LATIN AMERICA:
Second Chance for Indigenous People After 'Lost Decade'
Diego Cevallos

MEXICO CITY,  (IPS) - Tensions between indigenous people, governments and transnational corporations will grow in the second International Decade of the World's Indigenous People, which began in 2005, say experts.

Against that backdrop, some of the 840 indigenous groups in the Americas could even disappear, they warn.

"Indigenous people today are living in a period characterised by the most unbridled imperial capitalism ever, with weakened states that are at the service of transnational interests," José del Val, head of the Mexico Multicultural Nation University Programme (PUMC) and former director of the Inter-American Indigenous Institute, told IPS.

The Mexican academic is one of the leading authors of the "Evaluation Report for the First International Decade of the World's Indigenous People", presented Friday at the United Nations headquarters in New York.

The review was drawn up by the PUMC, which forms part of the National Autonomous University of Mexico, in coordination with indigenous leaders in the region and the Rigoberta Menchú Foundation, which takes its name from the indigenous Guatemalan woman awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1992.

"If states do not recognise the territorial rights of indigenous people and if exploitation of resources in their areas of settlement continues to advance swiftly, we will have major conflicts in the next 10 years, and many indigenous communities on the brink of cultural extinction could disappear," said del Val.

The report, which was presented at the U.N. during the sixth session of the Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues, is a broad assessment of the progress and setbacks seen in the first International Decade of the World's Indigenous People (1995-2004) declared by the United Nations, while reflecting on the present and future as well.

It states that during the first decade, indigenous people in Latin America gained a greater political and social presence, and that their rights were recognised in various national and international legal instruments.

However, the authors conclude that in real terms, indigenous people remain marginalised, poor and unable to exercise their rights.

"Achievements were scant; we believe it was a lost decade," del Val summed up.

The PUMC and other academics and activists who took part in the study as well as indigenous organisations said they will monitor progress on indigenous issues more closely in the second international decade, which few in Latin America are even aware of, they pointed out.

According to the United Nations, the main aim of the first and second international decades is "strengthening international cooperation for the solution of problems faced by indigenous people in such areas as human rights, the environment, development, education and health."

However, what lies ahead appears to be more problems, not solutions, del Val said.

The report presented to the U.N. includes 80 pages dedicated to the various conflicts involving indigenous people today in the Americas, ranging from disputes with oil companies operating in indigenous territories to resistance against plans to build dams.

"What should happen over the next decade is recognition of the fact that the resources found in indigenous territories belong to the indigenous people," he said. "Thus, if the state and transnational corporations want to do business, they have to become partners with the indigenous communities. But this isn't happening anywhere."

"If we compare a map of the region that shows where indigenous people live with another that shows the planet's last unexploited natural resources, it turns out that they fully coincide. That is the reality -- and the tragedy," he added.

The report points out that according to government figures, there are 38.5 million indigenous people in the Americas, although it says that this is grossly under-estimated.

The document says there is "statistical genocide" generated by economic interests or the lack of adequate methodologies for arriving at precise, reliable statistics on the number of indigenous people. It also said the distorted figures undermine the effective design and implementation of social programmes targeting this segment of the population.

The authors say they identified 840 distinct indigenous groups in the Americas, compared to the 414 counted by the U.N. Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) and the Inter-American Indigenous Institute in 1983.

Over the past decade, indigenous movements played a key role in overthrowing Ecuadorian president Jamil Mahuad, in January 2000, and Bolivian president Gonzalo Sánchez de Lozada, in October 2003.

And since January 2006, Bolivia has been governed by President Evo Morales, an Aymara Indian.

In recent years, indigenous people in Latin America have also seen their representation increase in legislatures, cabinet ministries and city governments.

However, the majority of indigenous people continue to live in poverty, while some groups in South America that had voluntarily isolated themselves from society were forced to come into contact against their will.

Studies show that the very existence of these "uncontacted" indigenous groups is threatened by the increasing encroachment on their territories by transnational corporations and mega-projects like hydroelectric dams.

These groups include the Korubo in Brazil, the Tagaeri in Ecuador, the Ayoreo in Paraguay and the Mashco-piros, Ashaninkas and Yaminahuas in Peru, who altogether total less than 5,000 people.

Although government rhetoric and national laws guarantee their existence, the reality is otherwise, said del Val.

"There is a kind of growing schizophrenia with regard to indigenous issues," he argued.

"At the national and international level, there are legal guarantees of justice and the rights of indigenous people, but in reality, the opposite occurs," he said.

The report recommends that the U.N. Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues, "with the full participation of indigenous people, contribute to the oversight and monitoring of compliance with the goals of the second International Decade of the World's Indigenous People."

It also urges the U.N. General Assembly to approve the draft Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, "in the first few years of the new Decade." Final approval of the Declaration is being blocked by opposition from the United States, Canada, Australia and Russia.

The evaluation report also calls for the consolidation of mechanisms for the protection and promotion of the human rights of indigenous peoples and the effective implementation of the Millennium Development Goals that relate to indigenous people.

Another recommendation is that the states accept, "with the full and effective participation of indigenous people, the action plans for the Second International Decade, jointly establishing evaluation and monitoring mechanisms."