activities of the International Decade of the World’s Indigenous People

The world’s 350 million indigenous and tribal peoples are frequently the most impoverished and disadvantaged groups in any country. Indigenous and tribal peoples are often in a numerical minority living under national laws that do not address their specific situations, characteristics and needs.  The ILO believes that indigenous peoples need not only their rights as workers and their right to decent work promoted and protected, but also their right to be protected from all forms of exploitation and discrimination.

The ILO became involved in the plight of indigenous peoples through its examination of forced labour conditions among so-called ‘native populations’ in colonies in the 1920s – indigenous and tribal peoples were often part of the colonial workforce. The same impulse that gave rise to the ILO’s Forced Labour Convention, led to standards and development work on indigenous and tribal peoples and the adoption of the only two international instruments (then and today) relating exclusively to indigenous and tribal peoples: the Indigenous and Tribal Populations Convention 1957 (No. 107) and its update, the Indigenous and Tribal Peoples Convention 1989 (No. 169).  

ILO Conventions 107 and 169 establish minimum standards with respect to the civil, political, social and economic rights of indigenous and tribal peoples. Convention 169, particularly, provides for equality in the treatment of, and opportunities offered to, indigenous peoples, including access to health, social security, education and employment.

At the same time, it recognizes the right of indigenous peoples to retain their own culture and customary laws, including self-identification, traditional land rights and language. The Convention gives indigenous peoples the right to be consulted, to express views and to participate in decision-making processes on the outcome of matters affecting their lives. This could be, for example, in relation to an amendment to national agrarian laws or more locally, on plans for a hydroelectric project that threatens to displace their populations. To date, 17 States have ratified Convention 169, and the ILO wishes to encourage other countries to follow suit.

The ILO is heavily involved in providing technical assistance to help improve the living and working conditions of indigenous and tribal peoples. The ILO’s Project to Promote Policy on Indigenous and Tribal Peoples aims at increasing dialogue, co-operation and understanding between indigenous peoples and governments and at enhancing the capacity of indigenous and tribal peoples to participate in and take responsibility for, the processes that affect them. The Project is active in Cambodia, India, Laos, Thailand, Cameroon, Kenya, Namibia, South Africa and Tanzania.

Further, to increase indigenous peoples’ employment opportunities, an ILO Interregional Programme (INDISCO) encourages the creation of indigenous cooperatives and other forms of self-help associations, all of which are devised, implemented and evaluated by the communities themselves. The Programme is active in Central America and the Peruvian Amazon as well as the Philippines, Thailand and Viet Nam.

It is the sincere hope of the ILO that the creation of the Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues can contribute to a greater global awareness of the situation of the world’s indigenous and tribal peoples and to the urgent need for improvement of their human rights. The ILO actively participated in the preparations for the establishment of the Permanent Forum and its first session.

In addition, the ILO has played a central role in the creation of an Inter-Agency Support Group to the Permanent Forum, which was established in January 2002 and now consists of 16 UN bodies. The Support Group provides an opportunity for agencies to discuss their work on indigenous issues and coordinate both their contributions to the Forum and their responses at national, regional and international levels.

The Forum provides, for the first time, a true vehicle for the advocacy of indigenous peoples’ rights and a chance for indigenous peoples and governments to meet on an equal basis to address mutual concerns. The ILO hopes, through a unified effort between States, UN agencies, NGOs and other organizations, that the Forum will make long-awaited progress and, in the words of Chairperson Ole Henrik Magga, remain “action-orientated and focused on solutions”.