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3.5. COmmENTS By THE ILO SUPERVISORy BODIES: COORDINATED AND SySTEmATIC
ACTION
Mexico: Coordinated and systematic action at all levels of governance
In 2004-5, the ILO’s supervisory bodies dealt with a set of extensive allegations regarding non-
implementation of Convention No. 169, including in the context of constitutional reforms at both the
federal and state levels in Mexico. Considering that some provisions of the reforms delegated the
responsibility for regulating matters such as the criteria for recognition of indigenous peoples and
communities to federated entities, the Committee of Experts underlined the importance of Article 2
of the Convention and requested the Government to “take the necessary measures to ensure,
with the participation of the peoples concerned, coordinated and systematic action to protect the
rights of indigenous peoples and to guarantee that, when adopting the relevant legislative and
administrative measures, both at the level of the federal Government and of state assemblies, the
rights set forth in the Convention are guaranteed as a minimum common denominator” Committee of
experts, 75th Session, 2004, Observation, Mexico, published 2005.
Furthermore, making reference to the general framework of discrimination existing in Mexico and
noting that in effect the socio-economic situation of indigenous populations is inferior to that of the
population in general, the Committee stressed the need for a particular effort by the Government to end
this situation and emphasized that this is the task that the Government itself undertook when ratifying
Convention No. 169.
The Committee also noted the programmes formulated by the Government to achieve equality
for indigenous peoples and underlined that “increasing the number of isolated plans is not
suficient to achieve an effective inclusion policy. It is not entirely clear where the complementary
nature and coordination between the programmes described by the Government lies”.
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The Committee stressed that full and effective application of Article 2 on coordinated and
systematic action “is key to overcoming the deep-seated and enduring inequality that affects
indigenous peoples”. Therefore, it requested the Government that, “when establishing the various
development plans and programmes for the peoples concerned, it ensures that these fall within
a framework of coordinated and systematic action, with the full participation of the indigenous peoples”.
Governing Body, 289
th
Session, March 2004, Representation under article 24 of the ILO
Constitution, Mexico, GB.289173.
Bolivia: Coordinated and systematic action. In 2004, the Bolivian Government reported to the
Committee of Experts that, “in a context of great dispersion of the support provided for indigenous
development, a structured approach has been developed focusing on fundamental aspects and
the ethnic democratization of the country”. In 2003, a Ministry had been created with responsibility for
Indigenous Affairs and Aboriginal Peoples MAIPO as the leading state body for indigenous matters,
“responsible for ensuring the preparation and implementation of standards, policies, programmes
and projects relating to indigenous peoples, even though other ministries, such as the Ministry of
Mining and Hydrocarbons, also manage projects relating to indigenous matters in their ields of
competence”.
The Government indicated that, in order to facilitate the participation of indigenous peoples, an Advisory
Council had been established, composed of six government representatives and six representatives
of indigenous organizations. The Council has operated on an irregular basis, particularly due to
the constant rotation of the personnel of both the state bodies and indigenous organizations, but the
Government indicated that priority is to be given to its reactivation and consolidation.
The Committee of Experts expressed concern at the irregular functioning of the machinery for
participation and consultation and emphasized that “the achievement of permanent dialogue at all levels,
as required by the Convention, would contribute to preventing conlict and building an inclusive model
of development”. Furthermore, the Committee noted that “the fundamental problem for the application
of the Convention is not so much the absence of legislation, as the dificulties in its implementation”
and urged the Government to redouble its efforts to achieve the coordination of existing programmes,
with the participation of indigenous peoples at all stages of their implementation, from planning
through to evaluation.
Furthermore, the Government indicated that practices of exclusion and discrimination continued
to affect public policies lack of clarity and precision, particularly in the promotion of equitable
economic development and the formulation and implementation of laws. The 1995 changes to
the Constitution opened up new and substantial possibilities to reverse the situation of exclusion
which had historically affected indigenous peoples. The special measures developed in this regard
included the creation of Indigenous Municipal Districts DMI. However, the implementation
encountered dificulties, due to the discontinuous nature of indigenous lands; the dual frontiers
between the political division of the State and indigenous lands, which had given rise to the
overlapping of territories; the granting of title to community lands, which had not always followed
municipal limits and given rise to incompatibilities between public ownership, private property and
communal property; and the establishment of municipalities without considering their viability,
combined with a centralized distribution of resources.
Committee of Experts, 76
th
Session, 2005, Individual Direct Request, Bolivia, submitted 2006.
Guatemala: The need for continuous dialogue on application
In 2007, the Committee of Experts noted that a coordinating body the Indigenous Interinstitutional
Coordination of the State had been set up in Guatemala, comprising 29 state institutions
involved in indigenous issues with the purpose of coordinating and advising on public policy relating
to indigenous peoples. The Committee of Experts recalled that Articles 2 and 33 of Convention No.
169 provide for coordinated and systematic action with the participation of indigenous peoples from
the conception through to the evaluation stages of the measures provided for in the Convention.
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It emphasized that consultation “extends beyond consultation on speciic cases: it means that
application of the provisions of the Convention must be systematic and coordinated and undertaken in
cooperation with the indigenous peoples as part of a gradual process in which suitable bodies and
machinery are established for the purpose”. Committee of Experts, 77
th
Session, 2006, Observation, Guatemala, published 2007.
Argentina: Development of adequate mechanisms, at federal and provincial levels
In Argentina, several initiatives were taken in 2006-7 to strengthen the institutional basis for
better implementation of Convention No. 169, particularly the bodies responsible for coordinated
and systematic action Articles 2 and 33 of the Convention, and those responsible for consultation,
participation and representativeness issues.
In this context, an Indigenous Participation Council CPI was established, with a mandate that included
ensuring indigenous peoples’ participation in the alignment of domestic legislation with Convention
No. 169. Also, the CPI set up a bureau for the coordination of representatives at regional level.
In a second stage, a Coordinating Council will be established, consisting of representatives of the
Ministries of the Interior, the Economy, Labour, Education and Justice, the provinces and the
indigenous peoples to oversee the National Register of Indigenous Communities, identify problems and
establish priorities for solving them, and setting up the programme of activities of the National Institute
for Indigenous Affairs INAI for the long- and medium-term.
The Committee of Experts noted with interest that the Government is laying the institutional bases
for coordinated and systematic application of the Convention, and expressed the hope that the
Government would pursue its efforts to strengthen these bodies in order to broaden the institutional
basis for further participation of indigenous peoples in public policies affecting them, in accordance with
Articles 2 and 33 of the Convention.
With regards to federalism, the Committee of Experts noted “that the Government refers to
dificulties in applying some key provisions of the Convention, such as those pertaining to land and
natural resources, because of the deepening of federalism that occurred following the constitutional
reform of 1994 which placed responsibility for these matters in the hands of the provinces”. The
Committee noted the priority given to establishing federal competence for matters involving indigenous
communities and peoples. The Constitution of the Argentine Republic provides for involvement of the
provinces in the issuing of legislation, which means that the provinces can take part in developing the
rights of indigenous peoples and communities in law, provided they recognize the minimum fundamental
rights laid down in the national Constitution. In this context, it is important to note that in Argentine law
international treaties such as Convention No. 169 take precedence over national law Constitution,
Arts. 31 and 75, para. 22.
The Committee expressed the hope that the national Government would take the necessary steps to
disseminate the rights laid down in the Convention among provincial governments and parliaments,
and that it would make use of the abovementioned participation to ensure that the provincial parliaments
develop legislation that meets the requirements of the Convention.
Committee of Experts, 77
th
Session, 2006, Observation, Argentina, published 2007; 79
th
Session, 2008, Argentina, published 2009; Governing Body representation, 2008, GB.
303197.
3.6. PRACTICAL APPLICATION: GOVERNmENT RESPONSIBILITIES
Kategori