Working Group established in accordance with Commission on Human Rights
resolution 1995/32 of 3 march 1995

Parliament of the Aymaran People
About Article 12 of the Draft Declaration

Mr. Chairman
States' Representatives,

I approve Article 12 as it is because its contents take up a historical fact out of this room. At the UNESCO, in Paris in 1982, governmental states gathered to protect the culture of peoples, they made declarations and concluded agreements. However, this did not bring any recognition nor benefit to the peoples which produced that  culture. I remind this event to avoid making the same mistake in the elaboration of the Declaration of the Rights of indigenous peoples to protect and develop indigenous culture. The agreement concluded at the UNESCO benefied some individuals who became authors of cultural works thanks to a stamp and a signature. For example, they legally became the owners of indigenous musical production taking advantage of a great amount of money coming from trademarks and copy rights while indigenous peoples, the real authors of that music, continue to be abandoned in the highlands of Bolivia, Peru and Chile

For indigenous peoples, traditions and cultural habits are expressions lived collectively and they cannot be considered on an individual basis because they have a very important meaning in the survival of our identity as different peoples.

Today, little by little, after having suffered several centuries the undervaluation and discrimination of our cultural expressions, we achive a recognition of the values belonging to the indigenous cultural heritage thanks to the fact that the preamble of this Draft Declaration affirms that indigenous peoples contribute to the diversity and richness of civilisations and cultures. Undoubtedly, these cultural contributions have a collective character. Our music and dance are never performed individually but they are collective creations.

Consequently, in the same way that cultural manifestations make up our identity as peoples, the right to the recognition and the protection of our heritage in a collective way is vital for the survival of all indigenous peoples. Similarly, all the other rights included in this Draft Declaration must be kept as they are without any changes!


Thank you very much

Tomas Condori
Representative of the Indian Council of South America CISA
Geneva, December 3rd 1998