Traditional Knowledge Bulletin |
- This week in review … IACHR takes case involving Kuna and Emberá indigenous peoples in Panama to Inter-American Court
- Resource: Report of Expert Workshop on the World Heritage Convention and Indigenous Peoples
- This week in review … India calls for binding treaty on TK
- Resource: FNI report on the ABS agreement on Teff genetic resources
- Resource: Manual on tenure rights and access to forests
- This week in review … Blog post focuses on indigenous peoples and their stewardship of ecosystems
This week in review … IACHR takes case involving Kuna and Emberá indigenous peoples in Panama to Inter-American Court Posted: 10 Apr 2013 04:56 AM PDT IACHR Takes Case Involving Panama to the Inter-American Court WASHINGTON D.C., USA: The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) filed an application with the Inter-American Court of Human rights in Case No. 12.354, Kuna Indigenous People of Madungandí and Emberá Indigenous People of Bayano and their members, Panama. The facts of this case refer to Panama's failure to meet its obligation to provide the Kuna and the Emberá, and their members, with adequate, effective procedures for gaining access to their ancestral territories and for obtaining a response to the numerous complaints of third-party interference in their territories and natural resources. From the standpoint of the right to equal protection of the law and to non-discrimination, the sequence of violations committed against these two indigenous peoples constitutes a form of discrimination. This is seen in the application of laws that reflect an assimilationist policy that contributes to the violation of indigenous peoples' right to property over their ancestral territories and natural resources. Specifically, the case refers to the ongoing violation of the right to collective property of the Kuna and the Emberá, as a consequence of Panama's failure to pay economic compensation stemming from the dispossession and flooding of the victims' ancestral territories that began in 1969. The case also has to do with the lack of recognition, titling, and demarcation of the lands granted to the Kuna and the Emberá. Along with the breach of the State's obligations concerning the collective property of indigenous peoples was a systematic disregard of numerous legal commitments made by the State as recently as 2010. In addition, Panama failed to comply with its obligations of prevention with respect to the invasion of colonists and illegal logging, as a corollary of its obligation to effectively protect the territory and natural resources of the Kuna and Emberá. The IACHR believes that this case provides an opportunity for the Inter-American Court to analyze the scope and content of the obligation of compensation of indigenous peoples when it has been established that it is not possible to restore the lands and territories occupied and used by their ancestors. This case is also representative of the intrinsic relationship between the effective and timely fulfillment of the obligations to recognize, grant title to, demarcate, and delimit the lands and territories of indigenous peoples and the situation of vulnerability and defenselessness in the face of actions by third parties, with significant impacts on their traditional ways of survival and on their social and cultural life. Read the press release … |
Resource: Report of Expert Workshop on the World Heritage Convention and Indigenous Peoples Posted: 10 Apr 2013 04:52 AM PDT International Expert Workshop on the World Heritage Convention and Indigenous Peoples Hosted by the Danish Agency for Culture, the Greenland government and IWGIA, the International Expert Workshop on the World Heritage Convention and Indigenous Peoples was part of the activities organized for the Convention's 40th Anniversary. The workshop involved indigenous experts and representatives from around the world (including from several World Heritage areas), human rights experts and actors in the World Heritage system, and resulted in a Call to Action target containing recommendations to the World Heritage Convention, UNESCO and states on how to align the implementation of the World Heritage Convention with the UN Declaration on Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP). Workshop participants also produced proposed amendments to the Convention's Operational Guidelines aimed at ensuring respect for indigenous peoples' right to free, prior informed consent in the context of World Heritage designations. This report presents the practices and challenges related to implementing a human rights policy framework for the World Heritage Convention, based on 15 cases from around the world where World Heritage sites coincide with traditional indigenous territories. Further information … Download the report [pdf] … |
This week in review … India calls for binding treaty on TK Posted: 10 Apr 2013 04:49 AM PDT India calls for binding treaty on traditional knowledge NEW DELHI, INDIA: India's Commerce Minister Anand Sharma addressed a high-level policy dialogue in Geneva and referred, among others, to the ongoing negotiations under the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO). Highlighting India's initiative of creating a unique digital library of traditional knowledge which has over 250,000 entries specifying the source and the efficacy of each product, Sharma expressed concern about extensive biopiracy through patents being awarded for traditional knowledge. "India has been at the forefront for bringing this agenda on the negotiating table and for the last one decade, we have been trying to build a consensus for a binding treaty on traditional knowledge. I hope that WIPO shall be able to bring these negotiations to culmination," he said. The next session of the WIPO Intergovernmental Committee negotiating an instrument/instruments on the protection of genetic resources, traditional knowledge and traditional cultural expressions will be held from 22-26 April 2013. Read the article … |
Resource: FNI report on the ABS agreement on Teff genetic resources Posted: 10 Apr 2013 04:46 AM PDT The Access and Benefit-Sharing Agreement on Teff Genetic Resources: Facts and Lessons This report tells the story of an agreement on access to teff genetic resources in Ethiopia, and the fair and equitable sharing of benefits derived from their use, that was hailed as one of the most advanced of its time. This agreement between the Ethiopian Institute of Biodiversity Conservation and the Dutch company Health and Performance Food International was entered into in 2005. It was seen as a pilot case of the implementation the Convention on Biological Diversity in terms of access and benefit sharing, and expectations were high. And yet, implementation of the agreement failed. The Dutch company was declared bankrupt in 2009. And, as a result of several circumstances, Ethiopia was left with fewer possibilities for generating and sharing the benefits from the use of teff genetic resources than ever before. This report provides an in-depth analysis of the course of events with regard to the agreement as well as a related patent on the processing of teff, and concludes by deriving recommendations concerning future access and benefit-sharing agreements as well as for the implementation of the Convention on Biological Diversity. The recommendations address: strengthening of the CBD Clearing-house Mechanism by introducing a separate entity providing information on bioprospecting applicants in order for provider countries to assess the applicant's professionalism; establishment of a CBD ombudsman facility to assist and support provider countries in cases of alleged violations against ABS agreements or establishment of a Third Party Beneficiary as the one established under the International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture; assigning ABS focal points in user countries the responsibility for providing access to the legal system in their countries for provider countries; and organization of national workshops in user countries for companies working with genetic resources and bioprospecting. Download the report [pdf] … |
Resource: Manual on tenure rights and access to forests Posted: 10 Apr 2013 04:43 AM PDT Tenure rights and access to forests: a training manual for research The first part of this guide has been created with the purpose of summarizing the most important aspects of forest tenure rights and access to resources, because of the relevance of these issues for research on forests. It also provides guidance on the selection of methods and tools for obtaining appropriate tenure-related information in research. It addresses tenure, the content of rights, tenure security and theoretical and policy approaches to property; the nature of tenure rights, including customary and informal ones; and other actors and variables, including the role of the state, competing interests in forests and forestland, the role of collective action, and issues of power and differentiation inside the communities. Download the publication [pdf] … |
This week in review … Blog post focuses on indigenous peoples and their stewardship of ecosystems Posted: 10 Apr 2013 04:40 AM PDT Lost tribes or global stewards? LONDON, UK: Inspired by Brazilian photographer Salgado's new exhibition Genesis, this blog post provides an overview of indigenous peoples' situation around the world; recognition of indigenous peoples' rights, including under the CBD and the Nagoya Protocol on access and benefit-sharing; as well as examples of indigenous peoples' potential, through their own self-determination, to engage with the outside world while they remain committed to protecting their identity, their traditional lands and their customary practices. Read the post … |
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