James Anaya on the "resource curse" in the global south

Professor James Anaya (United Nations Special Rapporteur on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples) has written an opinion article for Al Jazeera entitled "Is natural resource development a blessing, a 'quick-fix,' or a curse?" Drawing on his experiences as a UN investigator, he argues that the resource curse is alive and well in the global south, with profits from natural resource extraction failing to reach the people and communities who bear the brunt of its environmental and social impacts, and that the heart of the problem often lies in lack of recognition of the rights of the Indigenous peoples and local communities living on the land.

Referencing the community land and resource rights conference currently taking place in Interlaken, he calls on the new UN Sustainable Development Goals to include recognition of land rights, including rights based on traditional use and occupancy, in order to address deep-rooted problems of contested ownership. For more information, please read the Al Jazeera article and download Anaya's thematic report on extractive industries and Indigenous peoples, which was recently submitted to the Human Rights Council.

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Exchange Workshop on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples held in Banjul, The Gambia

Courtesy of the African Commission.

With a view to sharing experiences, synchronizing efforts, and further enhancing collaboration between the various regional and international mechanisms working on the rights of indigenous peoples, the African Commission’s Working Group on Indigenous Populations/ Communities, in collaboration with the International Work Group for Indigenous Affairs, organized an Exchange Workshop on Indigenous Peoples’ Rights Between the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, the ASEAN Inter-Governmental Commission on Human Rights, and the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights from 5 to 6 April 2013 in Banjul, The Gambia.

The workshop brought together experts from the three regions and regional organizations and the United Nations. The UN Special Rapporteur on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, Prof. James Anaya, was present during the workshop and made the keynote address. The UN Office of High Commissioner for Human Rights and the UN Independent Expert on Minority Issues, Ms. Rita Izsák, also attended. 

The workshop provided a platform for the exchange of experiences between the three regional organizations and that of the UN; it also provided the opportunity for these organs to lay down the grounds for future collaboration and cooperation, and synchronization of their efforts in the promotion and protection of indigenous peoples' rights. The final communique is available here.

First bi-annual meeting held in Banjul, The Gambia

Following the above exchange workshop, the Working Group on Indigenous Populations/Communities in Africa held its first bi-annual meeting for the year 2013 from 7 to 8 April 2013 in Banjul, The Gambia. During this meeting the WGIP assessed activities undertaken during the intersession, and mapped out activities for the next intersession period. It met with the UN Special Rapporteur on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, Prof. James Anaya, the UN Independent Expert on Minority Issues, Ms. Rita Izsák, and Commissioner Rafendi Djamin of the ASEAN Intergovernmental Commission on Human Rights and discussed various issues of common interest. The Working Group also met with representatives of indigenous populations/communities from Kenya, Tanzania and the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and deliberated on the situation of indigenous communities in these countries.

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UN Human Rights Bodies' Jurisprudence on Indigenous Peoples

In the rapidly changing field of international Indigenous rights, it can be difficult to track new developments. To address this gap, the Forest Peoples Programme has been monitoring all developments around the rights of Indigenous peoples in UN human rights bodies in a series entitled “A Compilation of UN Treaty Body Jurisprudence, the Recommendations of the Human Rights Council and its Special Procedures, and the Advice of the Expert Mechanism on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.” They recently released the 5th volume in this compilation, which covers the jurisprudence of UN human rights bodies pertaining to Indigenous peoples from 2011-2012 and was compiled and edited by Fergus MacKay. 

The publication can be accessed here. For further information, see the volumes from 2009-2010, 2007-2008, 2005-2006 and 1993-2004.

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Special Rapporteur's Annual Report to UN General Assembly

The UN General Assembly hall. (Courtesy of Wikipedia.)

The United Nations Special Rapporteur on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, James Anaya, presented his annual report to  the 67th Session of the General Assembly, pursuant to Human Rights Council resolution 18/8. In his report (available here), the Special Rapporteur provides a summary of his activities since his previous report to the General Assembly in 2011.

According to the report's summary, he "also provides comments on the need to harmonize the myriad activities within the United Nations system which affect Indigenous peoples. Specific United Nations processes and programmes reviewed include those relating to the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization; the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations; the World Intellectual Property Organization; the Convention on Biological Diversity; the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change; the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development; the World Bank Group; and programmes aimed at reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation. 

The Special Rapporteur notes that the United Nations system has done important work to promote the rights of Indigenous peoples. However, greater efforts are needed to maximize action throughout the United Nations system to promote the rights of Indigenous peoples and to ensure that all actions within the system which affect Indigenous peoples are in harmony with their rights, particularly their rights as affirmed by the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. The Special Rapporteur makes a series of recommendations to this end."

More information about the Special Rapporteur is available on his website.

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Anaya Report to UN Human Rights Council

From the Special Rapporteur's
Youtube channel

The United Nation’s Special Rapporteur on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, James Anaya, submitted a report to the UN Human Rights Council on July 7th, 2012. The report summarises the activities of the Special Rapporteur over the past year, including his examination of the thematic issue of violence against Indigenous women, and reports on his continuing study of issues related to extractive industries operating on or near Indigenous territories. 

From the summary, “The Special Rapporteur addresses some issues that have arisen during his consultations over the past year with indigenous peoples, business enterprises, States and non-governmental organizations. In particular, he notes that a focus on the rights implicated in the context of a specific extractive or development project is an indispensable starting point for discussions involving extractive industries operating in or near indigenous lands. In this connection, consultation and free, prior and informed consent standards are best conceptualized as safeguards against measures that may affect indigenous peoples’ rights. The Special Rapporteur also suggests that the “protect, respect and remedy” framework, which is incorporated into the Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights, should apply to advance the specific rights of indigenous peoples in the same way as it applies to advance human rights more generally.”

Find the full report here. Learn more about the work of the Special Rapporteur on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples here. Follow the Special Rapporteur on Twitter at @unsr_jamesanaya and find his videos on Youtube here. 

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