from Priscilla Settee - Canadian Women's Health Network

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American Indians (the oldest and largestnational organization, comprised ofrepresentatives from 67l American Indiantribal governments in the United States)passed a resolution condemning theHGDP and called upon all related activitiesto cease immediately.Central Australian Aboriginal Congress.Coined as the "Vampire Project" by theWorld Congress of Indigenous Peoples,the Central Australian Aboriginal CongressPosition Paper stated in 1993:“The Vampire Project is legalized theft.The Vampire scientists are planning totake and to own what belongs toIndigenous People. We must makesure that our people are not exploitedonce more by corporations,governments, and their scientists.”Maori Congress. In 1994 at the MaoriCongress Indigenous PeoplesRoundtable, Indigenous participants fromthe World Council of Indigenous Peoples,Greenland Home Rule Government,COICA (Peru), Treaty Six Chiefs ofAlberta, and governmental representativesfrom Vanuatu, Papua New Guinea, andFiji declared that:“The collection of genetic samples fromIndigenous peoples such as the HumanGenome Diversity Project, is unethicaland immoral and must be brought to animmediate halt.”Patents on Indigenous Peoples. Also in1994 in Panama, the Guaymi Indians,along with citizens of Papua New Guineaand the Solomon Islands, discovered thatthe United States government had takenpatent claims out on the cell lines fromsome of their people. Through effectivecampaigning they were able to have thepatent claim abandoned.Workshop on “Intellectual PropertyRights”. In August 1994, the InternationalAcademy of the Environment, along withthe World Wildlife Federation and theUnited Nations Centre for Human Rights,organized an information workshop on"Intellectual Property Rights andIndigenous Peoples" stating:“The issue of HUGO, and othersrelated to human genes, is a seriousviolation of our peoples' rights. Withoutconsultation with the indigenouscommunities, several projects are nowtaking blood, hair, tissue and othersamples for purposes that are not clear.This practice of collecting sampleswithout our approval is very dangerousbecause in this way our geneticmaterial can be patented or used forother purposes. Such practices not onlyviolate ethics and human rights, butalso violate nature, our spirituality, andour knowledge of creation thatconnects us with all forms of life.”Latin and South American Consultation. InBolivia in September 1994, the Latin andSouth American Consultation onIndigenous Peoples Knowledge rejectedthe HGDP and human genetic research.Asian Consultation. Similarly in Malaysiain 1995, the Asian consultation on theProtection and Conservation of IndigenousPeoples Knowledge rejected the HGDP.Declaration of IndigenousOrganizations. In Arizona, at the sametime, Indigenous leaders from US,Canada, Panama, Ecuador, Peru,Bolivia, and Argentina, formulated aDeclaration of IndigenousOrganizations of the WesternHemisphere. It considered theresponsibility to future generations:“We have a responsibility to speak forall life forms and to defend the integrityof the natural order. We particularlyoppose the HGDP which intends tocollect, and make available our geneticmaterials which may be used forcommercial, scientific and military4
purposes. We oppose the patenting ofall natural genetic materials. We holdthat life cannot be bought, owned, sold,discovered or patented, even in itssmallest forms.”PAHO. In April 1995 the Pan-AmericanHealth organization passed a resolutionopposing the HGDP, and stated:“This type of research will have anegative impact on future healthprogrammes and projects in indigenouscommunities, by underminingindigenous peoples' trust in the medicaland health professions.”The Pacific Consultation. The PacificConsultation on the Protection andConservation of Indigenous PeoplesKnowledge developed a Treaty declaring aLife-Forms Patent Free Pacific, withspecific objections directed to the HGDP.North American Indigenous Peoples’Summit. In August of 1997, severalhundred Indigenous peoples representingmany tribes and over 60 organizations metto discuss the impact of the newbiotechnology on their homelands andtheir people. This meeting was called "theNorth American Indigenous Peoples’Summit on Biological Diversity andBiological Ethics" It established the “Heartof the People Declaration”. The preamble"expresses our profound concern for thewell being of our Mother Earth and theIndigenous circle of Life known as'biological diversity'." The Declarationfurther states:“We wish to add our voices to ongoingglobal discussions regarding theprotection of biological diversity, thesafeguarding of traditional knowledgeand sustainable development practices,and the ethical use and treatment of allforms of life in harmony, respect andthe spiritual interconnectedness of thenatural world.”Ukupseni Declaration. In November of1997, Indigenous people representing 25organizations from 15 countries met inPanama to discuss the HGDP and theissue of human genetic piracy. Thismeeting was one the first opportunities forIndigenous people from Latin America tomeet with North American Indigenouspeople who were working on the HGDPissue. The Ukupseni Declaration on theHuman Genome Diversity Project wasestablished as a result of the two-daymeeting. The Declaration condemns theHGDP:“It calls for a moratorium on thecollection of genetic samples fromindigenous peoples, and demands therepatriation of genetic samples anddata already obtained by unethicalmeasures. It opposes the application ofintellectual property law, and patents, tohuman genes. It calls upon scientists todenounce any research conducted in amanner that violates the protocols thatprotect the human rights of humansubjects. Finally it calls upon allies towork with Indigenous Peoples todemand protection for the human andcollective rights of Indigenous Peoples.”The Indigenous Peoples Coalition onBiopiracy. The Indigenous PeoplesCoalition on Biopiracy was established in1998 to address the theft of Indigenousblood, hair, and skin sampling, and as aconcerted response to the HGDP.Coalition participants worked on strategiesto protect their communities fromexploitation. Members disseminatedinformation to the local grass-roots levels.They built alliances for sharing currentinformation as well as for implementingcollaborative action and support amongthe participating organizations andindividuals. An extensive list of key pointshas been developed by this coalition, thedirect quotation from the document is asfollows:“After careful review of HGDP and5
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