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Community mayor raise their varas, staffs symbolic of their authority.
Graham Hunt |
On March 13, 2012, gathered in the Atanasio Tzul stadium in the city of Totonicapán, thousands of representatives of Indigenous Peoples from across Guatemala welcomed the United Nations High Commissioner on Human Rights, Navi Pillay, on official visit to the country. In discourses pronounced before the assembly and reports presented to the High Commissioner, community leaders denounced, along with other transgressions, the dispossession of their lands at the hands of transnational economic interests, the re-militarization of their communities, the growing criminalization of social struggles and the exclusion and marginalization to which they continue to be subjected.
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The president of the Council of Communities of Totonicapán welcomed the High Commissioner.
Graham Hunt |
Along with the profusion of declarations emitted by each group represented, submission was made of the "
Political Position Statement of the Original Peoples of Ixim Ulew before the Visit of Madam Navi Pillay, United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights," a document which compiles and articulates the demands and proposals of different Peoples, communities, organizations and ancestral authorities from throughout the country. In its text, the Position Statement synthesizes the expressions of the Peoples in four key areas: 1. Autonomy and Free Determination; 2. Megaprojects; 3. Criminalization, Remilitarization, Legal Persecution, Threats and Intimidation; and 4. Discrimination and Racism. Likewise, as reported on the
blog of the Western Peoples Council (CPO, in Spanish), representatives of the Council presented to the High Commissioner a copy of the
Action of General and Total Inconsitutionality against the Mining Law, a formal injunction filed on March 12 before the Constitutional Court which demands the repeal of the current legislation regulating mineral extraction in Guatemala under the argument that it violates the fundamental human rights of Indigenous Peoples guaranteed in the Constitution.
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| Graham Hunt |
Following the presentation of the declarations of the leaders convened, Pillay responded, confirming her commitment to monitor closely the situation of the human rights of the indigenous Peoples of Guatemala. "I . . . take this opportunity to reassure you that the promotion and protection of the human rights of Indigenous Peoples remains a key priority for my office, the Office of the High Commission of the United Nations for Human Rights" she announced. In her speech, she expressed her concern over the denunciations of human rights abuses presented by the representatives of Guatemala's Indigenous Peoples, as well as her apprehension regarding the effects of so-called development initiatives on original Peoples worldwide.
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| Graham Hunt |
"What I have heard today reminds me of my personal experience growing up and living in South Africa" declared the High Commissioner, observing that "Racism and racial discrimination attack the very base of the dignity of the human person." She denounced that "History has shown time and again that if discrimination, racism and intolerance are allowed to take root, they destroy the very foundations of societies and damage them for generations" and warned that "Taken to the extreme, uncontrolled or intentionally nurtured, social discrimination and intolerance can lead to social cleansing and genocide."
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| Graham Hunt |
Referring to the rights of Indigenous Peoples recognized in the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, ratified by the Guatemalan state in 2007, and placing particular emphasis on Peoples' right to free determination and their right to their territory and natural resources, she declared that "I am fundamentally concerned by the negative impact on the economic, social and cultural rights of the Indigenous Peoples caused by irresponsible or negligent projects that have been or are being planned or carried out in indigenous territories without the proper guarantees or the participation of the interested Peoples."
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Community members from the area affeced by the Marlin mine, operated by the Canadian company Goldcorp, Inc..
Graham Hunt |
"These projects," she observed, "have generated a very unstable climate of social conflict and have created different conflicts between companies, Indigenous Peoples, and the state." Making reference to the rights established in ILO Convention 169 and the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, she affirmed that "The participation of Indigenous Peoples in decision-making processes that affect their territories and communities, such as the planning of development and initiatives, is fundamental in the development of a country, but it is not what we are seeing today."
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A local artistic group from Totonicapán offered a performance.
Graham Hunt |
"Today I would like to share with you some reflections regarding how we understand development," she said. "Millions of indigenous people across the world have lost or are at the imminent risk of losing their ancestral lands, territories and natural resources in order to make way for development. When Indigenous Peoples are dispossessed of their lands for development and projects of extraction of their natural resources, they tend to be left to the mercy of maintaining an existence in the margins of society. This is certainly not a sign of development. Many of these projects produce as a result the violation of human rights which implies forced evictions, displacements and even the loss of life when social disturbances and conflicts take place over natural resources. This is certainly not what we understand to mean development."
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A representative of the National Council of Ancestral Authorities reads the Position Paper of Original Peoples of Ixim Ulew before the Visit of Madam Navi Pillay, United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights.
Graham Hunt |
"I am aware of the high price Indigenous Peoples have paid and continue to pay in order to adopt a posture against extractive projects and development projects which threaten their land and their culture" related the High Commissioner, likewise declaring that "It is unacceptable that community leaders be the object of harassment, aggression and sexual violence, and that there fails to be a prompt and adequate investigation and judicial process thereof."
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| Graham Hunt |
Referring to the tendency of militarization in indigenous territories denounced by representatives of the community leaders, the High Commissioner affirmed that "I also take note of the serious concerns you all have expressed in relation to the growing presence of military forces in your territories. I understand perfectly that this can be a reminder of the terrible situation you lived during the armed conflict. The fundamental responsibility to combat crime corresponds to the civil authorities, and it is imperative that any participation of the military limit itself to exceptional circumstances, in accordance with clear, pre-established protocols and subjected to civil direction and control, in order to guarantee accountability."
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The United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Navi Pillay.
Graham Hunt |
"I want to assure you that my office will follow closely the situations that place the human rights of all the Indigenous Peoples of this country at risk" Pillay stressed. "It is also urgent to stand up to the unacceptable reality of violence against indigenous women and eliminate the attitudes of superiority of men over women. I salute with approval the commitment of the 48 cantons of Totonicapán against violence against indigenous women, and your decision to elect a woman as president of the Council of Communities of this department."
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The High Commissioner leaves the event, accompanied by the president of the Council of Communities of Totonicapán.
Graham Hunt |
"I would like to conclude by expressing my gratitude for this opportunity to meet with you," finished the High Commissioner. "I'm encouraged to see that, despite the ongoing struggles and violations that indigenous peoples are suffering in the country, the organization among all communities remains strong."
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