An Assessment of the First International Decade of the World’s Indigenous Peoples in Asia, 1995 – 2004 Michael Kollmair Programme Manager Culture, Equity, Gender and Governance Programme International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development

Bangladesh Indigenous Peoples in Bangladesh: 1.2 Mio (1991 census) 29 “tribal” groups and “others" 11 peoples in Chittagong Hill Tracts and approx. 34 peoples in the plains

Positive impact of the Decade (Bangladesh) Indigenous peoples are becoming more united (CHT and plains) National Coordination Committee for Indigenous Peoples in 1997 Bangladesh Adivasi Forum in 2001 Excellent media coverage Delegation to UN Permanent Forum, WGIP, WGDDIP etc. Adivasi / ethnic community issues included in PRSP

Outstanding issues for IPs (Bangladesh) Non-recognition of indigenous peoples in the Constitution Non-implementation of CHT Peace Accord Non- implementation of ILO Convention 107 and non- ratification of Convention 169 Land-grabbing, leading to livelihood displacement among the indigenous peoples Slowly and steadily losing their history, language, culture, customs Social, political and economic exclusion

Recommendations (Bangladesh) Take special measure in forming of SAARC IP Forum Take initiative for region-based policy guidelines for development and donor agencies Translate the UN conventions, international declarations, treaties, laws concerning indigenous peoples

Bhutan Bhutan is a very small country with a population of 552,996 (2005 census) The country is made up of different ethnic and linguistic groups There is no term defining specific groups such as ‘tribals’, ‘adivasi’, ‘ethnic minorities’, or nationalities The law of the country as well as the forthcoming constitution give equal rights to all the peoples

Why Socio-Cultural Groups and not Indigenous Peoples? (Bhutan) No dominant group (ethnically or linguistically) Terminology viewed as derogatory Lack of historical or scientific evidence All policies and projects spread throughout the country without ethnic criteria Policies geared towards economically disadvantaged and geographically remote groups: ‘vulnerable groups’ regardless of their ethnicity Cultural and linguistic diversity recognized in the nation building process and by the forthcoming constitution

China (SW) The Chinese government does not recognize that China has indigenous people in the sense used in international circles (the Han majority would be considered indigenous) SW China includes Yunnan, Sichuan, Guizhou, Guangxi Total minority population: ca. 48 million (45% of all minorities in China; 23% of population of these 4 provinces) 32 officially recognized ethnic minority groups

Main Issues (China) Minorities have equal constitutional rights and ensured representation in People’s Congress The system of Minority Area Autonomy gives some legal rights and privileges to governments in areas with large minority populations SW China is among the highest absolute and relative poverty rates within China concentrated in ethnic minority areas

Main Issues (China) Although there is legal self-governance in Minority Autonomy areas, in fact the Communist Party is the real center of power. There is no requirement that Party Secretaries originate from ethnic minorities The mainstream discourses value science, technology, productivity, cash incomes. Ethnic minority culture, production practices etc are all seen as backward

India ‘Tribals’ call themselves Adivasi (Indigenous) Tribals of the North East do not want to be called Adivasis but call themselves ‘indigenous’ All give importance to culture, sovereignty and self- determination and territory as part of indigenous identity 647 groups officially approved as ‘tribals’– 8.14% of total population of India (83.2 million) Concentrated in Central and NE India (60%)

Issues (India) The socio-economic status of IPs in India is far behind that of other communities The level of awareness about the Decade among the common people has been very low The consciousness has been limited to the circle of the IP intelligentsia and the NGOs Policies, which could be considered as IP friendly, are not implemented properly

Recommendations (India) Collective Model of Development: Communal rights of Indigenous Peoples need be respected in terms of culture, land, forest, natural resources Participation of Tribals in Decision-making Process: Efforts have to be made for the ‘real’ political empowerment of tribals so that they can shape their own destiny Research on Tribal Issues: There is a need for research on issues and problems of tribals, including their history, identity, social life, economy, politics

Nepal

IPs in Nepal By the first National Code of Nepal (1854), Indigenous Peoples were called Matwali (Alcohol Drinking People) Since 1991, Adivasi Janajati (Indigenous Nationalities) The task force formed by the Government identified 59 IPs and they were legally recognized as Indigenous Nationalities by the Act of Total Population of IPs is 8.74 Million (37.2 % of the total population in 2001) Indigenous peoples outnumber other communities in 27 of 75 districts

Policies and Programs for IPs (Nepal) Pre-democracy period (before 1990): monolithic policy of assimilation (one nation, one language, one religion and one culture) Democracy Period (after 1990 till 2006) - Nepal’s diversity was recognized by the state but not in practice Post 2006: IP struggle for fair representation ILO convention 169 will be soon pass the parliament