Indigenous people, ILO Tribal People's Rights

The ILO was the first modern international organisation to sense the imporatnce of rights of indigenous peolle. Its Convention 107, ‘Concerning the Protection of Indegenous and Other Tribal and Semi – Tribal Populations in Independent Countries’ was adopted in 1957 with protective purpose, befitting post – colonial times. Self – determination as indegenous was to be regarded as fundamental. Convention 169 provides more more rights – based approach, and with the cooperation of FAO, UNESCO, and WHO.

Indegenous people, it stated, had the right to choose their own development priorities, with prior and informed consent. The criteria for indegeneity were said to include descent from people who occupied a country or region before conquest or colonisation, and retention of those people’s customs and institutions.

Indonesia is way off the mark on all of the above counts. The genocide and ‘slow – motion genocide together come on the back of the OTSUS and UP4B accelerated development reform packages it is pushing in occupied West Papua which gives a complete picture of its ability to meet its international obligations as a member of international society since 1949 when the Dutch granted it sovereign status after 5 years of a quasi - state status after the end of the Second World War. This would amount to a crime against humanity. Read on: http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2013/dec/05/a-historic-flag-raising-event-signals-an-awakening-to-west-papuas-plight