DOCUMENT: DECOLON.TXT Remarks before the Sub-Committee on Petitions, Information and Assistance of the World Council of Indigenous Peoples, president Jose Carlos Morales by Special Assistant Rudolph C. Ryser. New York City 24 June 1981 [Ed. Note: This article may be reproduced for electronic transfer and posting on computer bulletin boards in part or full, provided that no profit is made by such transfer and that full credit is given to the author, the Center For World Indigenous Studies and The Fourth World Documentation Project.] Mr. Chairman: On behalf of the World Council of Indigenous Peoples (WCIP) permit me to extend our greetings to the Sub-Committee on Petitions, Information and Assistance of the Special Committee on Decolonization. Our presence today is in response to Chairman Stefan Kalina's kind invitation of 7 May asking the WCIP to participate in consultations concerning the "Plan of Operation for the full implementation of the Declaration on the Granting of Independence to Colonial Countries and Peoples." I believe the WCIP can contribute fresh and appropriate ideas toward implementation of the Decolonization Declaration. As perhaps you may know the WCIP is made up of indigenous organizations located in twenty-five nation-states in five regions of the world, representing in excess of 40,000,000 people. The WCIP has just concluded its Third General Assembly in Canberra, Australia, where the foundations for our consultation today were formulated. This presentation is organized to provide a conceptual framework for our viewpoint and provide a series of recommendations which we hope the Sub-Committee and the Special Committee will seriously entertain. INDIGENOUS OVERVIEW ON DECOLONIZATION International relations and rules of conduct among nation- states have historically developed with many contradictions. Such contradictions have been typically a result of efforts among powerful states to compromise with opposing states while attempting to maintain and insure the status quo. No other issue of international relations suffers more from contradictions, over- simplifications and pressures to maintain the status quo than the question of the political status of indigenous nations. As distinct political, social, cultural and economic groupings of human beings, indigenous nations have born the brunt of inconsistent and contradictory doctrines of international relations like no other peoples in the world during the last 2000 years. No other peoples of the world have experienced such sustained exploitation by others as have the peoples of indigenous nations and yet continued to endure. The conventional wisdom of the modern era divides human kind into a range of strata typically blocked into two categories: civilized nations and primitive nations. The wayward concepts born from Social Darwinism have been dangerously applied to insure the oppressive dominance of one part of human kind over another. The so-called civilized nations have themselves been divided into a political and economic hierarchy with the "developed" nations working to control or manipulate the "developing" nations. The combined energies of the established nation-states are all too frequently put to the repression and denigration of the so-called uncivilized nations. Indeed the nation-states of the world have entered into a conspiracy of silence regarding the condition of indigenous nations, so much so as to bring about their final destruction in the shadows of nation-state exploitation. The nation-states which dominate the international community would deny the existence of indigenous nations by first superimposing arbitrary colonial boundaries across and through indigenous territories, and then by proclaiming the indigenous peoples subjects under the control of another nation. As if to add further insult the colonial nation-states have created nation- states on the top of indigenous nations, thereby, establishing neo-colonial states directly suppressing indigenous peoples. The result of this process is that indigenous peoples have been denied their own national identity, their territories have been fragmented and their ability to survive as peoples exercising a collective will has been dangerously undermined. While this process has indeed completely destroyed whole cultures -- whole nations -- thereby consigning them to ancient history or relegating them to a forgotten past, numerous nations survive. Indigenous nations are today made up of the descendants of much older nations predating the modern nation-state. Indigenous peoples make up nations which are the successors f the peoples who occupied their territories for thousands of years. Indigenous peoples are those peoples who are as a result of imposed colonialism denied access to or control over their own national system of governance. Indigenous peoples have been coerced into becoming involuntary citizens of a foreign state and condemned to the status of a "minority" in their own homeland. If there are "crimes against humankind" which demand restitution or wrongs which demand correction the situation of indigenous nations is one of these which demands to be recognized. The wrongs done to indigenous nations are so clearly related and so fundamental to the overall future of humankind that to ignore them any longer is to permit and condone the gravest crime against humanity. It the rights of humankind are to be insured and preserved then the rights of indigenous nations must be placed upon the table of international debate to aid in the refinement and full application of international rules of conduct which are designed to promote respect for basic human values and insure the right of self-determination of all peoples. The political, economic, social and cultural future of all peoples are unalterably linked to the future of indigenous nations, as is the future of indigenous nations linked to the future of the rest of humankind. Surely the nations of the world can be moved to leave the dark ages behind to embrace a new age where instead of narrowness, standardization, and centralization, human variety, diversity and difference will be recognized as positive assets most appropriate to human survival. The complex issue of decolonization has a special significance to indigenous nations since its fulfillment has consumed the lives of indigenous peoples for generations. We invite the Sub-committee on Petitions, Information and Assistance and the Special Committee on Decolonization to not the efforts of Indigenous Nations to achieve their freedom from Colonial domination. By way of brief illustration we offer these examples: 1. THE KANAKS OF NEW CALEDONIA ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The Kanak territory (now known as New Caledonia) is part of the Melanesian Archipelago which contains the independent countries of Papua New Guinea, the Solomon Islands, Vanuatu, Fiji and Tonga. The Kanak Territory of New Caledonia is the sole territory in the group of countries that remains the colony of a European power. It is located 1,500 km to the west of Australia. The territory is formed by several islands which cover and area of 19,103 sq. km. The main island is some 200 km long and 30 km wide. In 1853, France claimed possession of the Kanak Territory and immediately began sending French nationals to settle on Kanak lands. The French established a penal colony on the main island as well. By 1878 and then again in 1917 the Kanak peoples revolted against French domination in an effort to reclaim lands settled by French citizens. The French government forcefully responded by crushing the revolts and used their success to justify the taking of more land for an increased number of French settlements. Many Kanaks were deported by the French government to Queensland in Western Australia and Tahiti. In their continuing effort to remove French colonial control Kanak peoples have more recently confronted their French colonial opponents. Kanak activists have been arrested and put in prison in 1969, 1972 and 1974. In December 1975 a young Kanak, Richard Kamonds was killed by a French policeman, after which the Kanaks organized demonstrations against the French government. Since 1969, the vast majority of those Kanaks arrested and detained by French authorities were charged with trivial offence, e.g. writing leaflets exposing French administration, illegal demonstrations. In the early 1950's New Caledonia was placed on the list of non-self-governing territories for consideration by the Special Committee on Decolonization. Through adroit silent maneuvers by the French government New Caledonia was removed from consideration. The French claimed that the majority of New Caledonian residents do not want to be independent. Indeed, the French government has attempted to insure this appearance by increasing its French citizen settlements to overwhelm the Kanak vote which seeks independence. By promoting the systematic influx of outside immigrants and settlers into the Kanak Territories, France has sought to frustrate Kanak efforts toward independence. By virtue of French immigration to Kanak Territory the French government has violated the spirit and intent of relevant provisions enunciated in UN GENERAL ASSEMBLY RESOLUTION 1514 (XV) of December 1960. The French government has violated the spirit and intent of UN GENERAL ASSEMBLY RESOLUTION 35/118 and its annex, particularly paragraph 8. 2. THE INDIGENOUS NATIONS OF CANADA ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The indigenous nations located in what is now Canada have been resident in their territory for thousands of years before the British and French governments established settlements. The successor colonial power, Britain, created and established colonial governments within indigenous territories and commenced to conclude a series of treaties with the indigenous nations. These treaties ceded in excess of one million square miles of territory from the indigenous nations to Britain. More than 2.4 million square miles of indigenous territory was never ceded, but remains to this day the homelands of the indigenous nations. The country of Canada has since 1867 been attempting to gain its independence from Great Britain. During this time Britain has effectively served as the trustee for the protection and preservation of the indigenous nations and their territory. By virtue of an act of British parliament, Britain conveyed certain of her administrative duties owed to the indigenous nations to the newly created Canadian federal government. As a colonial government created by Britain the Canadian government has administered the British trusteeship for 114 years. During the period of its trust administration the Canadian government has directly and indirectly expropriated indigenous national lands and resources to benefit Canadian and British citizens. As it takes its final step toward independence Canada now seeks to totally engulf indigenous national territories, claim ownership over indigenous national resources and eliminate the national identity of 1.2 million indigenous peoples. Both British colonialism of indigenous territories and Canadian neo-colonialism have escaped world attention. Canada has consistently denied the indigenous nations of upper North America a political role in her government and, indeed, she has systematically sought the liquidation of indigenous nations and their identity. In December of 1980, the indigenous nations formed their own provisional government through which the United Nations Secretary General was petitioned to come their aid. The Secretary General was urgently requested to facilitate tri-lateral negotiations between Britain, Canada and the Indigenous Provisional Government to resolve the political status of the indigenous nations and territories in upper North America. The indigenous nations in upper North America are presently seeking a peaceful method to remove the colonial embrace of Britain and Canada. 3. THE ABORIGINAL PEOPLES OF AUSTRALIA ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The Aboriginal Nation was the sole occupant of the Australian continent until 1788 when the British government began to place colonial settlements upon indigenous territories. For as many as 40,000 years hundreds of tribes with hundreds of languages and dialects exercised complete sovereignty over their lands. But for the last 200 years Britain has imposed its colonial rule over the aboriginals and their lands by establishing colonial settlements and governments which would expropriate the indigenous natural resources for the benefit of Britain and her subjects. Though its homelands and peoples have been under siege for these two hundred years, the Aboriginal Nation never ceded any territory to Britain or her colonial representatives. The struggle to retain its national territory and national integrity has cost the lives of hundreds of thousands of Aboriginal peoples. Hundreds of tribes have been forced to live in small enclaves called aboriginal reserves, denied access to their natural resources and denied access to their national identity and collective political development. While Britain has increasingly promoted independence for her colonies by creating a federal government of Australia, she has denied any responsibility for the past or future of the Aboriginal Nation. As with the indigenous peoples of Canada the British government seems ill prepared to prevent its soon-to-be independent colony, Australia, from engulfing the Aboriginal Nation and its territories against the will of the indigenous peoples. Like Canada, Australia will be permitted and even encouraged to assume the full role of a neo-colonial power. These illustrations typically describe the colonization of indigenous territories by former colonies both in the present day and over the last two thousand years. The Papuan of West Irian are experiencing colonial rule by Indonesia, the indigenous nations of lower North America have continued to experience United States colonial rule, the Mapuche in Chile and Argentina, Quechua in Bolivia, Mayan populations in Guatemala, Sami peoples in Norway, Sweden, Finland and the Soviet Union, Basque in Spain, and the Kurds surrounded by Iran, Iraq, the Soviet Union and Turkey to name a few more examples. By virtue of the continued extension of colonial rule over indigenous populations world peace cannot be assured. The World Council of Indigenous Peoples agrees with the UN General Assembly that "the subjugation of peoples to alien domination constitutes a denial of fundamental human rights and (it) is a serious impediment to the maintenance of international peace and security." Not only should new nations be guaranteed their right to self-determination but the ancient nations which have come under colonial domination should share in that fundamental human right which finds its roots in natural law. The World Council of Indigenous Peoples offers this view for consideration by the Sub-Committee on Petitions, Information and Assistance: The United Nations would make a major stride toward the fulfillment of the Declaration on the Granting of Independence to Colonial Countries and Peoples by re-examining the contents of many of its declarations (i.e. I.L.O. Convention on Indigenous Peoples, 1957) resolutions, and conventions to remove the impediments to indigenous territorial decolonization. The United Nations, and the League of Nations before it, have either directly or indirectly fostered colonial domination over indigenous peoples and territories by promoting nation-state policies of assimilation against the will of indigenous populations. Such a policy by itself constitutes a fundamental contradiction which works to defeat goals of decolonization. Concepts of assimilation practiced by many nation-states constitute a willful denial of human rights when such concepts expressed as nation-state goals are opposed by indigenous populations. When indigenous nations are denied the right to use and dispose of their own natural resource wealth for their benefit then the rights of whole peoples are betrayed. The World Council of Indigenous Peoples urges the Sub- Committee on Petitions, Information and Assistance to consider the following recommendations to be applied toward the implementation of the Plan of Action now under consideration: 1. The UN General Assembly be urged to authorize a sweeping review of operational resolutions, covenants and declarations with a commitment to the idea of removing "institutional impediments" to decolonization. By this act the United Nations would establish wide recognition for the need for a "new international political order" while giving the world populations new hope that a concrete future for true human self- determination is at hand. 2. The World Council of Indigenous Peoples serve as a distributor of Special Committee on Decolonization information in indigenous nations. 3. The Special Committee on Decolonization: a. recognize petitions by indigenous nations with or without nation-state endorsement b. establish procedures in consultation with the WCIP for identifying indigenous nations under colonial rule including field inquiries c. conduct public disclosure hearings on the situation of colonized peoples within major public centers of nation-states d. issue concise public disclosure reports to the printed and electronic media on a periodic basis on the situation of colonized peoples by continent. 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