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Indigenous Peoples' Participation in Colombian Elections Impossible if Basic Right to Life not Respected.

MONTREAL -  May 24, 2002 -  Colombia's indigenous peoples' rights to political participation will continue to be a charade without a concerted effort to protect their basic right to life, Rights & Democracy said today as Colombians prepare to elect a president this weekend.

"Routine violations of the fundamental right to life of Colombia's indigenous peoples present a real obstacle to their meaningful participation in political life," said Rights & Democracy's President Warren Allmand, one year after his return from a joint fact-finding mission to Colombia with the Assembly of First Nations.

Rights & Democracy's concerns echoed those expressed by UN Human Rights Commissioner, Mary Robinson, who in her report to the 58th Session of the Commission of Human Rights in Geneva, denounced a "manifest increase" in violations of the human rights of indigenous peoples. Mrs. Robinson also affirmed, "Attacks on these leaders particularly weaken the internal organization and undermine the leadership of their communities and jeopardize their very survival as communities."

There is some irony in the fact that Colombia's legislation on indigenous peoples is one of the most progressive in the world. The 1991 Constitution affirms the ethnic and cultural diversity of the nation, and allows for the election of two indigenous senators by indigenous communities. Currently, three indigenous senators and two members of Congress have been elected both through the special jurisdiction as well as through open electoral competition, and one elected indigenous governor represents the province of Cauca. The Constitution also provides for the creation of autonomous indigenous territories, a proviso which has never been fully implemented, and Colombia has also ratified Convention 169 of the International Labour Organization, which recognizes a broad spectrum of the basic rights of indigenous peoples. Colombia's 800,000 natives belong to 84 different indigenous peoples, making up about 2% of the country's population.

Nonetheless, despite the current crisis situation, this year, one indigenous nation has managed to successfully affirm its right to determine the type of development acceptable on native lands. Rights & Democracy salutes the struggle of the U'wa people, whose organization and resistance to the plans of a US multinational to drill for oil on their lands, in the face of constant threats and hostilities from the armed forces, has resulted in the company's decision earlier this month to withdraw from the project.

Nonetheless, we are alarmed by the breakdown in February of the peace process, affecting all Colombians, and the multiple human rights violations that have occurred in the last year since our fact-finding mission, and which have further jeopardized the true political participation of indigenous peoples:

• On June 2, 2001, 48 hours after meeting with the Rights & Democracy/Assembly of First Nations mission, Embera Kat'o leader Kimy Pern'a Domic?, a key leader in his people's struggle against the part Canadian funded Urr? dam, was abducted by paramilitaries in Tierralta, and has not been seen since.
  
• The Regional Indigenous Council of Caldas (CRIDEC) has reported the assassination by paramilitaries of 17 indigenous leaders of the Embera Cham' people in the last 18 months. The victims include Maria Fabiola Largo Cano, a mayoral candidate for Riosucio, murdered by rightwing paramilitaries on April 9. Former governor of the Embera Cham' council Luis Angel Chaura was also murdered last 24 November, and his daughter was kidnapped by paramilitaries and has not been seen since.
  
• Embera governor Alirio Pedro Domic? Domic? of the indigenous council of Rio Esmeralda (Alto Sin?) was murdered on June 23, 2001, this murder was attributed by the UN's Colombia monitoring office to the paramilitaries;
  
• In April this year, renewed threats from paramilitaries following guerrilla incursions onto Embera territory forced the entire indigenous council of Rio Esmeralda to abandon their lands and flee to Tierralta, where they remain. The indigenous council of Embera Kat'o of Alto Sin? has decided to stay on their lands, bravely resisting such threats.
  
• Cristobal Secu?, a Paez leader and a founder of the Regional Indigenous Council of Cauca (CRIC) was murdered by the FARC insurgents on June 25, 2001.
  
• On April 21, 2002, Guillermo Gaviria, elected governor of Antioquia, a tireless advocate for a peaceful solution to the war and a defender of the rights of the indigenous peoples in the province, was kidnapped by FARC guerrillas as he led a march for peace. Governor Gaviria hosted a reception for our mission in Medellin in June 2001, and facilitated meetings with members of the Indigenous Organization of Antioquia.

In the face of such horrifying ongoing crimes, we call on Canada to play a leading role in urging the next government to guarantee the protection of Colombia's indigenous peoples from the human rights violations that threaten their very survival. Canada should also press the successful presidential candidate to make a formal commitment to respect for international humanitarian law, which protects all civilians affected by conflicts. Following the recommendations of UN Human Rights Commissioner Mary Robinson, the new President should also draw up, with the country's indigenous organizations, a detailed strategy to protect the traditional indigenous authorities who ensure the participation of the indigenous peoples of Colombia in the political affairs of the nation.

"Political participation is a human right that indigenous peoples can only realize if their basic right to life is guaranteed," said Warren Allmand. "We remind Colombia's new President that these rights for indigenous peoples should be high on their list of priorities."