Summary: Workshop on Indigenous Peoples and the Private Sector
This session focused on indigenous peoples and the private sector,
providing examples from the Philippines and Canada. Ms. Vicky Tauli Corpuz
of the Tebtebba Foundation, began by telling us a little about the situation in the Philippines, where she is from. She talked about the need to maintain land for future generations, and that if people unite,
they “can be a strong force.” She pointed out that people in the
Philippines have a love/hate relationship with the private sector, since many of the problems stem from the control of natural resources and the right to self-determination.
Ms. Corpuz gave an example of a Canadian mining company who exploited a group of indigenous people.
Oddly enough, she said, some of the company staff came over to negotiate but instead of meeting with the indigenous,
the staff met with local people in the town, people who had no interest or knowledge of the situation.
Ms. Corpuz said her organization in the
Philippines wanted to look at models in other parts of the world, to work towards the change of
World Trade Organization (WTO) policies.
Mr. Jon-Gil Woo of the United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights
addressed several issues of how transnational companies impact indigenous
peoples, in particular:
- the interconnectedness between land and self-determination;
- the fact that the indigenous want prior consent to any decisions made about their land;
- the issue of relocation for the indigenous; and
- the importance of participation from the indigenous peoples.
He ended with the comment “no matter what legal standards are in place, we must empower the indigenous peoples, so they can protect
themselves."
Mr. Willy Littlechild of Indigenous Barrister then talked about the legislative framework that is in place in his region of Canada, and the need to find mechanisms for dispute resolution. He
mentioned that it was important to enter into an equitable relationship with
companies and that it was imperative for discussions to take place before any
development is taking place, in order to balance the pro’s and con’s of development.
Mr. Littlechild suggested that there should be human rights training for indigenous
peoples. Interestingly enough, this has also been requested by some companies in recent months. The private sector, he said, should provide some way of exchanging information.
Conclusions
It is important for indigenous peoples and private sector companies to exchange their views and find a common ground before any development
—e.g. gas pipelines, digging,
constructions— is started. Further, human rights training for indigenous peoples is an important component.
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