A delegation of indigenous representatives from North, Central, and South America came to Washington last week for a meeting of the Inter-American Human Rights Commission (IHRC), including representatives from Brazil, Chile, Ecuador, Bolivia, and Peru. One of the main topics brought up was by Brazilian representatives from Raposa/Serra do Sol, whose are still waiting for the president to ratify demarcation of their lands concluded in 1998. The Raposa/Serra do Sol case was investigated by the IHRC in 1997, resulting in a recommendation that the process be sped up to prevent the creation of urban settlements, but it was not heeded by the Brazilian government. Other topics included: protection of territorial rights; indigenous peoples’ rights to be consulted before imposition of mining projects on their lands; states’ respecting isolated peoples and preventing forced contact with them; the rights of indigenous workers; intellectual property rights; compensation for lost lands; and the creation of an IHRC international court that could deal with human rights cases involving indigenous peoples.
