Buenos Aires, December 7, 2011
“In my capacity as United Nations Special Rapporteur on the rights of indigenous peoples, I am concluding an official visit to Argentina that began last November 27. During my visit, I have held a series of meetings with various representatives of indigenous peoples and communities, and with officials from the national government in Buenos Aires and from the provinces in Neuquén, Río Negro, Salta, Jujuy and Formosa. Likewise, I made visits to different indigenous communities in these provinces and held meetings with representatives of civil society.
“I would like to thank the Government of Argentina for the cooperation it has given me during the visit. I would also like to thank the representatives of indigenous peoples and organizations in Argentina whose collaboration in planning and carrying out my visit was essential.
“During my visit I have tried to understand the points of view of the native peoples, representatives of the national and provincial governments and other interested parties on the scope and challenges that exist with respect to the enjoyment of the human rights of the indigenous peoples of Argentina.
“During the next few weeks I will be reviewing the information I have obtained during the visit to prepare a report that will evaluate the human rights situation of indigenous peoples in Argentina and that will include a series of recommendations. This report will be made public and will be presented to the United Nations Human Rights Council. My expectation is that the report will contribute to the search for solutions by the Government of Argentina and the indigenous peoples to the various challenges faced by the country's indigenous peoples.
“In anticipation of my report, I now offer some preliminary observations.
“In all the places visited, I have been able to verify a consensus among the interested parties regarding the advances in the legal normative framework that have occurred in the country in terms of the rights of indigenous peoples. These advances include the important provisions of the Argentine Constitution of 1994 on indigenous matters, and Law 26,160 of 2006, which aims to stop the evictions of indigenous communities and undertake a program of legal survey at the national level to contribute to the regularization of the indigenous community property. Another significant advance is the ratification by Argentina of Convention 169 of the International Labor Organization on indigenous and tribal peoples.
“However, I observe that, in order to implement the rights recognized in these instruments, it is necessary for national and provincial institutions to give higher priority to issues related to the human rights of indigenous peoples. In this sense, I believe that government institutions need to be strengthened and trained to better respond to the various problems faced by the native peoples of the country.
“In particular, I consider it important that training programs be undertaken for officials of the judiciary at the national and provincial levels in national and international standards on the rights of indigenous peoples and their application in cases related to issues such as rights to lands and resources. native to these peoples.
“At the same time, the Government of the nation and the provinces must better incorporate the standards set forth in ILO Convention 169, the United Nations Declaration on the rights of indigenous peoples and other international instruments applicable in the elaboration of its public policies and its programming. Also, they must redouble efforts to coordinate the actions they undertake in favor of indigenous peoples, including in relation to the territorial survey and the effective recognition of the legal status of indigenous communities or peoples.
“In this connection, a central concern expressed by indigenous representatives during the course of my hearing has been the lack of legal certainty of their rights over their traditional lands, and in particular the various problems and delays they face in the territorial survey processes. Of special concern to indigenous peoples throughout the country is the series of evictions of members of indigenous peoples within extensions of land claimed by them based on their traditional or ancestral occupation.
“Most of these evictions have been the product of a court order that makes the effective recognition of community property difficult, and they have occurred in the framework of territorial disputes between members of indigenous peoples and private owners or companies. This situation is of special concern given that these evictions have been carried out in recent years despite the recognition of indigenous communal property in the nation's Constitution, Law 26,160 and ILO Convention 169.
“Another problem related to the legal insecurity of the traditional lands of indigenous peoples is the existence or promotion of extractive industry projects within or near indigenous territories and communities. I have heard testimonies from members of indigenous peoples about the effects on health and the environment caused by extractive activities, and about the need for the Argentine State to pay more attention to remedying these effects.
“A common factor present in the various cases that have been brought to my attention has been the lack of effective consultation with the affected indigenous peoples before undertaking such projects, and the lack of their participation in making decisions about these projects and in the economic benefits derived from them. I agree with what I have heard both from indigenous representatives and from some government representatives, that it is necessary to regulate a consultation procedure with indigenous peoples in relation to extractive industries and other matters that affect them.
“Also in relation to the participation of indigenous peoples in decision-making that affects them, I am concerned about the information I have received about the effects generated by the declaration of UNESCO World Heritage Sites in areas where indigenous communities live. , for example in the Quebrada de Humahuaca. I have been informed that the original peoples living within these sites were not involved in the process of declaring the sites, are not participating in their management and feel limited in their ability to maintain their traditional and subsistence activities within of these sites.
“At the same time, I have learned about development initiatives proposed by the indigenous peoples themselves that promote their own management of their natural resources and the economic self-sufficiency of their communities. I believe that the State must promote these initiatives and create the conditions to strengthen effective control by indigenous peoples over their economic development.
“For this, it is also essential that indigenous peoples have access to adequate education, an education that reaches their communities and is adapted to their realities. In this connection, I believe that there is a need to expand existing bilingual intercultural education programs with the participation of indigenous peoples in order to truly promote indigenous languages and cultures. In addition, the State and the provinces must give greater attention to access to university education and the particular situation of indigenous women studying in urban areas.
“I recognize that some of these concerns are being addressed by federal and provincial institutions. For example, I have learned of some important initiatives of the National Institute of Indigenous Affairs (INAI) to advance in the territorial survey and some social development programs in the provinces. I also recognize the program, within the framework of the Audiovisual Communication Service Law, to improve the communication capacity of indigenous communities in remote areas through the establishment of community radio stations.
“These advances need to be strengthened, and for this it is necessary for the Government to give greater priority to the indigenous issue, to develop new programs and public policies in this regard, and to ensure that these programs and policies are implemented in accordance with the relevant international standards. .