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Download the file - United Nations Rule of Law

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through a variety <strong>of</strong> legal instruments and policies.They have ranged from outright exclusion toinclusion at very inferior conditions.The typical outcomes involved are dispossession<strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong>ir traditional lands, relocation withoutcompensation and basic support services; underinvestmentin education and health; ill-adaptededucational systems and materials — all <strong>of</strong> whichtranslate, among o<strong>the</strong>rs, into disadvantageousstatus in labour markets. ITPs expelled from <strong>the</strong>irancestral domains become seasonal, migrant,bonded or home-based labourers; <strong>the</strong>y are exposedto various forms <strong>of</strong> exploitation. Discriminationin wage is common practice and <strong>the</strong>re ishigh incidence <strong>of</strong> forced labour. Unemployment,especially youth unemployment, is higher amongITPs compared to <strong>the</strong> national average. 36The challenge lies in how to improve living andworking conditions among ITPs so that <strong>the</strong>y cancontinue to exist as distinct peoples, if <strong>the</strong>y wishto do so. Specific efforts for legal empowerment<strong>of</strong> indigenous people have to be made. The ILO’sIndigenous and Tribal Peoples Convention (seeBox 3) provides guidance and strategies for legalempowerment with respect not only to labourrights and protection <strong>of</strong> employment, but also toland and property rights.Special efforts for <strong>the</strong>ir legal empowerment aredemonstrated in an ‘ethnic audit’ <strong>of</strong> 14 PovertyReduction Strategy Papers (PRSPs) as well ascase studies <strong>of</strong> country processes in Bolivia,Cambodia, Cameroon, Guatemala and Nepal. Theresearch clearly showed that while indigenouspeoples are disproportionately represented among<strong>the</strong> poor, <strong>the</strong>ir needs and priorities are generallynot reflected in <strong>the</strong> strategies employed tocombat poverty.Legal empowerment <strong>of</strong> indigenous and tribalpeoples must address <strong>the</strong> structural causes <strong>of</strong><strong>the</strong>ir disenfranchisement and social exclusionthrough:• Legal frameworks that recognise individualand group rights.• Institutions and policies that respect and accommodatecultural diversity.• Organisation and mobilisation <strong>of</strong> indigenouspeople for participation and political change. 37ConclusionsThe vast majority <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> working poor earn <strong>the</strong>irliving in <strong>the</strong> informal economy where averageearnings are low, productivity is poor, workingconditions are hazardous, and risks are high. Anyattempt to formulate policies and approachesfor <strong>the</strong> informal economy must understand itscharacteristics, including <strong>the</strong> deep segmentationfound in it. This section provided a global picture<strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> informal economy, highlighting its size,segmentation, and <strong>the</strong> vulnerabilities <strong>of</strong> its particularsegments. Women dominate <strong>the</strong> most-disadvantagedcategories <strong>of</strong> informal work, 38 notablyindustrial outwork and home-based production. Itis also in <strong>the</strong> informal economy that child labourand bonded labour are most prevalent and mostdifficult to address. Indigenous and tribal peoplesare marginalized largely due to discrimination.Their cultural identity is suppressed and <strong>the</strong>y areexcluded from social services that should prepare<strong>the</strong>m for <strong>the</strong> labour market; fur<strong>the</strong>rmore, when atwork, <strong>the</strong>y face many forms <strong>of</strong> discrimination.Despite early predictions <strong>of</strong> its eventual demise,<strong>the</strong> informal economy has not only grownworldwide but also emerged in new guises andunexpected places. Though understood to becounter-cyclical, different segments <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong>informal economy are seen to have differentcyclical patterns leading to different patterns<strong>of</strong> informalisation across countries. In virtually146

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