Indigenous Rights in the Commonwealth Project

Project Officer: Dr Helena Whall

Background of the Project

In July 1999, a 'Dialogue on Indigenous Rights in the Commonwealth' was held at the Institute of Commonwealth Studies, University of London. It was organised by the Commonwealth Policy Studies Unit, in association with the Menzies Centre for Australian Studies, the Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative and the University of Queensland. The report on the proceedings of the workshop, 'A Dialogue on Indigenous Rights in the Commonwealth', was published by the CPSU in September 1999.

The Dialogue was initiated with the intention of discussing ways and means in which the Commonwealth of Nations, which has become a major player for human rights in the world through its commitment to the Commonwealth Harare Declaration (1991), and is seen as having a special potential for assisting Indigenous peoples to realise their rights, could do more for Indigenous peoples.

There was a consensus at the Dialogue in July 1999 that the time had come for the issue of Indigenous peoples' rights to be put firmly on the agenda of the Commonwealth in the new millennium. The Dialogue marked the beginning of an important process ensuring that the Commonwealth accepts its responsibility to its Indigenous peoples.

Following the Dialogue, the Commonwealth Association of Indigenous Peoples (CAIP) was set up. CAIP is a pan-Commonwealth network of Indigenous peoples, with members from all regions of the Commonwealth. CAIP had accreditation at the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in Durban, 1999, and at the summit in Coolum in March 2002, and has been actively lobbying the Commonwealth at various fora since. In order to raise awareness of Indigenous rights in the Commonwealth, CAIP, in association with the Indigenous Rights in the Commonwealth Project, will be organising activities as part of the Commonwealth People's Forum, to be held on 1-7 December 2003, Abuja, Nigeria. The Indigenous Rights in the Commonwealth Project works closely with CAIP.

In order to take the process forward, the CPSU made a successful application to the European Commission for funding for a three-year research and advocacy programme on Indigenous Peoples' Rights in the Commonwealth. In February 2001, Dr Helena Whall took up the post of Project Officer. The Indigenous Rights in the Commonwealth Project currently has funding until February 2004.

Aim and Scope of the Project

The Project is mandated to carry out research on Indigenous rights issues in twenty Commonwealth countries, and in association with Indigenous peoples and organisations in these countries, to lobby the Commonwealth (the intergovernmental association and non-governmental organisations), to address the needs of its Indigenous peoples.

For reasons of time and manageability, the project is focusing on twenty of the fifty-four Commonwealth states, covering the four regions of the Commonwealth where there are serious issues of concern to Indigenous peoples, these are: Australia, Fiji, New Zealand, and Papua New Guinea (South Pacific), Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, India, and Malaysia (South and South East Asia), Botswana, South Africa, Namibia, Cameroon, Kenya, Nigeria, Tanzania, and Uganda (Africa), and Canada, Guyana, and Belize (North Americas and the Caribbean).

There is a paucity of co-ordinated information about the Commonwealth's Indigenous citizens and a lack of any research or advocacy programmes to develop understanding of their rights and needs within member states. This Project aims to improve and strengthen the information exchange, research and publicity on issues concerning Indigenous peoples' rights on a pan-Commonwealth basis. The Project will aid the spread of best Commonwealth practice in relation to land rights, social and economic rights, environmental and development rights, and constitutional status. The project will assist countries of the Commonwealth and Commonwealth non-governmental bodies in addressing these matters. The project has two interrelated aspects; research and advocacy.

Research

As part of its commitment to conducting research on Indigenous rights issues in the Commonwealth and to strengthening the pan-Commonwealth network of Indigenous peoples and organisations, the Project is organising four regional expert meetings to bring together in conjunction with representatives of Indigenous peoples themselves, information about key issues affecting them in Commonwealth states. The main concerns will include, amongst others, constitutions, treaties and status; land rights; questions of cultural identity or assimilation; relationships to development, the environment and economic and social rights. These meetings are designed to bring together Indigenous peoples and specialists from the South Pacific, South and South East Asia, Commonwealth Africa, and the Caribbean and the Americas respectively, to share their experiences and to raise awareness about issues of concern, to network, and to discuss ways of lobbying the Commonwealth more effectively. The expert regional meetings will be held in: Nadi, Fiji Islands (October 2001); New Delhi, India (March 2002); Cape Town, South Africa (October 2002); and Georgetown, Guyana (June 2003).

At each of the four expert regional meetings Indigenous peoples and organisations will be consulted on a set of Recommendations that the Project will include in its Memorandum to the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting, Abuja, Nigeria, December, 2003.

The end of the Project will be marked by the publication of an edited collection of the papers presented at the four regional expert meetings, entitled 'Indigenous Rights in the Commonwealth'. This publication, describing the contemporary political, social, economic, legal and cultural position of Indigenous peoples in twenty Commonwealth countries, will provide a much needed resource for the Commonwealth association and a crucial advocacy tool to be used by defenders of Indigenous rights in the Commonwealth.

As part of its commitment to raising awareness about Indigenous rights issues in the Commonwealth, the CPSU will host a series of Seminars at the Institute of Commonwealth Studies, UK, focusing on Indigenous rights issues in Commonwealth countries.

Advocacy

As part of its bid to urge the Commonwealth to accept its responsibility to protect and promote the rights of Indigenous peoples, the Project will prepare a series of Memorandums to Commonwealth Heads of Government.

A Memorandum was prepared for the High Level Review of the Future of the Commonwealth, Chaired by President Thabo Mbeki, July 2001; the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM), Brisbane, Australia, October 2001; the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting, Coolum, Australia, March 2002; the Commonwealth Heads of Government attending the UN World Conference Against Racism (UNWCAR), Durban, 2001; the Commonwealth Heads of Government attending the UN World Summit on Sustainable Development (WSSD), Johannesburg, 2002; and the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM), Abuja, Nigeria, December 2003.

The project will also support networking and lobbying among Indigenous peoples and organisations in the Commonwealth. The Project has been involved in a series of Dialogues to raise awareness of Indigenous rights issues in the Commonwealth during 2001-2003.

A second 'Dialogue on Indigenous Rights in the Commonwealth' was held in October 2001 as part of the Commonwealth People's Festival, CHOGM, Brisbane, Australia. It was organised by the CPSU, in conjunction with the Indigenous Research Project, University of Queensland. Professor Margaret Reynolds, Adjunct Professor, University of Queensland, was the Australian Co-ordinator, Nicky Jones was the Research Assistant and Sandra Phillips was the Advocacy Assistant. The report on the proceedings of the workshop, 'Indigenous Rights in the Commonwealth: The Australian Report', was published by the CPSU and the Indigenous Research Project, Queensland University in 2002.

A third 'Dialogue on Indigenous Rights in the Commonwealth', was held in London, UK, on June 7th, 2002, organised by the CPSU, in association with CAIP and the European Network of Indigenous Australian Rights (ENIAR). The opening statement was prepared by the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Mary Robinson, and presented by John Scott, UN Office of High Commissioner for Human Rights.

A fourth and final 'Dialogue on Indigenous Rights in the Commonwealth' will be organised by the CPSU in association with CAIP and the Movement for the Survival of the Ogoni People (MOSOP), as part of the Commonwealth People's Forum, to be held prior to the CHOGM, Abuja, Nigeria, December 1-7, 2003.

International development targets of 2015 and indigenous peoples' economic, social and cultural rights

As part of the wider Indigenous Rights in the Commonwealth Project, the CPSU has been studying socioeconomic issues with the support of a grant from the Department for International Development (DfID). This study, conducted over two years by Richard Bourne, Head of the CPSU, has been looking at: socioeconomic rights as they apply to Indigenous peoples, their prospects of achieving the international development targets and goals in 2015, and examples of good practice by Commonwealth governments in cooperation with Indigenous communities.

A draft report will be presented to an expert workshop, being held at the Institute of Commonwealth Studies on 20 and 21 March, 2003, and thereafter a revised version will be published.

In November 2001, Richard Bourne put the initial findings of his desk research into a preliminary position paper.

The study has located serious defects in poverty, education, health and other statistics relating to Indigenous peoples, notably in the Poverty Reduction Strategy process which has tended to avoid issues of ethnicity. This reflects the political invisibility of some Indigenous groups and strategies of nation-building by dominant majorities in Commonwealth states which became independent in the middle of the twentieth century. There are particular difficulties in describing the poverty or well-being of some Indigenous peoples whose way of life lies at least partly outside the cash economy.

In general the findings suggest that Indigenous peoples are unlikely, in many countries, to meet the international development goals. Nor are they able to enjoy the economic, social and cultural rights set out in the UN covenant and subsequent conventions. Central to their often depressed situation is the precarious nature of their land rights, and the strong forces of modernity which can overwhelm smaller, different cultures. Uncertain land rights undermine their capacity to act as environmental guardians of fragile habitats. Loss of land forces them into impoverished semi-employment at the bottom of the dominant social pyramid, and into problems of health, alcoholism, dependency and family breakdown.

The inquiry suggests that the issue of Indigenous peoples must receive a higher priority as unfinished business of decolonisation, and as deserving special attention in the context of Commonwealth commitments to the millennium development goals. The declaration by Commonwealth leaders in Lusaka in 1979 contains the only reference hitherto to the recognition of Indigenous rights. It should be complemented by a contemporary, progressive paragraph in the forthcoming Abuja summit in December 2003.

In April 2002, Peter Yochum, a part-time U.S. Intern with the Indigenous Rights in the Commonwealth Project, completed a draft report on 'Indigenous Rights and Development in the Commonwealth'.