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OAS Assistant Secretary General: More Work Needed to Protect the Rights of Indigenous People

The Assistant Secretary General of the Organization of American States (OAS), Ambassador Albert Ramdin, says there are still significant challenges to the rights of indigenous peoples of the Americas that must be overcome.

Speaking at a symposium at the Smithsonian National Museum of the American Indian on the “State of the Native Nations,” the OAS official said despite several recent advances in terms of land rights, challenges for Indigenous groups remain. “Extreme situations, including contemporary forms of slavery, continue to exist in the hemisphere. The OAS Commission on Human Rights just last year published a report on the situation of captive communities, 600 families of indigenous peoples who were subjected to conditions of debt and bondage in one country.” Assistant Secretary General Ramdin also acknowledged that several land ownership disputes in the Americas have not been completely resolved for indigenous groups because of economic and legal constraints.

On the work of the OAS, Ambassador Ramdin described the Special Rapporteurship on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples through the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights as essential. “Over the past few years, native peoples from the Americas have managed to effectively demand action from multilateral institutions like the OAS to protect their rights and to end centuries of abuse.” Even so, the OAS Assistant Secretary General pointed out, efforts by the OAS to find consensus in the adoption of an Inter-American Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples have proven to be challenging. “The adoption of a document dealing with the rights and obligations of indigenous peoples in light of the diverse demography of our Member States is not easy. Nevertheless, the strength of this hemispheric institution in is the process of open and inclusive dialogue.”

The Director of the Smithsonian National Museum of the American Indian, Kevin Gover noted the work of the OAS in moving forward the process of international rights for indigenous peoples, and referred to programs the Museum developed over the last year to promote social inclusion and awareness. “Throughout the Western Hemisphere we have identified and worked most directly with issues that affect the indigenous peoples of the Americas. Therefore today we are doing something that feels good and comprehensive,” he said.

During the symposium an agreement was signed between the OAS and the University of Winnipeg for the promotion of culturally sensitive scholarship programs for indigenous peoples. Both University President Lloyd Axworthy and OAS Assistant Secretary General Albert Ramdin agreed that no group should ever be excluded from the right to gain knowledge and improve its quality of life.

A photo gallery of the event is available here

For more information, please visit the OAS Website at www.oas.org.

Reference: E-432/10