HR/5135
Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues
Twelfth Session
7th Meeting (PM)
Member States , Intergovernmental Organizations, United Nations Agencies Weigh in on Relationship between Governments, Pastoralists
Chronic marginalization, insecurity, non-recognition of land rights, poor infrastructure and limited commercialization had all combined to make traditional pastoralists some of the poorest, most vulnerable and disenfranchised people in the world, speakers stated today as the Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues considered the plight of those populations in Africa.
Presenting a report on resilience, traditional knowledge and capacity-building for pastoralist communities in Africa was Permanent Forum Chair Paul Kanyinke Sena, who noted that pastoralism in Africa reached back at least 8,000 years and that the pastoralists had played a foundational role in forming an indigenous peoples’ civil society in the continent.
He said, however, that not all pastoralists in Africa considered themselves indigenous peoples, as that term was understood by the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights and the United Nations, but they were seeking to associate themselves with indigenous peoples’ rights, as their main challenge was the non-recognition of mobile land rights and tenure, stemming from colonial era laws that had eroded customary tenure systems and placed the rights of agricultural peoples first.
Concurring, Albert Barume of the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights, said that because hunters, gatherers and pastoralist peoples were nomads, they had left little sign of living on their land, allowing colonial Powers to claim that invisible land. He urged that measures be taken to correct that “historical injustice”, and noted that some African countries had done so.
Some speakers agreed that that legacy remained in contemporary Africa, throughout the lively debate that heard from Member States, intergovernmental organizations and United Nations bodies and specialized agencies.
A representative of the Ogiek Peoples’ Development said the Kenyan Government had forcibly removed the Ogieko people from the forests and turned over their land to Government officials and wealthy people. A representative of the Pastoralist Forum alleged forced evictions and other rights violations by the Government of the United Republic of Tanzania, which, the speaker said, had compelled them to migrate to urban areas, depriving them of their traditional livelihoods and exposing them to many health risks, including HIV/AIDS.
Several speakers told of other violations of the human rights of indigenous peoples, despite the presence, in some instances, of strong laws protecting them. The representative of Indigenous African Women, for example, detailed numerous breaches against pastoral women and girls ranging from their 75 per cent illiteracy rate in Eastern Africa to rates of violence against them that were so high that such acts were considered normal. In her home country, Kenya, most pastoralist women had to walk for hours to reach even basic health facilities. “Imagine a pregnant woman about to give birth” in that situation, she said.
Countering some of those assertions, the delegate from the United Republic of Tanzania said that his country had always expressed reservations about the claim that indigenous communities existed within its jurisdiction, as the “indigenous” notion was intended to belittle local communities during the colonial era, although, following independence, measures had been adopted to foster the well-being of all people, regardless of ethnicity or tribal affiliation.
The Kenyan Constitution, adopted in 2010, had created a new relationship between the Government and the governed, asserted that country’s representative. It was one of the most progressive documents in the world, particularly in terms of protecting the rights of marginalized and minority peoples, with an article explicitly dedicated to their inclusion. The devolved system of governance gave every community, down to the smallest, the right to choose how they would live, including in terms of making decisions about the use of resources. Still, it took time to get a new system of government to function effectively.
Also citing progress, Laurent Tengo, Legal Counsellor of the Congolese President, said that the will of African leaders to benefit indigenous peoples was clear, with most States on the continent supporting the Declaration and preparing to ratify the relevant International Labour Organization (ILO) convention.
Also speaking today was Forum member Edward John.
The delegates of Australia and Botswana also delivered statements.
A representative of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) also spoke, and statements were also made on behalf of the Indigenous Women’s Caucus, Kgalagadi Youth and Women’s Development Network, Indigenous Peoples Partnership in Climate Change and Forests, Indigenous Information Network and Women Environment Project, El Pueblo Indigena Bubi de la Isla de Bioko, MPIDO Indigenous Peoples’ Assistance Facility, Kalagi Youth and Women Development Network, Dakar Trust, Khwedom San Council, and the Movement for the Survival of Ogoni People.
The Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues will meet again at 10 a.m. Friday, 24 May, to continue its work.