Taken from UNPO site: http://www.unpo.org/

Re: WGIP - ITEM 4(b): Indigenous Peoples and Conflict Resolution

Estebancio Castro Diaz, Joint statement on behalf of 20 organizations

The above organizations at the WGIP July 2004 welcome the decision of the experts and chair to prioritise the issues of conflict and conflict resolution and prevention in the context of Indigenous Peoples' situation and experience.

The principles of peaceful co-existence and harmony are the basis of indigenous cultures and worldviews. Our understanding of the universe and everything that exists in it, from so-called inanimate to human beings are embraced as relatives, brothers and sisters, ancestors, progenitors and to be revered, each in its own way and respected for its contribution to the world. Over the long histories of our peoples we have developed an understanding of and tested strategies for prevention of hostilities and conflicts, protocols for the establishment and enforcement of controls over the extent of violence and maintenance of peace. These strategies and protocols include the acceptance of unbiased third party arbitration, adjudication forums including all parties to the hostilities and those other parties who may be affected by such conflict or the resolution of it, adherence to the decisions of such arbitration or negotiation mechanisms that have been agreed to, and the employment of the arts of conciliation and negotiation.

Principally, the respect for the rights of all existing entities to be as they are to continue their own modes of existence without undue interference, oppression or exploitation is the denominator underlining the values of peace and the strategies for conflict prevention and resolution in indigenous cultures.

Armed conflict and other confrontations affect a disproportionately large proportion of Indigenous Peoples in the increasingly globalized world. It is well known if rarely acknowledged that Indigenous Peoples, despite our fundamental values of peaceful co-existence and mutual respect with not only other peoples and nations but with all forms of being and our comparatively small populations are compelled to host in our ancestral territories and to engage as parties in virtually every current armed conflict.

Similarly it is evident that the strategies and initiatives employed to prevent or resolve these conflicts have rarely had long term or perhaps any substantive success. The causes of these conflicts are complex rather than direct, often the result of a subtle and intractable interplay of historical, economic, geo-political and cultural forces from the mainstream, dominant societies within which Indigenous
Peoples are compelled to function. In the simplest terms, as articulated in the Working Paper on Indigenous Peoples and Conflict Resolution submitted by Mr. Miguel Alfonso Martinez, the denial of recognition of Indigenous Peoples' fundamental rights to identify as peoples and nations, lands and territories, self-determination, control over natural resources and respect for indigenous cultures instigate and sustain most of these conflicts.

The absence of appropriate international juridical processes or the denial of meaningful and equal access to such processes as do exist further aggravate the inclination to conflicts since domestic remedies are not available. Such issues are perceived to impinge on sovereign rights and exclusive prerogatives of States, to which even those indigenous nations and peoples that are recognized as such are not privy.

Effective and satisfactory avenues of redress for grievances or adjudication of justice and treaties violations are seen as unavailable leaving no recourse for conflicting parties but to continue or even escalate such conflict.

Current disputes over legitimacy of contemporary States have inflicted a large number of Asian countries; occupation and the modes of governance by recognized states over sovereign and independent indigenous nations are also resulting in armed conflict over several decades. Less violent conflicts, often over the implementation of treaties by those states designated as successors to colonization have a similar potential to violent expression given the increasing inattention to such claims.

The occupation and maintenance of military apparatus, including bases, training activities, dumping and disposal of hazardous materials and abandonment of arms in territories of Indigenous Peoples are also a growing area of dispute.

Disregard of claims to ancestral territories, lands and natural resources, disproportionate or enforced dispossession of such land related rights, or inequity in benefit sharing are also major causes of conflict whether armed or other, in every situation.

Endemic and historical cultural discrimination by dominant social groups, expropriation of indigenous cultural properties and heritage whether tangible or intangible are fertile ground for breeding conflict. These in particular are requiring a more aggressive and violent character as just reparation, remedies and resolutions consistently escape the reach of Indigenous Peoples.

The relentless demand of corporations and industry for both raw materials and markets in indigenous societies and territories also aggravates the other causes of conflict, especially since the scale of these is severely compromising Indigenous Peoples' survival as people and as nations. These threats to survival are economic and environment related. Biodiversity depletion and climate change are so drastically impacting our peoples that island states are in imminent danger of submergence, polar regions are undergoing immense ecological imbalances and sensitive water and genome reserves are being destroyed by pollution and depletion.

Domestic remedies and justice processes are perceived by Indigenous Peoples as ineffective and inappropriate for issues that are essentially international in scope. The only basis for ending such endemic burgeoning and multiplying conflicts will be the full and unrestricted international recognition of the rights of Indigenous Peoples and the clearance of access into international juridical systems. In the interests of a true and endearing peace, it is our sincere hope that this prestigious forum, the Working Group on Indigenous Populations will make the following resolutions and recommendations to assure such recognition and access.

RECOMMENDATIONS
1. To ensure that through the processes and in the text of the Draft Declaration and other appropriate legal instruments international and domestic, the unrestricted rights of Indigenous Peoples to their own identities, lands and territories, self-determination, cultures, resources, governance systems and judicial processes and systems are recognised protected and promoted at domestic and international levels without hindrance.
2. To ensure that treaties and agreements, all over the world, including those that pre- or post-date the medieval European colonisation of territories, and that do not conform to European models of treaties and agreements between Indigenous Peoples, and between Indigenous Peoples and other entities including corporations and modern states, enshrine the above principles and that of free prior informed consent in all decision making that affect indigenous peoples or that may prove to affect them in the future.
3. That the equal and full participation of Indigenous Peoples in negotiation and justice and arbitration systems of their choice including their own are ensured, respected and supported at domestic and international level, are acknowledged as appropriate platforms of negotiation and arbitration and which decisions are recognized as binding on all parties who agree to participate in them at international and domestic levels.