UNDRIP Report - English FINAL - International Forum on Globalization

Spanish as the official language of the state, along
with thirty-two other official languages. The entire
fourth chapter contains a number of articles that
speak to indigenous peoples’ rights and identify
different indigenous conceptions of ethics and
relationships with the land, and reflect notions of
native sovereignty. The constitution currently says
that Bolivia renounces the use of war, subscribes
itself to the principles of peace, will only use
organized violence in its own defense, and will never
allow foreign military bases in Bolivia.
Ruben Gonzalez of the Alliance for Conservation
and Development I Panama explained how he
helped submit a petition to the InterAmerican
Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) about the
violation of human rights in Panamanian
communities. He said the commission requested a
special topic hearing on the situation of indigenous
people in Panama. “The government has opened
indigenous peoples’ lands to private companies from
Canada, the United States, and Europe, to do mining,
hydroelectric dams, and forestry projects,” Gonzalez
said. He added that there are very few mechanisms
that can allow indigenous peoples or NGOs to bring
private companies to court. That is precisely why one
of the main arguments in the Alliance’s case against
the Panamanian government is the denial of justice
and human rights, he said. Gonzalez added that the
violations of human rights committed include
persecution by the police, arrest of the main leaders
without any charge, and the imprisonment of women
and children. Gonzalez hoped that by using the rules
of the Intercontinental Bank and the World Bank
against them, their own initiatives could be stopped.
Anke Stock of Women in Europe for a Common
Future (WECF) described a new model for decision –
making, setting new standards for access to
information and public participation that may be a
useful example for indigenous peoples. The United
Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE)
Convention on Access to Information, Public
Participation in Decision Making and Access to
Justice in Environmental Matters was adopted in
June 1998. Stock explained that it is the first legally
binding instrument guaranteeing access to
information, public participation and decisionmaking
and justice; forty-three member states
attended the Convention. She described how it
includes a rights-based approach with three pillars.
“The first is the information pillar, which guarantees
access to information on environmental projects and
activities. The second is the public participation
pillar, which guarantees public participation. And
the third is the access to justice pillar, where
individuals who have been denied their rights to
information or public participation can review the
procedures before court. Stock said that international
forums are now trying to implement the Aarhus
Convention, a new mechanism that has brought
democratic principles to the pan-European region.
Discussion
Janet Redman of the Sustainable Energy & Economy
Network project at the Institute for Policy Studies
said that “when thinking about regional ways of
looking at the <strong>UNDRIP</strong>, carbon markets come to
mind because all regional banks (Asian Development
Bank, Inter-American Development Bank, African
Development Bank, etc.) have such schemes in their
plans for addressing climate change.” She said that
carbon markets are especially restrictive for local
communities’ participation because decisions are
made through UN mechanisms with very small
possibilities for participation, or else with companies
or national governments where representation is not
clear and/or a priority.
Marcos Orellana of the Center for <strong>International</strong>
Environmental Law (CIEL) asked the group, “We’ve
heard about corporations, extractive industries, and
conservation organizations posing threats to
noncontacted peoples, but does anyone have
information about missionaries or churches, or the
Smithsonian’s guidelines or scientific principles that
were used?”
Daphne Wysham of the Sustainable Energy &
Economy Network project at the Institute for Policy
Studies explained that there is abuse of the CDM
(Clean Development Mechanism) all over the world,
and argued that the NGOs that commit this human
rights abuse need to be cited. Wysham expressed that
a lot of Export Credit Agencies provide no
information on their investments. “Are there any
challenges to any of these credit agencies around
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