On the eve of what is known to most North Americans as Columbus Day, and with several countries in the Americas poised to celebrate the continent's multicultural heritage, Amnesty International issued a sobering report on the denial of the rights of the Americas' indigenous peoples. Throughout the Americas, indigenous people are still second-class citizens, marginalized and subject to grave and systematic human rights abuses.
The lack of progress has been discouraging, in light of the demands set forth by indigenous groups and the commitments assumed by governments and the international community in recent years. "More than half the countries on the continent recognize the multicultural character of the state and guarantee indigenous rights in their constitutions and legislation. However, this is in stark contrast with the reality faced by the vast majority of indigenous people from Canada, through Central America, down to the very tip of Chile and Argentina," the report stated.
Frustration with the status quo led to demonstrations last week in a number of Latin American cities, including Santiago, the capital of Chile, where a ''Mapuche March'' was convened by local indigenous and human rights groups. The denial of rights to land and cultural identity, attacks on human rights defenders working with indigenous communities, human rights violations including unlawful killings, torture and excessive use of force, and violations committed in the context of conflict, were all cited as evidence of the challenges and threats that face many indigenous communities.
In Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Guatemala and Nicaragua, indigenous claims to ancestral territories have ''come up against violent opposition from land-owners and companies exploiting natural resources, often supported by the authorities,'' AI said. The organization also criticized a Mexican plan to build a corridor stretching from Puebla state in central Mexico to Panama. The report compared the plan to such ill-advised undertakings as a project to dig a canal through Indian burial grounds in Nicaragua and plans to build an oil pipeline across Indian lands in Ecuador. The report noted that Guatemala had done little to help Mayans recover from a 1960-1996 civil war. In Colombia, paramilitary groups have killed and kidnapped several prominent Indian leaders, and continue their campaign of terror.
AI also emphasized that ''racism and discrimination entrenched in most societies make indigenous people more vulnerable to human rights violations including torture and ill-treatment, 'disappearance','' and murder. AI believes that governments throughout the Americas clearly lack the political will to make indigenous rights a reality, as demonstrated by the failure of the Guatemalan government to address the genocide of its own indigenous population.
"This lack of commitment is further demonstrated by the way governments have been dragging their feet in regards to the adoption in the Inter-American system of the American Declaration on Indigenous People," the organization added, urging governments in the region to comply with this year's Organization of American States General Assembly's resolution on indigenous rights.
Amnesty International also called on governments to take immediate and concrete actions to turn their rhetoric on multiculturalism and indigenous rights into reality. The organization reminded governments of the commitments they made at the World Conference against Racism in Durban, South Africa last year, which set specific goals for actions on indigenous people's rights.
"This means ensuring real representation of indigenous communities and promoting respect of the full range of indigenous rights not only in the legal, judicial and political system, but throughout society as a whole," the report stated.
