60th Commission on Human Rights
Item 18: Effective Functioning of Human Rights Mechanisms
Wednesday 14 April                                                                                                Résumé en français

JOINT STATEMENT:
INDIGENOUS WORLD ASSOCIATION
INDIAN COUNCIL OF SOUTH AMERICA
INTERNATIONAL POSSIBILITES UNLIMITED

Camai distinguished Members of the Commission on Human Rights and all distinguished participants.

It is 2004, the century and the Millennium have commenced and we do not have an effective international standard for the recognition and protection of the rights of Indigenous Peoples. lt is difficult to talk about any mechanism for an international human rights standard, when a standard does not exist for lndigenous Peoples. Unfortunately, the most we can say without any standard is that: even the complaints brought to international human rights bodies are not taken seriously by most countries and they are even crassly disregarded.

I point out that, if the United States of America were to apply the motto of their State, ,,In God We Trust", then they would do as they stated in interventions at this 60th Commission on Human Rights that: ,,The U.S. government - my government - takes seriously all forms of discrimination in the United States." Consider also the statement of President Bush that: ,,Freedom and human rights are a gift of God we will preserve." Yet the United States uses Christianity selectively to declare that lndigenous Peoples must give up our land and sovereignty for the superior genius of European civilization (Johnson v Mclntosh (Wheaton 543 (1823).

1955 Supreme Court case United States v. Tee-Hit-Ton Indians (348 US 272) The reservations and declarations to the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination Article 4 and 14 makes the United States of America virtually immune from international scrutiny. The United States walked out of the World Conference Against Racism so it claims it is not obligated to the WCAR Declaration and Program of Action. There are no effective mechanisms to compel the United States to abide by international human rights law. The United States claims that its Constitution and laws are sufficient protection, on the contrary, it declared that Indigenous Peoples in Alaska do not have 5th amendment protections (348 U.S. 272 United States v. Tee-Hit-Ton Indians (1955), that is right to life, property, due process of law, just compensation etc. At best, the application of human rights is non-compulsory, arbitrary and discretionary.

My brother from the Indian Council of South America also points out that:
In many South American countries there are institutions that defend human rights, such as the ,,Defensorias del Pueblos" and the Ombudsman which oversee cases of the violations. However, those rights established in international instruments are all individual rights. We have yet to establish an international standard for the effective implementation and protection of the collective rights of indigenous peoples, their communities, their knowledge, language, culture and way of life. Women have international standards of protection but where are the protections for indigenous peoples? lndigenous Peoples and their human rights defenders do not have a substantive standard of protection against abuses. Indigenous Peoples need their own international review commission or an international ombudsman to bring attention to their human rights violations and compel states to uphold human rights.

Finally Mr. Chairman,

We call upon the 60th Commission on Human Rights to address the dilemma of impunity to compel States that do not obligate themselves to International Human Rights obligations or recommendations, especially those that have obligated themselves to international human rights treaties. I use the example of Australia, who continues to ignore the CERD Recommendations regarding the Indigenous Aborigines of Australia. Not only does this State repudiate the work of the Committee it has openly criticized the members and the effect of the Convention. It is necessary to have guidelines for States that report on the Human Rights of Indigenous Peoples as provided in CERD General Recommendation XXIII and Human Rights Committee General Comment XXII on Civil and Political Rights.