Observation (CEACR) - adopted 2014, published 104th ILC session (2015)

Indigenous and Tribal Peoples Convention, 1989 (No. 169) - Venezuela (Bolivarian Republic of) (Ratification: 2002)

Other comments on C169

Observation

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The Committee notes the communication from the International Organisation of Employers (IOE) of 1 September 2014 and the Government’s reply referring to the information already submitted in its report received in August 2014.

Article 3 of the Convention. Human rights. Observations by the National Union of Workers of Venezuela (UNETE). The Committee notes the observations made by the UNETE and the Government’s reply received in October 2014. In its observations, the UNETE evoked the murder of the leader of the Yukpa peoples, Mr Sabino Romero, perpetrated on 3 March 2013. The UNETE also referring to the working conditions of the indigenous peoples living in Alto Caura area (between the State of Bolivar and that of Apure). In its reply, the Government indicates that the perpetrators of the crime have been prosecuted. Moreover, the Government is promoting a bill to penalise attacks against campesino activists. With regard to the Caura Plan, launched on 24 April 2014, the Government indicates that its main objective is to put an end to illegal mining, to preserve biological diversity and to protect the indigenous peoples living in the area. The Committee requests the Government to provide information on the results of all proceedings initiated in relation to Mr Sabino Romero’s murder. Please also indicate whether new provisions to reinforce respect for indigenous peoples’ human rights and to fight against illegal mining have been adopted.

Human rights. Denunciation by the Coordinating Committee for Amazonian Indigenous Organizations (COIAM). In a communication received in August 2013, the Independent Trade Union Alliance (ASI) referred to a massacre of Yanomami indigenous people in the municipality of Alto Orinoco, in the state of Amazonas. The Committee notes that a technical team composed of 28 officials and established by the Public Prosecutor’s Office was mobilized by air on 31 August 2012 to verify the situation and the conditions of indigenous peoples in the Amazonian forest. The Government affirms that after meeting the Momoy community, another Irotathery community and other communities in the area, it was found and proven that none of the acts denounced by the COIAM had occurred. The Committee invites the Government to continue providing information on the measures adopted to ensure that the human rights of indigenous peoples are respected and that, in the event of complaints of violations, the necessary investigations are carried out.

Articles 6, 7, 15 and 16. Appropriate consultation and participation procedures. The Committee notes with interest the Act on woodland and forest management, published in August 2013, sections 25 and 26 of which envisage prior consultation with the indigenous communities concerned. The Government also recalls the rights of consultation and participation recognized in the Basic Act on indigenous peoples and communities. The Committee invites the Government to provide examples of the manner in which the effective consultation and participation is ensured of the indigenous peoples concerned in relation to measures and decisions which may affect them directly.

Article 14. Indigenous representation. Demarcated lands. In reply to its previous comments, the Government indicates that in indigenous peoples’ community, through assemblies, their main and deputy spokespersons have been elected as members of the demarcation commission for indigenous habitats and lands, with demarcation commissions being established at both the national and regional levels. The Committee notes with interest that effective indigenous representation and participation is demonstrated, according to the Government, by the fact that the first demarcation is a “self-demarcation”, that is the establishment of territorial boundaries by indigenous peoples themselves based on the memory resources of cognitive maps, which are then certified by the Venezuelan Geographical Institute. The Committee also notes with interest that, between 2009 and 2013, 47 titles were consolidated, and that between 2005 and 2013 a total of 87 collective titles were granted. The total surface area covered by such titles was 2,943,096.55 hectares, with around 76,400 indigenous persons on the titled land. The Committee invites the Government to continue providing updated information on the land title and registration processes carried out by demarcation commissions, the surface area covered by titles and the beneficiary communities in each region.

Land disputes. The Committee notes the information provided on certain disputes which have arisen from the evaluation of technical reports on land demarcation. The Government provides information on the situation in the “Hugo Chávez Frías” oil-bearing strip in Orinoco (FPO) in relation to 30 indigenous communities, of which 12 belong to the Kariña people, in the states of Anzoátegui and Bolívar, who were granted collective ownership title through a process that ended in 2013. The Committee recalls that in the observations made by the Independent Trade Union Alliance (ASI) and the Coordinating Committee for Amazonian Indigenous Organizations (COIAM), received in August 2013, reference was made as the most serious case to that of the Hoti people in the state of Amazonas, for whom the self-demarcated surface was reported to have been reduced by 42.2 per cent in the technical report approved by the Regional Demarcation Commission in August 2012. The Committee requests the Government to respond to the concern raised and continue providing information on the manner in which the land claims made by the peoples concerned have been resolved, with examples of cases which have been resolved in accordance with the Convention.

The Committee is raising other matters in a request addressed directly to the Government.