Alex Neve, Secretary General of Amnesty International’s section Canada, is in Port of Spain
By any measure, one of the most pressing human rights concerns throughout the Americas – in every corner of the hemisphere – is the widespread violation of the rights of Indigenous Peoples. Indigenous communities and leaders in the Americas are themselves well organized and connected with each other; and have been very clear over the years in setting out their vision for strengthened protection of Indigenous rights in the Americas. But the injustice and inaction has continued.
One would expect therefore that the situation of Indigenous Peoples would have prominence at a gathering such as the Summit of the Americas and that Presidents and Prime Ministers would make a special effort to dialogue with and show their respect to Indigenous leaders who attend. Far from it.
I met with a group of Indigenous leaders from Canada, Brazil and Panama who were able to travel to Trinidad. They described feeling utterly excluded from the Summit process here in Port of Spain; excluded to a greater degree than the 2001 and 2005 Summits in Canada and Argentina. Perhaps that is the most distressing point of all – the exclusion of Indigenous Peoples from decision-making in the Americas is deepening, not lessening.
Indigenous leaders in the Americas convened their own Summits to coincide with the 2001 and 2005 Summits of the Americas. They prepared to do so again this time. But they quickly faced an enormous number of obstacles, most particularly being told that there was no available venue for them in Trinidad.
They were told that, if they met here, they would be housed in scattered bed and breakfasts and that there would not be any technical equipment available to support the meeting. There was room in the country for civil society, labour, business and youth meetings. There was no room for Indigenous Peoples. The irony could not be more pointed or tragic.
A number of alternatives were considered and in the end Indigenous Peoples chose to gather instead in Panama. The leaders told me that the meeting itself was very successful and led to a Declaration and Plan of Action that was unanimously adopted. A group of eight representatives were then tasked with travelling on to Trinidad to formally present the outcome to the official Summit. And the sense of exclusion only deepened.
On Friday, along with representatives from the civil society, labour, business and youth forums – which were all held in Trinidad – Indigenous representatives were invited to make a presentation to an assembly of Foreign Ministers (or their designates) from the Americas, a presentation that was meant to spark dialogue. They took to the stage after the presentations by civil society and labour, both of which had been lengthy and had elicited responses from many governments.
The Indigenous session, to the contrary, which was to include three brief presentations by leaders from Canada, Brazil and Panama, was cut short. Only two of the intended three speakers were allowed to speak. And only a handful of countries spoke in response. There was a powerful presentation by Bolivia’s Foreign Minister, who is himself an Indigenous man.
But other countries made half-hearted interventions describing their professed commitment to Indigenous rights, including a comment from Canada highlighting that the choice of a cultural symbol from Canada’s northern Inuit people as a logo for the 2010 Winter Olympics reflects the depth of Canada’s commitment to Indigenous Peoples.
That was the extent of Indigenous participation in Summit activities here in Trinidad. Not one of the leaders who travelled here from Panama was received officially by any of the Presidents or Prime Ministers. In no way were they made to feel welcome. In no way have they left feeling like they have been heard and understood.
Given all of this, it comes as no surprise to see that the situation of Indigenous Peoples and protection of their rights is almost invisible in the final Declaration of Commitment adopted today at the close of the Summit of the Americas. In particular, it is extremely disappointing and worrying that in the important provisions of the Declaration dealing with energy security, there is no acknowledgement of how energy policies in the Americas undermine and violate the rights of Indigenous Peoples.
Steps governments take to secure energy – through traditional sources such as petroleum and hydro, or new sources like bio-fuels – have dramatic implications for the recognition and protection of the land rights of Indigenous peoples. Throughout the Americas, companies are moving deep into traditional lands of Indigenous peoples as they develop energy sources.
In doing so, Indigenous Peoples are chased from their lands; disease and malnutrition take hold as traditional ways of life are disrupted; and Indigenous leaders who speak out are threatened, attacked and killed. That this Declaration deals with energy without confronting this devastating human rights reality is quite simply unacceptable.
Gathering in Trinidad, leaders in the Americas have conveyed a message of exclusion to the Indigenous Peoples of the hemisphere. That cannot be allowed to stand and will certainly serve to invigorate Amnesty’s work, alongside Indigenous peoples organizations from across the hemisphere, to push governments to finish the work to elaborate and adopt a strong and uplifting American Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. The experience here has sorely illustrated how much that Declaration is needed.
I regret the excluded peoples excluded from summit of americas