DOCUMENT: ILO_88.TXT U N I T E D N A T I O N S Economic and Social Council ENGLISH Distr. Original: ENGLISH GENERAL E/CN.4/Sub.2/AC.4/1988/3/Add.1 GE. 88-12580/0164p 20 June 1994 COMMISSION ON HUMAN RIGHTS Sub-Commission on Prevention of Discrimination and Protection of Minorities Working Group on Indigenous Populations Sixth session 1-5 August 1988 Items 4 and 5 of the provisional agenda REVIEW OF DEVELOPMENTS PERTAINING TO THE PROMOTION AND PROTECTION OF HUMAN RIGHTS AND FUNDAMENTAL FREEDOMS OF INDIGENOUS POPULATIONS STANDARD-SETTING ACTIVITIES: EVOLUTION OF STANDARDS CONCERNING THE RIGHTS OF INDIGENOUS POPULATIONS Information received from United Nations organs and specialized agencies ADDENDUM The present document contains the communication received from the International Labour Office. INTERNATIONAL LABOUR OFFICE [30 June 1988] [Original: English] REVISION OF CONVENTION NO. 107: STEPS TO COME At its 75th Session in June 1988 the International Labour Conference held the first of two discussions leading to the revision of the ILO's Indigenous and Tribal Populations Convention, 1957 (No. 107). The Committee appointed by the Conference met from 2 to 18 June, and its report was adopted by the Conference in plenary session on 21 June. The Committee's report (Conference Provisional Record No. 32, attached) includes a summary of its deliberations. The Committee had before it proposed conclusions prepared by the International Labour Office on the basis of consultations with the ILO's constituents. The Committee's deliberations comprised a general discussion, followed by an examination of the proposed conclusions point by point. The Office is now preparing a draft revised Convention on the basis of the conclusions adopted by the Committee. This draft will be sent to all member States in early August 1988, for their comments and for the comments of workers' and employers' organisations, in accordance with the ILO's tripartite structure. Their replies will be due on 30 November 1988, and on the basis of the replies received a second draft of the Convention will be circulated in March 1989. These two documents will be placed before the Conference at its 76th Session, beginning on 7 June 1989, for the second and final discussion. At the 76th Session of the Conference, the same procedure will be followed. A special committee will be established to discuss the question, meeting throughout the Conference. Its report and a draft revised Convention will be submitted to the plenary Session of the Conference for adoption, which must be by a two-thirds vote. In accordance with the ILO Constitution, when the revised Convention is adopted by the Conference in 1989, it must be submitted to the "competent authorities" of each member State within a year (or at most 18 months) after its adoption, "for the enactment of legislation or other action" (article 19, para. 5 of the Constitution). This means that the revised Convention will be put before the legislative authority of each country, along with a recommendation by the Government of what action should be taken on it. Information must then be supplied to the ILO on the measures taken. It is expected that the Conference will decide in 1989 that Convention No. 107 will be closed to further ratifications, when the revised Convention comes into force (that is, when it is ratified by a specified minimum number of countries, usually two). Convention No. 107 would, however, remain in force for countries which have ratified it but not ratified the revised Convention. Finally, when the report was put before the plenary of the Conference for adoption, a representative of the Indian Council of South America spoke in the name of several other NGOs in putting on the official record of the Conference the views of these NGOs. Another speaker, a native American who was a member of the employers' delegation from a member State, also spoke very movingly and convincingly to the Conference to support the report and ask for further progress. SUBSTANTIVE QUESTIONS While it is too early to discuss substantive results of the Conference in detail, some points already appear clear. First, the Conference adopted without question the basic recommendation made by the 1986 Meeting of Experts, and by the United Nations' Special Rapporteur, Mr. Martinez Cobo. This consists of changing the orientation of the Convention away from the integrationist approach adopted in 1957, to respect for the cultures, ways of life and very existence of indigenous and tribal peoples, and of incorporating requirements for consultation and participation. Indeed, in many cases the Conference showed a willingness on the part of governments as well as the other social partners to adopt requirements for the full participation of indigenous and tribal peoples in the planning and administration of programmes and other measures adopted for their benefit. In some cases, it is also foreseen in the Committee's conclusions that actual control of programmes intended for them, especially in regard to health and education, would gradually to be transferred to their own administration, and resources made available by governments to run them. On the other hand, no agreement has yet been reached on two important issues. On the question of whether to use the designation "peoples" or "populations" in the revised Convention, the Committee was unable to reach full agreement this year. The fear was expressed by a number of government delegates that the use of the term "peoples" without qualifying language might lead to claims of the right to self-determination in the sense of separation from the countries in which these peoples live. The Committee was unable to reach agreement in 1988 on language which would satisfy all the concerns expressed with a view to limiting the impact of the use of this term. It therefore decided to include in the draft Convention the expression "(peoples/populations)" in order to indicate that no decision had yet been taken. Discussions on another key issue, concerning land rights, also could not be completed in 1988, and final decision was deferred until the second discussion. It emerged from the general discussion which was held, that one point of disagreement was whether to use to the term "lands" or "territories". As for other questions of terminology, fears were expressed by some that the term "territories" might carry implications beyond a mere description of the way in which indigenous and tribal peoples see their relationship to the territories they occupy. Another unresolved issue is the extent to which and the way in which these peoples will be protected against involuntary removals from their lands, and from exploration for and exploitation of non-renewable resources. These questions have been deferred to 1989 for a final resolution. The Committee was frequently reminded by various speakers that the Conference was engaged in drafting a Convention, which when ratified would create binding legal obligations. It was stated on a number of occasions that it was necessary to ensure that the provisions included in the draft not be such as to make it difficult for countries to ratify the Convention. In this connection, the complementary nature of the standard-setting procedures currently operating in the ILO and in the United Nations, was evoked a number of times. PARTICIPATION OF NGOs IN THE DELIBERATIONS NGOs took a very prominent part in the deliberations leading up to and during the Conference discussion in 1988. This participation was unprecedented in its magnitude at a comparable level in a standard-setting exercise, either for the ILO or for other intergovernmental organisations. To summarise briefly, the ILO Governing Body requested all governments to consult representatives of indigenous and tribal populations in their countries when preparing their replies to the initial questionnaire in 1987, and to do whatever was possible to include representatives of these peoples in their delegations. A number of such representatives did attend the Conference as members of Government, employer and worker delegations. In addition, the Office reflected any replies received from NGOs of indigenous and tribal peoples, or from other organisations working in their interests, in the documents and recommendations put before the Conference. At the 1988 Session of the Conference, the Office also prepared a trilingual summary of all the other statements, declarations, or other positions expressed by such organisations, in relation to each of the questions before the Committee, as an official Committee document. It also made available copies of the Analytical Compilation of such statements prepared by the United Nations secretariat in 1986. As for the direct participation of representatives of these organisations, the Governing Body extended invitations to all the international NGOs which expressed their wish to attend the Conference as observers under Article 56 of the Standing Orders. Also under this Article, these organisations were able to request the right to intervene in the discussions, which they did on a number of occasions. They agreed among themselves to coordinate their statements and for one organisation to speak in the name of all of them, for each separate subject. Other NGOs present, who did not have international status and thus could not participate directly in the formal meetings, were given a possibility to speak in their own names at a specially-convened informal session of the Committee, attended by all its members. They also remained in contact with the international NGOs, and made their opinions known through these NGOs. All such interventions were co-ordinated by an Indigenous Rights Group of NGOs formed for this purpose at the Conference. Most important was the access given to indigenous and tribal representatives by the Workers' Group on the Committee, who presented many of the proposals made by the NGOs as their own proposals, and defended them in the Committee. The NGOs also had the opportunity to discuss their positions with all the members of the Committee, and thus had a measurable impact on the Committee's ready acceptance of most of the positions put forward. It should also be mentioned that the Reporter of the Committee was the representative of Denmark for the Greenland Home Rule Government. It will be up to the Committee whether the arrangements which were concluded in 1988 will be renewed for the 1989 Session of the Conference. The Committee did include in its report its appreciation of the co-operation demonstrated and the invaluable contribution made by these organizations, and urged all governments to consult with representatives of indigenous and tribal peoples in preparing for the 1989 Session of the Conference. -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- ::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: :: -= THE FOURTH WORLD DOCUMENTATION PROJECT =- :: :: A service provided by :: :: The Center For World Indigenous Studies :: :: www.cwis.org :: ::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: Originating at the Center for World Indigenous Studies, Olympia, Washington USA www.cwis.org © 1999 Center for World Indigenous Studies (All Rights Reserved. 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