1

Dear delegates, My name is Jesslin Guvani and I will be your Director for General Assembly Third Committee, which also known as Social, Cultural and Humanitarian Committee (SOCHUM) in E-Model United Nations 2011 at the 15th ALSA National English Competition. I look forward to see some great ideas and opinions that every one of you will bring forth to the table, as well as your great enthusiasm in participating in this competition. Im currently a freshman in the University of Indonesia, majoring in law. I come to find business law to be most interesting, thus that is what I plan to focus on for the next coming years. The faculty of law is filled with many organizations, but as for now the only organization I take part in is ALSA, but I am also reconsidering to join others in the future. In between my studies, I enjoy reading English literature and listening to my favorite songs while Im at it. Books I found most interesting up to this moment are books written by Malcolm Gladwell, Mitch Albom, and Steve Harvey, but other than that, I love to spend some time just by spending some great quality time with my family during any day of the week, and some friends alongside. Last but not least, it is to say that this competition has been well thought out and planned by every each one of us and we all hope that this competition may bring inspiration and new experiences to all of us. This year, General Assembly Third Committee (SOCHUM) will bring The Protection of the Rights of Indigenous People, Their Environment and its Correlation with The Rights of Self Determination as the topic area to be discussed in E-Model United Nations 2011 conference. Im confident that in all of your efforts poured throughout extensive and comprehensive research, you will come to find more understanding towards the current indigenous people rights issues, and I hope that by doing so it will build up your desires into joining future model united nations conference at national and international level. I am glad to say the committee has done an incredible job within their research of this issue, but nevertheless there is always room for improvement, any new ideas, opinions, or anything at all that is related to the issue that you may want to share with us, is very much welcome. By doing research, Im positive that all of you intellectual youngsters will find great useful additional facts, theories, and information about your countrys stance. Your willingness to participate in this competition has given me great enthusiasm and thrill, and if you have any questions during this event, please dont hesitate to ask me. I will be glad to help. I hope to see you at the conference soon !

Sincerely,

Jesslin Guvani Director of the General Assembly Third Committee (SOCHUM) ALSA 15th National English Competition jesslin.guvani@gmail.com

Dear fellow delegates,

I am Narendranaatha Hartarto and I will be your Assistant Director for General Assembly Third Committee (SOCHUM) in E-Model United Nations 2011 at the 15th Asian Law Students Association National English Competition. I am anxious to see new faces in this MUN conference and I am also curious as to see what you will bring into this fun event. Senior high school participants will have a blast after their lengthy preparation , as well as have a crazy time role playing as a UN delegate representing their selected countries. This time I hope to see more people actively taking part in the arguments, and dont be shy first timers as it can be in this event that you find your moment alongside with a myriad of new friends. We have the utmost confidence that you will have an unforgettable memory. I am currently a freshman in University of Indonesia, currently majoring in law and still planning to study international law in the future, with some aspects of corporate law added. This model united nations (MUN) organising committee activity is what I do after I finish my classes, so far I did it because I love MUN and the fact that time wise these activities are flexible and they dont clash with my campus activities, thus giving me time to balance between work and leisure. Sometime later, I intend to join an international MUN competition , hopefully in those in Europe. In my free time, I just love to spend my time chilling with my friends over a summer movie or over a fun video game, especially things which have elements of action such as Call of Duty and Halo. But I do not narrow myself to the first person shooting (FPS) genre, also role playing game (RPG) genre is also one of my favorite pastimes. I also read a lot, though I do not discriminate in printed media as I get m hands on things like novels (currently reading up on Nabokov), philosophy (just finished Musashis Five Rings), encyclopedias (especially those published by Doring Kindersley), comics (Marvel & DC Comics), Manga (even Manhua and Manhwa too). But I also like to balance all my nerdiness with sports, and I do love combat sports especially the ultimate-fighting championship (UFC), but I am not limiting myself to a sports nerd who just watch to catch a conversation , recently I do bungee jumping with my friends. This year, General Assembly Third Committee (SOCHUM) will be discussing The Protection of the Rights of Indigenous People, Their Environment and Its Correlation with The Rights of Self Determination, with the floor being split into blocs regarding their standing to affirm the rights or to counter them. Remember that your performance will be backed up by your communication, presentation, and leadership skills. Whether you choose to be the one standing at the back daydreaming or whether you choose to immerse yourself in this event is up to you but at the end of it all your actions will determine the end results. So have fun, go crazy and win.

Sincerely,

Narendranaatha Hartarto Assistant Director of the General Assembly Third Committee (SOCHUM) ALSA 15th National English Competition happy_smiley_friendly@hotmail.com

Dear delegates,

First of all, let me introduce myself. My name is Rian Fachmi Tobing and people call me by my nickname, Rian. It is an honour and pleasure for me to welcome you all to the 15th ALSA National English Competition Model United Nations 2011. I will be your Assistant Director for the General Assembly Third Committee, also known as Social, Cultural and Humanitarian Committee. This would be my first Model United experience. I really excited to start my debut here. I guarantee that this will really be an experience that will be unforgetable experience for all delegates. Here is a short explanation about myself, I was born in Bali, Indonesia on 1992. I am currently enrolling a freshman at University of Indonesia, majoring in law. I am planning to concentrate on international law in the near future. My passion for international relations is to be an ambassador or anything that related with diplomatic work. This dream to work as an ambassador came to my mind, when i traveled abroad and, mostly when i went to Netherlands for a cultural mission. From this expereience, i devote myself to work on to achieve my goal to be an ambassador. However, i also like to learn more about national politics, including the know-how on legislative system, such as in House of Representative or Congress cameral in US. I spend my leisure time by going somewhere with my friend or family, swimming, reading many books, watching movies, listening to music and also playing video games. Activity that i like the most is going to some places for fun, visiting tourist spot, and culinary. I do these activities often with my friends from my high shool. We often try to find more and more interesting places for our own leisure and stay for a night or more sometimes. But sometimes, checking hot news on the internet is a fun thing to do, opening website that contain unique post and else. From my hobbies of travelling, it keeps my interest on learning Dutch, Spanish, Japanese language. So far ive tavelled to Netherlands, Belgium, France, Germany, Singapore, Malaysia, and China. One day surely id like to travel to more countries. This year, the issue we have brought for General Assembly Third Committee is The Protection on the Rights of Indigenous People, Their Environment and Its Correlation with The Rights of Self Determination. I hope that you will find the issue to be very exciting and challenging at the same time, as you will carry out a sufficient research on the issue. I trust all of you will bring some new ideas to the table and elaborate the stance that you have chosen to take, your countrys foreign policies and last but not least, the srategic solution to solve the problem. It would be great idea if you prepare logical, factual and superior counter-arguments which will be used as a response to persuade other delegates that are opposed to what you have made. Please feel free to ask me anything that you dont understand regarding the topic. I really want to see each of your presentation regarding the topic area and im so confident that you will present us a lively and competitive debate. I look forward to meet and get to know all of you.

Sincerely,

Rian Fachmi Tobing Assistant Director for General Assembly Third Committee (SOCHUM) ALSA 15th National Competition E-Model United Nations 2011 riantobing@hotmail.com

General Assembly Third Committee : The Protection of the Rights of Indigenous People, Their Environment and its Correlation with The Rights of Self-Determination
Introduction Natives are a group of individuals which share common ancestry, cultural history and/or even migration background for occupying a certain location or land. Being early pioneers and original settlers who are then forced to relinquish their land to the western colonies, although the land rightfully belongs to them it has been time and time that Natives have always been the receiving end of injustices subjected by their colonizers, this is shown in the case of native Indians in the American continent and the Aborigines in the Australian continent. During the initial invasion, the colonizers would implement modern weaponry whereas areas of diplomacy have failed their duty. Without proper consent they paid the natives in lead in which out of the desperation the natives had to resort to counter violence until they surrendered and gave away their land. Armed treason as a means to gain parliament and dominance, surely with the advancement of gun powder and weapons the indigenous people can only taste the other end of the barrel. In Australia for example, the natives are treated unjustly, as in they were not given the right to wander outside their given areas and also given a lower hierarchy in the usage of facilities and even their own natural resources. This was an issue that was not settled down and it remains to be unsolved for the coming years. Another example to add would be the segregation of schools for the invaders and the natives which are mandatory to attend. Another example, in the past times of United States of America, a deal was made between the indigenous groups and their invaders, this deal regarding the division of land, products, and everything else. An act instigated by the native chief who did not want to extend the unnecessary bloodshed between the two factions. The colonizer however decides otherwise and broke the treaty with their sheer military advantage. As they do have the ability they can and they did without much repercussion. Obviously this greatly diminished the number of natives and until now no legal action has been properly addressed regarding the incident which in itself is a gross violation of human rights. It is however merely an act of military supremacy to show power, power that has neglected morality, simply to benefit the colonizer for a better alternative. Up until today, the natives of both America and Australia have been living in low standards compared to their colonizing counterparts. These phenomenon didnt stop in these two countries, but felt by many indigenous people around the world. As an example much of the natives in America are still living with the same conditions, although not as harsh as their existence from the beginning of their time.

As one of the six committee of the General Assembly in the United Nations which holds its function to solve global issues relating to social, cultural and humanitarian matters, General Assembly Third Committee, or officially known as The Social, Humanitarian and Cultural Committee, indigenous people-related issues has been a prominent topic of the discussion of diplomats and states representative nowadays. Natives or indigenous people have always been someting inseparable to the richness of the history and the culture of all member states of United Nations and negligence towards the rights of natives/indigenous people have been really severe. The repression and negligence towards the fulfillment of the basic rights of indigenous people, including the protection to their environment, often resulted in uprising and often leads to ethnonationalism. Ethno-nationalism relates with individuals, communities and peoples basic right to self determination and seems to settle their needs to fulfill their rights by confronting their states government. Many countries tried to suppress the uprising of indigenous people . It brought more complex problem, primordialistic and ethnocentrism spread among minds of the conflicting parties and often also cause a severe violation of human rights and even violation of international humanitarian law to the natives, such as people in Darfur, Sudan where Janjaweed militia exterminated natives living in the area. History of the Committee The Social, Humanitarian Cultural Affairs Commitee or known as General Assembly Third Committee generally discuss the issue relating to social, humanitarian affairs and human rights issues which vitally affect people all over the world. More specifically, the Committee bring the topic of advancement of women, the protection of children, indigenous issues, the treatment of refugees, the promotion of fundamental freedoms through the elimination of racism and racial discrimination, and the promotion of the right to self- determination. Other issues related to youth, family, ageing, persons with disabilities, crime prevention, criminal justice, and drug control were also another issues talked on the floor of General Assembly Third Committee 1. By inserting the issue of indigenous people in UN General Assembly Third Committee, the discussion on their rights, their aspirations to call for protection to their surrounding environment become more common. However, discussion to refer the issue of indigenous people and its correlation with the rights of self-determination wasnt a common topic. Government often avoid to talk about indigenous people in one hand and rights of self determination in other hand since this will lift the phenomenon of ethnonationalism and separatism, which will hamper their political stability.

Progress on the global acceptance to the fulfillment of the rights of indigenous people exceled at the floor of UN since the initiative in forming the UN Permanent Forum on Indigenous, Expert Mechanism on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples and the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights and fundamental freedoms of indigenous Peoples in 1980s2. In 1982 the Working
1 2

http://www.un.org/en/ga/third/index.shtml http://www.un.org/esa/socdev/unpfii/en/about_us.html

Group on Indigenous Populations (WGIP) of the Sub-Commission on the Promotion and Protection of Human Rights (then called Sub-Commission on Prevention of Discrimination and Protection of Minorities) was established by a decision of the United Nations Economic and Social Council. In 1994, the UN General Assembly initiated the International Decade of the Worlds Indigenous People (from 1994 to 2005) to increase the United Nations' commitment in promoting and protecting the rights of indigenous peoples globally, together with UN specialized agencies projects on health, education, housing, employment, development and the environment that promote the protection of indigenous peoples and their traditional customs, values and practices. This is followed by the Second Decade of the Worlds Indigenous People, which will start from 2005 until 2015, adopted in UNGA Resolution 59/174, in order to strengthen the multinational cooperation for the solution of problems faced by indigenous people in such areas as culture, education, health, human rights, the environment and social and economic development, by means of action oriented programmes and specific projects, increased technical assistance and relevant standard setting activities3. In September 13th, 2007, UN General Assembly adopted Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous, resuming and collecting work and struggle on the fulfillment of the rights of indigenous people in UN for twenty years which began in 1985 and became one of the most comprehensive statement of the rights of indigenous peoples ever developed, giving prominence to collective rights to a degree unprecedented in international human rights law4.

3 4

http://www.un.org/esa/socdev/unpfii/en/history.html Ibid.

10

History and Discussion of the Problem In 1923, Haudenosaunee Chief Deskaheh travelled to Geneva to speak to the League of Nations and defend the right of his people to live under their own laws, on the own land and under their own faith. Even though he was not allowed to speak and returned home in 1925, his vision nourished the generations that followed.

Photo

of

Chief

Deskaheh.

Source

http://www.un.org/esa/socdev/unpfii/en/abo _us.html
A similar journey was made by Maori religious leader T.W. Ratana. To protest the breaking of the Treaty of Waitangi concluded with the Maori in New Zealand in 1840 that gave Maori ownership of their lands, Ratana first traveled to London with a large delegation first to petition King George, but he was denied access. He then sent part of his delegation to Geneva to the League of Nations and arrived there later himself, in 1925, but was also denied access5. Photo of Maori religious leader, T.W. Ratana. Source :

http://www.un.org/e sa/socdev/unpfii/en/ about_us.html

Throughout the history of mankind, people have been fighting to achieve the protection and recognition of the indigenous peoples rights although many, or shall we say, most of the time, it has been denied or violated. Even though indigenous peoples only occupy 20% of the worlds land surface, but they embody and nurture 80% of the worlds cultural and biological diversity. Indigenous
5

Ibid.

11

peoples are the inheritors and practitioners of unique cultures and ways of relating to other people and to the environment. Many has changed among the people of the world through globalization but the indigenous peoples have retained social, cultural, economic and political characteristics that are distinct from those of the dominant societies in which they live. The classic, genuine, and authentic culture of each country and nation have yet survived, thus remained in the indigenous peoples way of life. As side from the fact that indigenous peoples around the world have different culture and customs, and that there are a great variety and spread of indigenous people all over the world, they do have one thing in common, is that they share the same problems related to the protection of their rights as distinct peoples. Nevertheless, it is to say that the indigenous peoples are arguably among the most disadvantaged and vulnerable groups of people in the world today. There are not only few, but many times in history of where we find the indigenous people struggling to fight for problems that travels in a wide range of issues, starting from recognition of their identities at the least and ways of life, to the more complex issues such as their right to traditional lands, territories and natural resources. What is even more ironic is that some of the times, the indigenous people are not aware of their rights and what they are entitled to, causing them to find no reason to sought after any of their rights above. Clearly that raises their vulnerability and has become a spot of weakness to be taken advantage of, that expands the problem to a larger measure where not only do they have no right upon their territory but their natural resources have become an object of exploitation, we can see the indigenous people of papua for example, where their land has been exploited for its gold, and they are to work for this foreign company, most likely to get their wage but what they are missing is that, that is not the only thing that they are entitled to. They are entitled to their land, their rights to be able to process their natural resources, but they seem to lack the technology or education and knowledge to support that, thus for that they are relying the foreign people and lose a lot of profit because of it. The international community now recognizes that special measures are required to protect the rights of the world's indigenous peoples. As previously mentioned, we know that indigenous people have often found their lands and cultures overridden by more dominant societies, and this is not a new issue. At first, it may not seem like the land is being overridden but as the effect of globalization, some may see it as the growth of the countrys economics in the form of foreign investment, but what people do not realise is some of the time the area of the land being used for economical purposes by the foreign country has evacuated the indigenous people from their home and righteous land, this has all been ignored due to the main focus; which is to gain as much profit and land possible. Now as we analyse through the issues, we can not only broaden our awareness, but also see the problem of the indigneous people has come to bubble up to the surface and we can finally see that this is issue is not only skindeep. Economical issues of the country and foreign investors is one thing, the other that we should also acknowledge is the effect of the companies toxic waste has caused a great deal of disturbance to the indigenous people who live around the area, and may affect their health, as an example, the case of oil spill from Texaco (now operated by Chevron) in Ecuador. Native Americans are still being taken advantage of to this day. What little

12

portion of land they've been permitted to inhabit by the US government is being reacquired for use as toxic waste sites. Scientists have even come forward to contend the effects of living near this waste are not harmful. Americans must ask themselves if these practices would be similarly condoned in white communities. Native Americans are in dire need of a strong and powerful voice. They need some influential groups to assist them with their strategies to fend off whites who want to harm their interests. Since Native American communities are synonymous with poverty, they don't have the influence necessary to change these problems on their own. The American people must come forward and aid Native Americans in their quest for selfdetermination and sovereignty. The time has come for us to stand up and say the abuses must stop. The United States must acknowledge our past treaties and let them manage their lives independent of harmful white influences. We can't afford to allow this excellent cultural resource to be continually raped of its land and self-esteem while we stand by idly. During the era of European colonial expansion and imperialism, it was common for Europeans to think of themselves as more superior over others. Many Europeans at that time saw native peoples from regions such as Africa, Asia and the Americas as primitives, or savages to be dominated. This would help justify settlement and expansion into those lands, and even slavery. Without civilization these people could be regarded as inferior, and if seen as non-people then European colonialists would not be impeding on anyone elses territory. Instead, they would be settling virgin territory (sometimes discovered) overcoming numerous challenges they would face with much courage. Other Europeans saw the same people as perhaps savages, but ones that could be saved by being civilized and introduced to Christ. Hence, many European Christian missionaries saw their goal as civilizing the savages. (Some of these attitudes still prevail though perhaps not as forthright, or even intentionally, as popular literature of that time that would have depicted non Europeans as inferior or at least to be feared, are still celebrated today. See works by Edward Said for more on this, such as the classic Orientalism (Vintage Books, 1979), and Culture and Imperialism, (Vintage Books, 1993).) Today, celebrations of days such as Columbus Day in the US therefore raise bitter feelings for indigenous people. Interestingly, Christopher Columbus never set foot in the United States, though that day is celebrated there. (Democracy Now! radio show discusses explores this issue in more detail looking at the theme of power and dominance ideology that underpins why this day would still be celebrated.) For people of color and especially native American Indians, Columbus Day causes anger as they object to honoring a man who opened the door to European colonization, the exploitation of native peoples and the slave trade. Many Europeans and their descendants around the world have tried to look back at history and ask how it was that Europe and the West prospered and rose to such prominence. The late Professor J.M. Blaut accused many historians and others of employing self-congratulation and projecting eurocentric world views, whereby reasons for Europes rise were (and still are) attributed to things like favorable conditions for

13

agriculture, for democracy to grow, and for economic superiority to take hold. Race was sometimes claimed to be a factor, too. Blaut was critical of these and other underlying assumptions and belief systems that guided this view, showing many assumptions to be false, and suggested instead that colonialism and the discovery and exploitation of the Americas, with the plunder of silver, gold and other resources helped fund a European rise. It was after World War I and II that movements for indigenous rights starting gaining more traction. Witnessing the immense destruction, violence and barbarism of those wars, colonized people began questioning the European claim that their civilizations were superior and peaceful. Weakened European countries could no longer hold on to their colonies, and a wave of anti-colonial and nationalist movements sprung up as people around the world saw their chance to break free. European countries began conceding territories, and for many indigenous groups, accepted that they should have more rights to determine their own destiny. Under international law, tribal people, for example, do have some recognized rights. The two most important laws about tribal peoples are Conventions 107 and 169 under the International Labor Organization (ILO), part of the UN system. Survival International, a prominent non-governmental organization (NGO) that presses for the rights of tribal peoples, summarizes their comment on the convention : These conventions obliges governments to identify the lands and protect these rights It ensures recognition of tribal peoples cultural and social practices, obliges governments to consult with tribal peoples about laws affecting them, guarantees respect for tribal peoples customs, and calls for protection of their natural resources The struggle for such rights is still not over. Many governments routinely violate the rights of indigenous people. A slow process is, however, raising hope for a more comprehensive set of rights, although some major countries are still against some particular aspects. The Rights of Self Determination in correlation with the Rights of Indigenous People and their Land as their environment. The right of self-determination of peoples has been one of the most fundamental principles in international law. It is written in the Charter of the United Nations and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) and the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR). Common Article 1, paragraph 1 of these Covenants provides that: "All peoples have the rights of self-determination. By virtue of that right they freely determine their political status and freely pursue their economic, social and cultural development." In other international and regional human rights instruments, rights of self-

14

determination is also expressed in Part VII of the Helsinki Final Act 1975 and Article 20 of the African Charter of Human and Peoples' Rights, and the Declaration on the Granting of Independence to Colonial Territories and Peoples. It is also embraced in the practice by International Court of Justice (ICJ). Furthermore, the scope and content of the right of self- determination has been elaborated upon by the United Nations Human Rights Committee and Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination as well as international jurists in doctrines and practices and also by human rights experts. Rights of self determination can be defined as the right for all peoples to determine their own economic, social and cultural development. This principle is used by ICJ in WestSaharan case and defined it as : The need to pay regard to the freely expressed will of peoples Even though the rights of self-determination are not always implied in the secession from the state6, this principle have been one of the principle to back the idea of ethnonationalism by natives political party and armed militia which wants to struggle for their basic rights by breaking away from the ruling government. The notion that the rights of indigenous people and the rights of self-determinations are connected to one another, is caused by the cohesion of the indigenous people and their land. Their land, as the environment where they live. This notion is expressed in Geirs Ulfsteins Indigenous Peoples Right to Land as : Indigenous people have applied two different approaches in their legal argumentation7. First, they claim the status of nations predating existing states, thus trumping the sovereignity of the states. Secondly, they accept the sovereignity of the states, but argue for rights within the framework of international human rights. The arguments based on indigenous self-determination at the expense of state sovereignity have met strong resistance among states. But the two approaches are inter-related in the sense that references to historic rights of indigenous people predating the existing states may strengthen human rights argument.8

6
7 8

http://www.iwgia.org/sw228.asp S.J. Anaya (ed, 2003). International Law and Indigenous People. 3 et seq (4-5, 9-10).

Geir Ulfstein (2005). Indigenous Peoples Right to Land. Netherlands : Max Planck Yearbook of United Nations Law.

15

Natives in Bougainville, Papua New Guinea rebelling to the ruling government of Papua New Guinea. Source : http://www.theage.com.au/ffximage/2005/07/26/PNG_wideweb__430x283.jpg The rights of indigenous people to their land has been acknowledged even during the 16th century by the Spanish school of international law, such as Fransisco de Vitoria, Domingo de Soto, Fransisco Suarez and Bartolom de las Casas9. This right is also implied in Article 27 of the ICCPR, ILO Convention No. 169 Concerning Indigenous People and Tribal Peoples in Independent Countries. The debate over the rights of indigenous people, the protection of their land and their rights of self-determination of whether this will always implied in seccession from the station or more autonomy for the indigenous people of the state is unexhaustive. Even though previous conventions (ICCPR, ICESCR and ILO Convention No. 169) doesnt provide a basis of for a right of self-determination by in the form of seccession10, in reality many natives political party and separatist emphasize their basis on separating themself from the ruling government on their inseparable relations with their ancestral land. They believe that they have existed in their land even before the nation declared its independence and often embracing their classic history of their ancestral and their motives to revive their own law when their nations have got their independence. In some cases, their motives to seccede is triggered by the act of exploitation of the abundant natural resources in their ancestral land by the majority ethnics serving in the ruling government or the by foreign mining companies. One of the case study for this is Bougainville Revolutionary Army in Papua New Guinea.

G,C, Marks (1992). Indigenous People in International Law: the significance of Fransico de Vitoria and Bartolom de las Casas. Austr. Yb. International Law. and ibid 7. 10 L. Swepston (1990). A New Step in International Law on Indigenous and Tribal peoples : ILO Convention No. 169 of 1989. Oklahoma City University Law Review 15, 677 et seq. 692-695.
9

16

Past International Actions UN Declaration on The Rights Of Indigenous Peoples After taking more than 20 years to draft and agree, on June 29, 2006, the United Nations Human Rights Council adopted the U.N. Draft Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. The Declaration emphasizes the right of indigenous peoples to maintain and strengthen their own institutions, cultures and traditions and to pursue their development in accordance with their aspirations and needs. Although it would not be legally binding if it were ever adopted by the General Assembly, indigenous communities around the world have pressed hard for this and have felt that the adoption of the declaration will help indigenous people in their efforts against discrimination, racism, oppression, marginalization and exploitation. Other convention which has the significant relations to the matters is ICCPR, ICESCR and ILO Convention No. 169. Possible Solutions An outreach program by the colonizer, or now by the ruling government, can be implemented where they have the obligation to share some of the resources to the indigenous people. Even though some natives now share the same amount of choices as their colonizers, most of them still continue the same methods of life. In terms of housing, diets, they are unsafe and unstable compared the normal colonizer family. They do not adjust to the colony way of life because of the lack of proper education, lack of access to the available jobs to increase their life standards while still respecting their own way of life. As it is stated in ICCPR, indigenous people shall be able also to participate in social and political process in their nations, mostly in deciding a policy which will affect lives of the indigenous people.
Case Study : Bougainville [Type sidebar content. A in Papua New Guinea
sidebar is a standalone supplement to the main Bougainville ethnic lives in document. It is often aligned Bougainville island of on the left or right of the Papua New Guinea. page, or located at theEven top or though are citizens bottom. they Use the Text Box of Papua New Guinea, this Tools tab to change the formatting of theethnical sidebar text tribe has more box. connection to natives Type sidebar content. A living in the Solomon sidebar is a standalone Islands and their supplement to the main geographical location is document. It is often aligned closer to Solomon Island on the left or right of the than New page,Papua or located at Guinea. the top or They inhabit the island, bottom. Use the Text Box which has stock Tools tab toabundant change the formatting of the sidebar text of natural resources, such box.] as copper and alluvial gold,

which attracts foreign mining company. The economic exploitation of the resources in Bougainville started in 1926 and the first foreign mining company existed in the island at 1932, which exploited the gold deposit in the area. All the gold products were shipped outside of the island, without any profit shares to the Bougainvilleans. The story didnt end there, but become more severe when another mining company, Bougainville Copper came to the island to exploit the stock of copper in the area. In 1965, the rich copper deposit was drilled and the mountain which before was a natural, serene

17

There shall also be a stricter policy to mining or other natural resources concession to companies, including better rules and safety maintenance of the toxic waste and pollution comes from the activity of the mining or other companies (environmental damages) and including the participation of all individuals of indigenous people living in or near the area of the mining concession and mostly profit shares or the access to the individuals to work in the concession in their inherited ancestral land. However, government shall also think on the effect of that stricter policy in rules and safety maintenance, since companies often complains on the expensive cost of having these kind of maintenance. Thus, it is also a good idea for the government to facilitate the needs of the mining companies for the expensive technology of the safety maintenance by providing the technology, tax break incentives or subsidies to the companies. However, the problem become more complex to the lives of indigenous people which has been oppressed severely in their states or even in multinational states, such as Kurdis which lives on their land which located in Iraq, Islamic Republic of Iran, Turkey and Syria. In the recent case of Southern Sudan, it is resolved by the seccession from its preceeding state, Sudan. In the case of Acehnese in Indonesia. the problem is resolved under the peace settlement between the government of Indonesia and the separatist, Free Aceh Movement (Gerakan Aceh Merdeka / GAM), by giving a special authority and more autonomy to the Acehnese, ending the lengthy war and returning all weapons used by the Acehnese separatist to the government.

[Type sidebar content. A environment then sidebar is a standalone changed forever into the supplement to the main misery of the document. It is often aligned environmental damages on the left or right of the of the waste oftop the page, ortoxic located at the or bottom. the Textcausing Box miningUse company, Tools tab to change a destruction andthe formatting sidebar pollution of in the their land,text box. sea and air environment. Type sidebar content. A sidebar is a standalone In 1972, Bougainville supplement to the main Copper Limited (BCL) document. It is often aligned exported its firstof copper on the left or right the concentrate and gold. page, or located at the top or bottom. Text Box the DuringUse thethe time when Tools tab to change the metal price was very formatting of the sidebar text high, the company even box.] enjoyed a three year tax

and undisturbed

holiday. After 17 years of lengthy negotiation with no results with the Papua New Guinean (PNG) government and the company, Bougainvilleans decided to rebel, in order to shut down the mining companies due to the environmental damage to their ancestral land. The mining shut down its activity in 1989, followed by an eight year war between PNG and Bougainvilleans. Bougainvilleans believe that the basis of all Bougainvillean culture lies on their land. One young Bougainvillean leader, Raphael Belle, even stated : If someone wants my land and i dont want them to have it, he will have to kill me or i will kill them... to Bougainvilleans, land is like the skin on the back of your hand. You inherit it, and it is your duty to pass it on your children in as good as condition, or betten than, in which you received it (The Bougainvillean Land Crisis page 29 and page 31). Source: Bougainville, The Long Struggle for Freedom by Moses Havini. New Age Publishers.

18

Photo of female guerrila fighters of Kurdishtan rebels, Kurdish ethnic in Middle East. Source : http://news.sky.com/skynews/content/StaticFile/jpg/2008/Jul/Week4/15052345.jpg The Bloc Positions It is hard to assume the bloc positions of each states in the rights of indigenous people, but however, there will be countries which used to opress the rights of indigenous people living in their countries, but with the growing respect of the equal values in democracy and the advocation of the rights of indigenous people, now they support and advocate the needs to the fulfillment of the rights of indigenous people, including their environment (larger than only including the land that their inherited from the ancestors) and their communal rights of self-determination. There are countries which suspiciously accuse the idea to support the rights of indigenous people, their environment and their rights of self-determination as interference to the national sovereignity, mostly to countries with cases of separatism which inspired by the indigenous peoples political partys or armed wings ethno-nationalism idealism. There are also countries which are hampered by the fact that indigenous people from different groups are waging a war with each other, causing a nationwide political instability. There are also countries (mostly low income countries) whom already have the intention to lift the life standards of indigenous people and to respect their communal rights, but they lack of funding to provide a better facilities to the indigenous people living far away from the nations capital, in the rural lands, which sometimes is caused by the governments unnecessary expense, bad national financing management or corruption inside the government. Questions A Resolution Must Answers (QARMAs) 1. What factors which have violated the fulfillment of the rights of indigenous people and their environment (specifically, their land) in your countries and in many countries ? 2. What have caused the growing the needs of independence and seccesion from indigenous people around the world ? What is the best common solution to respect the rights of indigenous people and their communal

19

rights of self determination while also respecting the sovereignity of each states ? 3. What will be the best common agreement in solving the disputes between the indigenous people and the mining companies active in the ancestral land of the indigenous people, by also including the participation of the indigenous people itself ? 4. Some countries didnt agree on the definition of Indigenous People in UN Declaration on The Rights of Indigenous People, does your country agree with that definition ? If not, what will be the definition of indigenous people that suits to the condition in your country and member states of UN ? Suggestions for Future Research This study guide have provided you the basic understanding of the problem, but indeed you will need to explore more sources of the condition in your own country, including the history of the indigenous people living in the country, the treatment to the indigenous people, any disputes or even conflict occurred between the government, or the private companies or even between indigenous people and the other indigenous people. You will also need to research your countrys stance in accordance with the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous People, ICCPR, ICESCR or ILO Convention No. 169. For those African or Latin American countries, regional convention, declaration and resolution related with the matter of indigenous people and rights of self determination have been accepted by many government. In other case, you will also need to research on the solution of the growing ethno-nationalism, raised by the rights of selfdetermination. Here are several websites, books and academic journals which you can use as a starting point for your research : Books/Academic Journals (also available on the internet) : G.C. Marks. Indigenous People and International Law: the Significance of Fransico de Vittoria and Bartolom de Las Casas. 1992. Australia Yearbook of International Law. Mariana Lara. The rights of indigenous peoples : Efforts and challenges in Latin America. 2010. Effectius Newsletter. Oxana Shevel. The many faces of ethnic nationalism: Evidence from the Post-Communist Status Laws. (Medford, Massaschussets, 2007). Tufts University Department of Political Science. S.J. Anaya (ed,). International Law and Indigenous People. 2003. Stuart Banner. Possesing the Pacific. Land, Settlers, and Indigenous People from Australia to Alaska. (Cambridge, Massaschussets and Londong, UK, 2007). Harvard University Press.

20

Websites : http://www.un.org/esa/socdev/unpfii/en http://www.globalissues.org/article/693/rights-of-indigenouspeople#Indigenouspeoplehaveoftenhadmanyrightsdenied http://academic.udayton.edu/race/02rights/s98blak2.htm

21