IPS-English NEPAL: A Nod to Indigenous People Date: Tue, 29 Aug 2006 19:43:51 -0700 X-Nohoney: yes white-hard - relay H=adsl-63-203-231-61.dsl.snfc21.pacbell.net (borg.energy-net.org) [63.203.231.61] X-Sender-Host-Address: 63.203.231.61 X-Sender-Host-Name: adsl-63-203-231-61.dsl.snfc21.pacbell.net X-Spam-Class: HAM-VERY-WHITELIST ROMAIPS AP CR DV HD IP IN NP=20 NEPAL: A Nod to Indigenous People Marty Logan KATHMANDU, Aug 29 (IPS) - Nepal's parliament moved again to right the wro= ngs of the past Monday, directing the government to ratify an internation= al law on indigenous people. The House of Representatives instructed the government to endorse the Int= ernational Labour Organisation (ILO) Convention on Indigenous and Tribal = Peoples. If its backers maintain pressure on the government, ratification= should happen in the next session of parliament in a couple of months, s= aid parliamentarian Bijaya Subba, who piloted the recommendation through = the house. The move comes as the country's indigenous people, about 40 percent of th= e population of 25 million people, grow sceptical that they will benefit = =66rom April's =94people's movement=94, three weeks of nationwide street = protests that forced King Gyanendra to give up direct rule. Since the monarch restored parliament, legislators have tried to live up = to the movement's expectations by issuing grandiose declarations, includi= ng one that vows to abolish all laws that discriminate against women and = another abolishing =94untouchability=94, the practise of higher-caste Hin= dus avoiding contact with those from the lowest caste, or class. Until this session of parliament, Nepal was the world's only Hindu kingdo= m. That ended when another proclamation designated the South Asian nation= a secular state. Many people doubt the government will translate its pledges into=20 reality. After the return of multi-party democracy following the first pe= ople's movement in 1990, multiple governments failed to deliver much deve= lopment in this impoverished nation but the period marked the launch of a= Maoist uprising that has resulted in roughly 14,000 deaths. The parties that jockeyed for power in the 1990s are the same ones now in= control of parliament and leading peace talks with Maoist leaders. Misgivings about their declared intentions were fuelled in June when the = government created a six-member interim constitution drafting committee -= -=20 minus women. After loud street protests that included the minister of sta= te for women, the group was expanded to include women and other groups la= belled =94disadvantaged=94: indigenous people and members of the lowest c= aste (or Dalits). The ILO treaty, known widely as Convention 169, commits the government to= consult with indigenous people when it makes decisions affecting their l= ives and to ensure that they participate in such decision-making. After the government ratifies the convention, =94it will be obligated to = provide programmes to deliver its promises=94, Subba told IPS. =94Till to= day all governments have neglected janajati (indigenous people's) issues = although they made policies to deal with them,=94 he added. Nepal recognises 59 indigenous groups, or nationalities. Although a few o= f them enjoy higher than average standards of living, on the whole they a= re the poorest of the poor. Per capita income of all janajati groups in 2= 004 was 15,630 rupees (211 US dollars) while the Nepal average was 20,689= rupees, according to the Nepal Living Standard Survey. When they tossed their first homemade bombs at government offices in the = western hills, a decade ago, the Maoists vowed to deliver justice for jan= ajatis and dalits. They have since divided the country into autonomous re= gions based on regions' ethnic populations. Many indigenous activists are also advocating for autonomous regions to f= orm the basis of the new political setup that will be designed by a futur= e constituent assembly. But the mainstream political parties are proposin= g instead various forms of federalism to replace the current centralised = system. Last weekend, outspoken janajati activist Krishna Bhattachan said it is t= ime for indigenous people to create their own political party. Indigenous= people fight for their rights =94but the political parties never grant t= hem=94, he told janajati students in Kathmandu, reported 'The Himalayan T= imes' newspaper. If such a party is not formed, indigenous people might decide en masse to= back one political party that best represents their interests, another j= anajati leader, Balkrishna Mabuhang Limbu, told IPS. =94Right now, people= think that party is the Maoists,=94 he added. Convention 169 =94is a development tool, not a political one=94, said Sal= oman Rajbanshi of the ILO's Nepal office. =94What (it) does provide for i= s self-management and the right of indigenous and tribal peoples to decid= e their own priorities,=94 he added in an email interview. =94It does not mean that the lives of Nepal's indigenous people will chan= ge overnight for the better,=94 Rajbanshi added. =94But it provides a le= gal framework that advocates their participation and consultation in deve= lopment activities.=94 Activist Shankar Subba believes the government will have to abide by that= framework. =94If there is a mechanism to force the government to consult= I'm very much sure that it cannot deny that right,=94 the secretary of t= he Lawyers Association for the Human Rights of Nepali People told IPS. ***** +ILO Convention 169=20 (http://www.ilo.org/public/english/standards/norm/egalite/itpp/convention= /index.htm) (END/IPS/NP/AP/IP/DV/IN/CR/HD/ML/RDR/06) =20 =3D 08291125 ORP007 NNNN