INDIGENOUS PEOPLES (IP) communities on Wednesday (August 5) cited accomplishments and challenges since the enactment of the Indigenous People’s Rights Act (IPRA) in 1997, in commemoration of the International Day of World’s Indigenous Peoples.
In a web forum facilitated by the National Commission on Indigenous Peoples (NCIP), its chairperson, Undersecretary Allen Capuyan, cited as some of the major recent initiatives the development of an IP Master Plan and Strategic Plan containing a roadmap to strengthen the recognition, respect, promotion, and protection of the four bundles of rights; the strengthened implementation of the Ancestral Domain Food Security Framework; the creation of a task force in partnership with the Office of the Ombudsman to investigate human rights violations and abuses against IPs; and the comprehensive documentation of the cultural profile of 132 IP groups in the country.
NCIP facilitated the dialogue between IP communities from all over the country with United Nations representatives and the international community during the forum, “Voices from the Ancestral Domains: Fulfilling Rights and Addressing Challenges”.
The web forum also presented the issues and challenges that indigenous communities continue to face.
NCIP said it pushed for IP communities to speak directly with the international community as the IPs feel they were never truly represented in discourses.
Customary laws mandate that only the tribal council or the tribal leaders can speak in behalf of the tribe.
NCIP said IP communities and leaders who were present were grateful that for the first time, they felt that they were given the opportunity to speak of the atrocities and issues that pervade their own ancestral domains, instead of stories narrated by non-IPs and non-ancestral domain settlers.
Some of the IP representatives who were in the forum were the families of the victims of summary executions and killings by the Communist Party of the Philippines-New People’s Army-National Democratic Front (CPP-NPA-NDF), designated as a foreign terrorist group, by the United States and the European Union in 2002 and 2005, respectively.
A number of reactors from IP communities were themselves victims of radicalization and inciting to violent extremism, enforced labor or slavery, and various forms of exploitation in the so-called “alternative schools” for IPs.
‘Not only on paper’
UN Special Rapporteur on Indigenous Peoples, Francisco Cali Tzay, congratulated the NCIP on the organization of the web forum and welcomed the opportunity to hear directly from the IP communities and leaders themselves.
He commended the Philippines for being one of the few countries that recognize the human rights of indigenous peoples “not only on paper” but also through the awarding of the certificates of ancestral domain titles for ancestral territories in both land and water.
The special rapporteur emphasized the importance of ancestral domains which are integral in the realization of cultural and other human rights of the IPs.
A staunch advocate of indigenous peoples’ rights who spoke actively on IP issues in his country, Cali, while citing his support for a peaceful “struggle” or defense of rights, said the UN does not support armed struggle as a solution to a problem and is strongly against all terrorist activities.
IP master plan
Meanwhile, UN resident coordinator, Gustavo Gonzalez, recognized several concrete initiatives of the NCIP under Capuyan.
He identified as some of the measures that the UN would be interested to support and include in a joint program with the Philippine government the creation of an investigative task force and the IP master plan which respond to needs on the ground.
He said sustainable development in the Philippines would not be conceivable without addressing issues of the indigenous peoples and communities.
Gonzalez also cited that it was regrettable that the armed groups did not respect the ceasefire declarations of the UN Secretary General and President Rodrigo Duterte, which could have been a concrete way of supporting and helping indigenous peoples affected by the pandemic.
In response to a question about the position of CHR on the ongoing recruitment of IP minors by the CPP-NPA-NDF to join the armed struggle, Commissioner Pimentel-Gana said CHR decries such kind of abuse against the IPs and assured the public that it would investigate all complaints filed and would do its best to obtain justice for the victims.
She said CHR is in the process of signing a memorandum of agreement with the NCIP to facilitate better coordination on matters concerning the human rights of IPs.
In their call to action, IP leaders and representatives called for the fast tracking of the implementation of the IPRA and the conduct of a thorough and just community-based investigations on abuses and violations perpetrated by the CPP-NPA-NDF particularly against IPs in Mindanao.
Amid an alarming trend of misrepresentations and misinformation on IP issues by certain groups and non-state actors, the IP leaders called for the exercise of diligence and appealed to the UN and the international community to directly engage with IP communities and consider their voices in having a truly informed picture of the human rights situation of IPs in the Philippines.
Among the guest speakers at the forum were UN Special Rapporteur on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Francisco Cali Tzay, UN Resident Coordinator Gustavo Gonzalez, Commission on Human Rights Commissioner Gwendolyn Pimentel-Gana, and House of Representatives Chairperson of the Committee on Indigenous Cultural Communities/ IPs Allen Jesse Mangaoang, among others.
Also present during the forum were representatives from UN agencies, international organizations, diplomatic corps, government agencies, the academe, and non-government organizations.
The Indigenous Peoples Web Forum may be viewed at https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=586338328744911&id=2008698719356500.
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