Review of the discussion surrounding the upcoming seminars
on administration of justice, treaties, and Indigenous Peoples

The aim of this session - that was held by the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) - was twofold: 1) to present the provisional agendas of the two upcoming seminars on administration of justice and treaties, and 2) to have a brainstorm of the different comments aroused by those provisional agendas.

The purpose of the seminar on administration of justice and indigenous people (which will be held in Madrid in October 2003) is to show the discrimination that indigenous people face in the justice system (notably in terms of accessibility to justice) and to present indigenous peoples' legal systems. "It is difficult for indigenous peoples to bring a case because of cultural, language, human resources, financial reasons, and other difficulties," reminded Mr. McKenzie from Innu Council of Nitassinan.

Attention was also brought upon the issue of the death penalty that indigenous people face in some countries. Delegates emphasized the importance of bringing case studies, such as the case of Mexico, in order to illustrate the discrimination faced by indigenous peoples.
In order to stop such discrimination, some delegates proposed to explore the idea of mixed indigenous-national tribunals that would take into account indigenous peoples' legal systems as well as national legal systems.

As for the second seminar that will be held in Geneva in December 2003, it will reflect upon treaties, agreements and other constructive arrangements between States and indigenous populations. On that account, indigenous delegates stressed the importance of oral tradition for the conclusion of treaties. As Mr. McKenzie reminded, "indigenous people have other ways to make deals than sign treaties".

Furthermore, this seminar (in December) will examine the role that international and regional intergovernmental organizations can play in the implementation, monitoring, and dispute resolution in relation to treaties. Indeed, some delegates underlined that one of the major concerns of indigenous peoples, is to make sure that an arrangement, which has been made, is implemented in practice. "Indigenous people need certainty in terms of land-rights and resources", said Mr. McKenzie.

Finally, some indigenous representatives expressed their concerns about dispute-resolution processes that do not always take into account indigenous laws.

By : Delphine Pastorel and Jean Boisvert

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