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I I I . G O V E R N m E N T R E S P O N S I B I L I T I E S
All over the world, deep-rooted inequalities exist between indigenous peoples and the dominant
communities within state boundaries. ILO Convention No. 169 and the UN Declaration
call upon governments to ensure indigenous peoples’ fundamental rights and work together
with indigenous communities to end discrimination both as it relates to inequalities in outcomes –
differences in health, education, employment, etc – and as it relates to inequalities in the processes
of governance – participation and involvement of indigenous peoples in decision-making, government
institutions and programs. To achieve these ends, the Convention speciies the need for a coordinated
and
systematic action , which will ensure the
integration of indigenous rights into government structures across sectors and programs; b
reafirms that indigenous peoples must enjoy all fundamental
rights , granted to all citizens and c
provides for special measures, in order to eliminate discrimination.
3.1. COORDINATED AND SySTEmATIC ACTION
Indigenous peoples’ situation is the result of historical discrimination processes that have
inluenced all aspects of their lives and which cut across sectors and transcend administrative borders
and institutional structures. This is relected in the broad scope of Convention No, 169, covering the
whole range of issues pertaining to indigenous peoples’ rights and well-being. Consequently,
Convention No. 169 explicitly calls for governments to undertake coordinated and systematic action to
ensure that all the provisions of the Convention are fully implemented. This is relected in Article 2 of the
Convention:
Convention No. 169, Article 2: Article 21
Governments shall have the responsibility for developing, with the participation of
the peoples concerned, co-ordinated and systematic action to protect the rights of
these peoples and to guarantee respect for their integrity.
Article 22 Such action shall include measures for:
a Ensuring that members of these peoples beneit on an equal footing from the rights
and opportunities which national laws and regulations grant to other members of the
population; b Promoting the full realisation of the social,
economic and cultural rights of these peoples with respect for their social and cultural
identity, their customs and traditions and their institutions;
c Assisting the members of the peoples concerned to eliminate socio-economic gaps
that may exist between indigenous and other members of the national community, in a
manner compatible with their aspirations and ways of life.
Article 2 of the Convention speciies that the purpose of government action is to ensure equality
in terms of rights and opportunities and eliminate the socio-economic gap between indigenous peoples
and other sectors of society while recognising their special rights, needs and aspirations as peoples.
Practically, coordinated and systematic action implies undertaking comprehensive reviews and
revisions of laws, policies, programmes and projects to ensure that these are all aligned with
the provisions for indigenous peoples’ rights as well as the establishment of adequate monitoring
mechanisms to continuously assess the situation of indigenous peoples. All such action should be
undertaken with the participation of indigenous peoples and with due respect to their social and
cultural identity, customs, traditions, institutions, aspirations and ways of life. The provisions on co-
ordinated and systematic action are thus naturally linked to those on consultation and participation see
section 5.
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The ILO supervisory bodies have emphasized that such coordinated and systematic action
is the “key to overcoming the deep-seated and enduring inequality that affects indigenous
peoples”
Governing Body, 289
th
Session, March 2004, Representation under article 24 of the ILO
Constitution, Mexico, GB.289173: para.133. This is a crucial message, as indigenous peoples’ rights
are sometimes wrongly interpreted as providing more privileges and advantages to indigenous
peoples than to other sectors of society. On the contrary, recognition of indigenous peoples’ rights
is the prerequisite for these peoples to participate and beneit on an equal footing in the national
society and is as such an instrument to eliminate discrimination.
20 years after the adoption of Convention No. 169, and following the 2007 adoption of the UN
Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, it is generally acknowledged that the challenge
is to convert these rights into practical realities, through adequate measures and implementation
mechanisms. Convention No. 169 contains a series of speciic provisions on implementation to guide the
process. At the general level, the ILO supervisory bodies have often emphasized the need to read
Article 2 on coordinated and systematic action in conjunction with Article 33 on the establishment of
appropriate institutions and mechanisms:
Convention No. 169, Article 33: 1.
The governmental authority responsible for the matters covered in this Convention
shall ensure that agencies or other appropriate mechanisms exist to administer
the programmes affecting the peoples concerned, and shall ensure that they have
the means necessary for the proper fulilment of the functions assigned to them.
2.
These programmes shall include:
a the planning, co-ordination, execution and evaluation, in co-operation with the peoples
concerned, of the measures provided for in this Convention;
b the proposing of legislative and other measures to the competent authorities and
supervision of the application of the measures taken, in co-operation with the peoples
concerned.
Committee of Experts: general observation 2008, published 2009.
Articles 2 and 33 of the Convention, read together, provide that governments are under
an obligation to develop, with the participation of indigenous and tribal peoples, coordinated
and systematic action to protect the rights and to guarantee the integrity of these
peoples. Agencies and other appropriate mechanisms are to be established to
administer programmes, in cooperation with indigenous and tribal peoples, covering
all stages from planning to evaluation of measures proposed in the Convention.
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I I I . G O V E R N m E N T R E S P O N S I B I L I T I E S
Again, the Convention underlines that the participation of indigenous peoples in the planning,
coordination, execution, supervision and evaluation of such institutions and mechanisms is crucial as is
the provision of adequate resources.
The UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples has similar provisions on the states’
responsibilities:
The UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples:
Article 82 States shall provide effective mechanisms for
prevention of, and redress for: a Any action which has the aim or effect of
depriving them of their integrity as distinct peoples, or of their cultural values or ethnic
identities; b Any action which has the aim or effect of
dispossessing them of their lands, territories or resources;
c Any form of forced population transfer which has the aim or effect of violating or
undermining any of their rights; d Any form of forced assimilation or
integration; e Any form of propaganda designed
to promote or incite racial or ethnic discrimination directed against them.
Article 152 States shall take effective measures, in
consultation and cooperation with the indigenous peoples concerned, to combat
prejudice and eliminate discrimination and to promote tolerance, understanding and good
relations among indigenous peoples and all other segments of society.
Article 38 States in consultation and cooperation with
indigenous peoples, shall take the appropriate measures, including legislative measures, to
achieve the ends of this Declaration. According to the UN Special Rapporteur on the
situation of human rights and fundamental freedoms of indigenous people, implementing the UN
Declaration will normally require or may be facilitated by the adoption of new laws or the amendment
of existing legislation at the domestic level, as envisaged by Article 38 of the Declaration which
calls for appropriate “legislative measures”. Also new regulatory frameworks will normally be required, as
those in place in most countries are still lacking or insuficient. The Special Rapporteur highlights that
the legal and institutional transformations required by the Declaration are usually not suficiently addressed
solely by enacting speciic “indigenous laws”, as many states have done, but rather will normally also
involve the transformation of broader legal structures in key areas UN Document AHRC99 2008: para.
50.
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Coordination on indigenous issues within the UN system:
In 2001, the UN Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues UNPFII was established,
comprised of eight government and eight indigenous representatives. The UNPFII
meets every year, and thousands of indigenous representatives from all over the
world use the opportunity to present and discuss their issues and experiences. With
the establishment of the Permanent Forum, indigenous peoples have gained an important
platform within the UN from which they aspire to ensure that indigenous issues are taken
into consideration in all activities of the UN- System.
The mandate of the UNPFII is to provide expert advice and recommendations to the
UN Economic and Social Council ECOSOC and the UN system in general on issues of
importance for indigenous peoples. These recommendations can address almost every
aspect of indigenous peoples’ lives – namely economic and social development, culture,
the environment, education, health and human rights. Furthermore, the Forum shall
raise awareness and promote the integration and coordination of activities related to
indigenous issues within the UN system and prepare and disseminate information.
In parallel, more than 30 UN agencies, funds and programmes have established
the Inter-Agency Support Group IASG. The aim of the IASG is to support the
UNPFII and in general coordinate among its members to better promote indigenous
peoples’ rights throughout the UN system. This is in accordance with Article 42 of the
UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, which stipulates that:
The United Nations, its bodies, including the Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues, and
specialized agencies, including at the country level, and States shall promote respect for
and full application of the provisions of this Declaration and follow up the effectiveness of
this Declaration.
See more at: www.un.orgesasocdevunpii
3.2. fUNDAmENTAL RIGHTS
