A New Year’s Resolution for governments
by Matthew
It’s a new year, a new decade even, and as always, the usual resolutions are being formed; do more exercise, get a new hobby, write a book…
But there’s one resolution that should be top of the list for all governments across the world; to ratify ILO Convention 169 on the rights of indigenous and tribal peoples – if they haven’t already.
Chakma child of Bangladesh. Ratification of ILO 169 should increase the Chakma peoples’ involvement in decisions about their lands.
© Mark McEvoy/Survival
Bangladesh has made some moves towards ratification. State Minister Dipankar Talukder recently said ratification should be possible and expressed the government’s commitment to protecting the rights of indigenous people.
Others flatly reject the Convention. The UK says it won’t ratify it because there are no tribal peoples in the country.
But that hasn’t stopped the Netherlands from ratifying it, and the UK’s Joint Human Rights Committee recently acknowledged that British companies ‘frequently exert an enormous impact on indigenous peoples… and their activities escape effective regulation’.
ILO 169 is the only international law for tribal peoples, recognizing their rights to land ownership and to consultation about projects that affect them. It’s 20 years old, but only 20 countries have ratified it.
Governments should take the opportunity to make 2010 the start of a new decade of respect for indigenous rights. First on their list should be ratifying Convention 169.