SAN SALVADOR (August 17, 2012) – The United Nations Special Rapporteur on the rights of indigenous peoples, James Anaya, today urged the Government of El Salvador to adopt new measures to rescue the ancestral culture of indigenous peoples and establish mechanisms for the participation of its representative institutions in State decision-making.
“The historical oppression of indigenous peoples and the suppression of their manifestations of identity led to the large-scale loss of important aspects of that identity and of many of the cultural and human riches that it embodies,” Mr. Anaya said in concluding his first mission* to the country to assess achievements and current challenges of the rights of indigenous peoples, in particular the Náhuas, Lencas, Pipiles and Kakawiras peoples.
The independent expert recalled the massacre of 1932, in which thousands of indigenous people died at the hands of army troops, and stressed that the effect of the serious human rights violations suffered by indigenous peoples in El Salvador is still manifested in conditions of disadvantage at present.
"The massacre of 1932 marks a policy of oppression towards the indigenous peoples who were fighting for their rights, as well as a policy of the then and successive governments of abolishing indigenous identity," he said. "The terror caused by the massacre continued to live in the collective memory of indigenous peoples alongside decades of marginalization and denial of indigenous peoples' practice of their languages and other manifestations of their distinct cultures."
Mr. Anaya described as positive President Mauricio Funes' request for forgiveness for the extermination and persecution of the country's indigenous peoples throughout history, as well as the declaration of El Salvador as a multiethnic and multicultural society. "I know that linked to this recognition, a series of initiatives have been established to address indigenous issues in the different state institutions," he said.
However, the Special Rapporteur urged the authorities to adopt more specific measures aimed at rescuing cultural manifestations, such as the language and ancestral traditions, and recommended their incorporation into social protection systems, "particularly those related to health, education, economic assistance programs for productive growth, as well as land tenure programs, which must be in accordance with cultural patterns and needs of indigenous peoples.”
Mr. Anaya also recommended the adoption of mechanisms for the participation of indigenous peoples in State decision-making spaces through their own representative institutions, especially consultation mechanisms with indigenous peoples on any development project, laws or decisions administrations that may affect them.
"It is necessary to ensure that the people can access the opportunities of other actors in Salvadoran society, in conditions of equality and without discrimination," stressed the human rights expert. “This includes opportunities for access to education, employment and justice; especially justice for indigenous women who suffer acts of violence.”
During his five-day mission, Mr. Anaya met with representatives of ministries and institutions of the Salvadoran State and of indigenous peoples, both in San Salvador and in the municipalities of Sonsonate, Izalco, Nahuizalco, Panchimalco, Cojutepeque and Cacaopera.
The Special Rapporteur will present a final report on his mission to El Salvador to the UN Human Rights Council in 2013.
On March 26, 2008, the United Nations Human Rights Council appointed Mr. James Anaya as the Special Rapporteur on the rights of indigenous peoples for an initial period of three years, and renewed his mandate for another three years in 2011. Mr. Anaya is a professor of human rights at the University of Arizona (United States). For more information, visit: http://www.ohchr.org/EN/Issues/IPeoples/SRIndigenousPeoples/Pages/SRIPeoplesIndex.aspx or www.unsr.jamesanaya.org
(*) Read the full text of the Special Rapporteur's end of mission statement: http://www.ohchr.org/EN/NewsEvents/Pages/DisplayNews.aspx?NewsID=12446&LangID=E
UN Human Rights, country page – El Salvador: http://www.ohchr.org/SP/Countries/LACRegion/Pages/SVIndex.aspx
See the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples: http://daccess-dds-ny.un.org/doc/UNDOC/GEN/N06/512/10/PDF/N0651210.pdf?OpenElement
For more information and press requests , please contact:
In El Salvador: Carlos León Ramos (+503 2209 3465/ 7742 6186 / carlos.leon@one.un.org )
In Geneva: Maia Campbell (+ 41 22 917 9314 / mcampbell@ohchr.org ) or write to indigenous@ohchr.org .
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Xabier Celaya, UN Human Rights – Media Unit (+ 41 22 917 9383 / xcelaya@ohchr.org )
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