UN Sub-Commission on Prevention of Discrimination and Protection of Minorities

Fifty-first session

Provisional agenda item 7

Human rights of indigenous peoples

Oral statement by the Transnational Radical Party, a non-governmental organisation in general consultative status

Geneva, 16 August 1999

Delivered by Olga Cechurova

Mr. Chairman,

The Transnational Radical Party welcomes the final working paper on indigenous peoples and their relationship to land prepared by Mrs. Erica-Irene Daes (E/CN.4/Sub.2/1999/18). This paper comes at a very decisive moment as we are at the mid-point of the Decade of the World's Indigenous People, when the results of the activities undertaken so far are being reviewed. A major part of this review is to identify obstacles to achievement of the goals of the Decade, in particular in the area of the relationship of the indigenous people to land.

In the last decades, areas occupied by indigenous peoples have been subjected to intensive developments in the form of mining, hydroelectric, logging and agro-industrial development, as well as settlement by non-indigenous peoples. These activities have often resulted in serious environmental degradation and pollution, which had consequently adverse social impact on indigenous peoples: According to any social and economic

indicator, indigenous peoples are the single most disadvantaged group in society. Even in rich countries, indigenous peoples have a dramatically lower life expectancy, higher rates of disability and are often traumatised, resulting in alcoholism, drug abuse, criminality and sometimes distressingly high rates of suicide.

One of the most serious examples of this situation is the one of the indigenous peoples of West Papua (Irian Jaya). Since 1963, when the New York Agreement between Indonesia and the Netherlands was signed under the auspices of the UN and later the Act of Free Choice was manipulated in 1969, they have been subjected to most unprecedented human rights violations, including indiscriminate shooting, summary killing, destruction of property, intimidation, arbitrary detention and disappearances.

Paragraph 33 of Indonesian Constitution of 1945 stipulates that the land, the sea and the sky and everything it includes is the property of the Indonesian State, which means that according to this law, all the West Papuans insisting on their land rights are considered as obstacles to the Indonesian development and may be jailed or even killed.For more than 30 years, since the company Freeport McMoran started it mining operations for copper and gold in West Papua and has been providing an important source of income for the Indonesian regime, the indigenous peoples have faced severe human rights violations due to the mining, have never been consulted on the mining activities, and hundreds of them have

been killed. In 1994, a village in the mining area was destroyed to the ground and 60 villagers have been killed by the Indonesian military. In 1995, after the Indonesian National Commission on Human Rights found evidences of human rights violations, the Government has decided to constitute a fund, giving a 1% of yearly benefits of the Freeport McMoran, it means about 45 billion USD, to the local population. This amount is distributed to the local communities through the bureaucracy of the Indonesian Government, and as a result, the local communities only get a very small proportion of the fund, about 5 billion USD. Indigenous peoples are not informed about the fate of the rest of the fund and continue to demand their land rights be recognised and respected.

Concerning the activities of the logging companies operating in West Papua, the situation is very similar: about 20 companies continue to undertake logging arbitrarily, destroying thousands of hectars of forests and damaging the environment, without the consent from or compensation given to the indigenous peoples.

Another aspect of the violation of indigenous people's relationship to land in West Papua is transmigration. This organised migration of people from heavily populated regions such as Java, to less densely populated ones such as West Papua, very often subsidised by the Government, has very negative consequences for the indigenous people of West Papua. The new-comers usually have an advantaged position on the job market and in other fields of the economy. As most newcomers are also subsidized by the Government, West Papuans find it hard to compete in a society where they are becoming a marginalized society; a disadvantaged minority on their own land.

Until now there have been more than 500,000 Papuans killed whilst more than 600,000 migrants from other provinces have been moved in into West Papua under the transmigration programs.

Moreover, the indigenous land rights are often manipulated by the State as it was the case of the peoples of Santani: In 1997, the Governor of West Papua had released some tribal land of the indigenous people in Santani, Jayapura, for the construction of governmental buildings, without even consulting the indigenous owners of the land. The indigenous owners brought this case to justice, however, while in the Court of Jayapura they had won

the case, the Supreme Court in Jakarta annulated the previous decision and released a verdict in favour of the State.

The Transnational Radical Party is convinced that States should be helped

and encouraged to ensure and improve the law-based well-being of all its citizens, including the indigenous populations. The Transnational Radical Party considers imperatively important for the UN bodies, starting with this august body and the Commission,to urge all the Governments to find and implement means of giving indigenous peoples greater responsibility for their own affairs and an effective voice in decisions on matters which affect them, as suggested by the Commission's resolution 1999/51.

Furthermore, we call upon this Sub-Commission to promote a process of encouraging continual and genuine dialogue between the Governments and indigenous peoples, in general as well as in concrete cases such as West Papua. Finally, the Transnational Radical Party calls for the adoption of the Draft Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples as it stands.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman.