Abraham Lotha
New York | May 17
The morning session of the Fifth Session of the UNPFII being held in NY, was dedicated to dialogue with Indigenous peoples. Representatives from various indigenous organizations from different countries and regions of the world presented their interventions to the Permanent Forum with their recommendations for redefining the Millennium Development Goals (MDG).
From Asia, the Asia Indigenous Peoples Caucus Statement was presented by Joan Carling of the Cordillera Peoples Alliance. The Asian Caucus’ intervention to the Permanent Forum dealt focused on redefining the Goals 4, 5 and 6 related to health issues. Supporting the recommendations of the Permanent Forum on health issues, the Asian Caucus urged governments, UN agencies and those concerned to immediately adopt and implement the recommendations with urgency in order to abate the worsening health situation of indigenous peoples.
In addition, the Asian Indigenous Peoples Caucus made the following recommendations: “To facilitate a more comprehensive study on the issue of increasing incidents of HIV/AIDS amongst indigenous peoples because of drug addiction, prostitution and increasing migrant workers as in the case of North East India, border areas of Thailand/Burma, and make concrete recommendations to address these concerns, based on the result of the study.”
The Asian Caucus also recommended “that bio-prospecting and collection of indigenous peoples’ traditional medicinal plants and seeds should not be one without the free, prior and informed consent of indigenous peoples. Those which have been taken away from indigenous peoples’ territories should be investigated and proper compensation to communities from which these biological resources have been taken should be provided.”
Specific to India, the Joint statement by Mundari Literary Council & Indian Confederation of Indigenous and Tribal Peoples was read by Meenakshi Munda. The intervention made specific recommendations on redefining the goal pertaining to education.
“We have always stressed upon the education to be imparted in the indigenous language but our concern is the final goal of such education” the intervention said. “When these days the indigenous community are fast losing their culture and tradition as they are trying to find their presence in the national mainstream. Keeping this perspective in mind we feel as to what does one intend to do after an indigenous individual or group of such individuals are educated. No doubt the final goal for education is amelioration of human society, but nowadays apart from conversion of the so-called Homo sapiens, a social human being of the society, the vocational side too is very important” the recommendation added.
Further, the Indian Confederation of Indigenous and Tribal Peoples’ intervention stated, “Shall one facilitate the development of the community at micro-level that is at the local level where one is taught in his own dialect and is such educated that he is very much adjusted in his own environment and can lead a peaceful and happy life or he should be confronted with the national mainstream and his development is at macro level. In either case consent of the community is must. As the path is a processual stage the manifestation of the pitfalls many a times is only when the development programs is in process.
We believe that vide spectrum of indigenous leadership around the globe are in the process of imparting education amongst the indigenous populations which is culturally appropriated and easily adaptive in nature.” The Indian indigenous peoples intervention also urged the leadership in the country to “make education friendly for our indigenous brethren across the country.”
At the heart of redefining the Millennium Development Goals in relation to the indigenous peoples is how to apply the goals to indigenous peoples. A common voice from the indigenous peoples is to be included in decision making in issues related to them. And additionally for those developments to be a human rights-based approach.
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