The Indigenous World 2013 presented at the UN Permanent Forum

Written on 08 June 2013. Posted in About IWGIA

• Download statement presented by Mr. Edward Porokwa during UNPFII half day session on Africa
• Download joint statement about implementation of UNDRIP in the context of the World Heritage Convention

Focus on Africa This year, the regional theme on the UNPFII was Africa. The book launch therefore focused on the situation of indigenous peoples in Africa, taking advantage of the presence of many of our indigenous partners to make presentations. Our speakers included Mr. Joseph Ole Simmel from MPIDO, Kenya who gave a general overview of the situation of indigenous peoples in Africa, while Mr. Edward Porokwa from PINGOs Forum, and Mr. Adam Kuleit Mwarabu from PAICODEO talked about the challenges currently facing indigenous peoples in Tanzania.

Human rights Violations in Tanzania The ongoing gross violations of human rights of indigenous peoples in Tanzania include intimidation, unlawful prosecution, land alienation and marginalization from social services provision as well as lack of legal recognition, as was also stated by Edward Porokwa during the half day session on Africa on the 23 of May. You can find more information about the forced evictions of pastoralists in the Morogoro Region in Tanzania in our recently published briefing note on the subject and this years' Tanzania country report included in the yearbook. Conservation a threat to indigenous peoples The current evictions are justified by conservation concerns. The pastoralist areas in the Morogoro region are protected under the Ramsar Convention on wetlands, and in his statement, Mr. Edward Porokwa related how World Heritage Site conservation threaten the traditional livelihood and food security of pastoralists in the Ngorongoro Conservation area. IWGIA has over the last couple of years been working intensively on lobbying the World Heritage Committee to respect indigenous peoples' rights. In the context of the Permanent Forum, IWGIA presented a joint statement, urging the UNPFII to engage with UNESCO and the World Heritage Committee and advocate for the implementation of the UN Declaration. Business and indigenous peoples’ human rights Even more worrying is how the evictions of pastoralist for conservation concerns is paving the way for the establishment of an agricultural growth corridor (the SAGCOT corridor), which will transform 7,5 million hectares of land in Southern Tanzania to large scale agricultural production in the hands of transnational agribusinesses. Given the growing threats from business on the human rights of indigenous peoples, we invited as our last speaker Mr. Pavel Sulyandziga - Chairperson of the UNHRC Working Group on Business and Human Rights, to inform about the progress in preparing a thematic report to the UN General Assembly on indigenous peoples, business and human rights to be presented this fall. More information about the World Heritage Convention and The UN Working Group on Business and Human Rights can be found in this years edition of "The Indigenous World". Towards a sustainable future The problematic of forced evictions and human rights abuses committed by business was also touched upon at another UNPFII side event organized by Tebtebba on "Implementing indigenous peoples' sustainable, self-determined development in the post-Rio+20 process and sustainable development goals, the UNFCCC and the CBD", during which the recent book on indigenous peoples and extractive industries, "Pitfalls and Pipelines" was presented. The issue on securing a more equal and sustainable future is sure to be high on the indigenous agenda over the coming years. The ongoing post 2015 development process is an important opportunity for including the aspirations and experiences of indigenous peoples in the formulation of new Sustainable Development Goals and was also the topic of the morning session of the Permanent Forum, Wednesday 29 May.

Tags: Land rights, Business and Human Rights , Global governance, Climate