The United Kingdom (U.K.) has dismayed tribal and indigenous peoples as well as activists around the world by refusing to ratify a key international law, which protects their basic human rights by involving them in consultations over ‘development’ projects on their land.
Prime Minister David Cameron has defended his position by saying the law, known as ILO Convention 169, cannot be implemented, “as the U.K. has no indigenous people to whom the Convention can apply”.
However, two other countries, Spain (in December 2006) and the Netherlands, have ratified the law despite being in a similar position.
The Liberal Democrat Party of U.K. pledged to ratify this Convention in 2009, and in May this year, tribal leaders from around the world appealed to the British government to ratify it. It was the first time a group of tribal representatives made such a direct appeal, reflecting the urgent need for the law’s global endorsement. The letter reminded U.K. that whilst it did not have tribal or indigenous peoples, ‘British companies operate on indigenous land, (and) British aid money funds projects on tribal territories.’
The recent verdict has left supporters dismayed, especially as the overseas work of U.K. companies indeed has a major impact on tribal and indigenous people around the world.
U.K. mining giant Vedanta Resources, for example, was heavily criticized by the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) for mistreating India’s Dongria Kondh Tribe – Vedanta wants to mine their land for bauxite.
Martin Horwood MP, who chairs the all-party group for tribal peoples in the U.K. Parliament, has criticized his government for not backing the law. It “completely underestimated the importance and impact U.K. ratification would have had on U.K. companies, on U.K. policy and on the international community.”
ILO Convention 169 is the only international law for tribal peoples. It recognizes their rights to land ownership rights, and sets a series of minimum UN standards regarding self-determination, and consultation over projects that affect them. ILO 169 has been around since 1989, but so far, only 22 countries support the law, which is legally binding, unlike the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous People.
Survival International’s Director Stephen Corry said on October 17, “It is no coincidence that so much of the world’s remaining rainforests and biodiversity are on tribal peoples’ lands. ILO 169 is not just a law for tribal peoples; it is a law for everyone. It plays a key role in saving the world’s rainforests, by putting control of the land back in the hands of the people who have looked after it for generations. Britain’s refusal to ratify the law is shameful, particularly given the terrible impact its colonial past has had on so many tribal peoples around the world.”
Source: Survival International.
