[ Indigenous peoples ]

A neglected potential

Around a quarter of the approximately 1.2 billion people worldwide living in absolute poverty belong to indigenous population groups. In many countries, they are still systematically discriminated against. Accordingly, they are frequently neglected by development cooperation. In order to address this depressing state of affairs, 70 representative indigenous groups, along with representatives from governments and non-governmental organisations from nine countries, have appealed to the nations concerned to do all they can to halve the number of poor amongst indigenous peoples by 2015. This appeal was the result of a conference organised by the German Karl Kübel Foundation and the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) in mid-March in the Southern Indian town of Coimbatore.

One of the greatest challenges for indigenous groups is to assert their rights to land and to maintain control of their natural resources. Often, in the course of national development measures or privatisation programmes, lack of documented ownership results in indigenous populations being effectively dispossessed. Tribal livelihoods are threatened by large dam projects, unbridled mining or the felling of trees. With the retreat of the indigenous peoples, traditional knowledge of the ecosystem is also lost, which, at times, is indispensable for using the land in a way suited to the natural conditions.

“In South Asia, poverty can only be significantly reduced if the 100 million tribal people become involved in the process of sustainable economic development”, says Klemens van de Sand, a conference participant who is responsible for the Millennium Development Goals in the German Development Ministry. “That is assuming that they organise themselves to represent their economic and political interests. The task of development aid is to support self help organisations such as water user associations or women’s mutual support groups. We must also promote the rights of indigenous groups and stress their potential for the development of the national economy in our policy dialogue with partner governments.” The conference participants agreed that indigenous peoples depend on the solidarity of the international community.

Many governments, including the German Federal Government, still hesitate to ratify important International Labour Organisation (ILO) conventions on securing the rights of indigenous peoples. This applies particularly to ILO convention 169. In this case, ratifying nations commit to acknowledging and promoting land ownership rights. They also promise respect for the political and social organisations as well as the cultural institutions of indigenous peoples.

The conference passed the “Mankarai Declaration” with numerous recommendations for governments and international organisations. The participants, for instance, adopted the cause of strengthening international legal protection for indigenous peoples. At the same time, they also challenged the discrimination of women in the name of indigenous traditions. Furthermore, they demanded legal protection for indigenous property, the maintenance of forests as a living space and the consideration of the indigenous languages in educational institutions.

Further information:
http://www.kkstiftung.de/aktuell/mankarai-declaration.pdf