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I . I D E N T I f I C AT I O N O f I N D I G E N O U S A N D T R I B A L P E O P L E S
1.1. COVERAGE Of ILO CONVENTION NO. 169
Indigenous and tribal peoples constitute at least 5,000 distinct peoples with a population of more
than 370 million, living in 70 different countries. This diversity cannot easily be captured in a universal
deinition, and there is an emerging consensus that a formal deinition of the term “indigenous peoples” is
neither necessary nor desirable. Similarly, there is no international agreement on the deinition of the term
“minorities” or the term “peoples”.
The Convention does not strictly
deine who are
indigenous and tribal peoples but rather describes the peoples it aims to protect Article 1.
ILO Convention No. 169 Article 11. This Convention applies to:
a tribal peoples in independent countries whose social, cultural and economic
conditions distinguish them from other sections of the national community, and
whose status is regulated wholly or partially by their own customs or traditions or by
special laws or regulations; b peoples in independent countries who are
regarded as indigenous on account of their descent from the populations which inhabited
the country, or a geographical region to which the country belongs, at the time of conquest
or colonisation or the establishment of present state boundaries and who, irrespective of
their legal status, retain some or all of their own social, economic, cultural and political
institutions. Article 12
Self-identiication as indigenous or tribal shall be regarded as a fundamental criterion
for determining the groups to which the provisions of this Convention apply.
Elements of tribal peoples include:
Culture, social organization, economic •
conditions and way of life different from other segments of the national population, e.g. in
their ways of making a living, language, etc.; Own traditions and customs andor special
• legal recognition.
Elements of indigenous peoples include:
Historical continuity, i.e. they are pre- •
conquestcolonization societies; Territorial connection their ancestors
• inhabited the country or region;
Distinct social, economic, cultural and political •
institutions they retain some or all of their own institutions.
The elements outlined in Article 11 constitute the
objective criteria of the coverage of ILO
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Convention No. 169. It can objectively be determined whether a speciic indigenous or tribal
people meets the requirements of Article 11 and recognizes and accepts a person as belonging to
their people.
Article 12 recognizes the self-identiication of
indigenous and tribal peoples as a fundamental criterion. This is the
subjective criterion of
Convention No. 169, which attaches fundamental importance to whether a given people considers
itself to be indigenous or tribal under the Convention and whether a person identiies himself or herself as
belonging to this people. Convention No. 169 was the irst international instrument to recognize the
importance of self-identiication.
The Convention’s coverage is based on a combination of the objective and subjective criteria.
Thus, self-identiication complements the objective criteria, and vice versa.
The Convention takes an inclusive approach and is equally applicable to both indigenous and
tribal peoples. The Convention thereby focuses on the present situation of indigenous and tribal
peoples, although the historical continuity and territorial connection are important elements in the
identiication of indigenous peoples.
The criteria elaborated in Article 11 b of Convention No. 169 have been applied widely for the purpose
of identifying indigenous peoples in international and national political and legal processes, far beyond the
group of States that have ratiied the Convention. It is used as an international working deinition for the
purpose of identifying indigenous peoples, including in the application of the UN Declaration on the
Rights of Indigenous Peoples, and has also been the basis on which various UN specialized agencies
have developed their own operational deinitions of the term indigenous peoples, including the
World Bank and the United Nations Development Programme.
UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples
The UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples identiies “indigenous
peoples” as being the beneiciaries of the rights contained in the Declaration, without
deining the term.
The preamble of the Declaration, however, makes reference to certain characteristics
normally attributed to indigenous peoples, such as their distinctiveness, dispossession
of lands, territories and natural resources, historical and pre-colonial presence in
certain territories, cultural and linguistic characteristics, and political and legal
marginalization.
Also, article 33, para.1, states that: Indigenous peoples have the right to
determine their own identity or membership in accordance with their customs and traditions.
This does not impair the right of indigenous individuals to obtain citizenship of the States
in which they live.
1.2. IDENTIfICATION Of INDIGENOUS PEOPLES IN STATISTICS
Kategori