Belize Government’s recent actions show troubling
disregard for Maya property rights, UN expert warns
GENEVA (7 July 2015) – The United Nations Special
Rapporteur on the rights of indigenous peoples, Victoria Tauli-Corpuz, urged
the Government of Belize to ensure respect for the rights of the country’s Maya
people to non-discrimination and traditional property.
“Under international human rights standards, indigenous
peoples have the right to use, develop and also to control the lands,
territories and resources that they possess by reason of traditional
ownership,” Ms. Tauli-Corpuz emphasized.
The independent expert’s call comes after the arrest of
12 Maya people and local leaders charged with unlawful imprisonment for their
actions to remove a non-Maya individual, Rupert Myles, from their village
lands. Mr. Myles was allegedly building
a housing structure on ancient Maya ruins in the village of Santa Cruz, in
violation of Maya customary law and apparently despite repeated requests for
the removal of the structure.
“It appears as though the repeated requests to local
police by Santa Cruz village leaders for assistance in removing the individual
from the archaeological site within their village lands, went ignored,” the
Special Rapporteur noted. “I am concerned by the inaction of the Government of
Belize to assist Maya villagers to protect their property rights in the face of
threats to those rights.”
Santa Cruz is one of some 39 Maya villages within the
Toledo District of Belize, whose rights to traditional lands have been affirmed
by the legal system in Belize, including most recently in April 2015 by the
Caribbean Court of Justice, the highest court of appeals in the Belize legal
system.
“The Maya village of Santa Cruz holds customary rights to
its village lands which the government must respect and protect, as affirmed by
a 2007 decision of the Supreme Court of Belize,” Ms. Tauli-Corpuz noted.
The Special Rapporteur urged the Government to establish
a dialogue with Maya leadership and discuss outstanding issues of concern
regarding this case, as well as the broader land tenure situation of the Maya
people, in a spirit of partnership and mutual respect. “The current situation
of conflict and mistrust cannot be allowed to persist,” she added.
The Santa Cruz incident - Background
According to reports, Mr. Myles, a non-Maya individual,
has been constructing a house on the archaeological site of Uxbenka –an ancient
Maya temple in the village of Santa Cruz– including the alleged bulldozing of a
portion of the site to create a driveway. Mr. Myles has reported that he had
followed procedures to live in the village.
On Saturday, 20 June, Santa Cruz villagers detained Mr.
Myles when he interrupted a fajina (traditional meeting). Villagers allege that
he stated that he had a firearm in his car and that he proceeded to approach
his vehicle. He was released by the villagers later that day.
Among the Maya people arrested and charged with Mr.
Myles’s unlawful imprisonment were the Alcalde (major) of Santa Cruz, Manuel
Pop, and Cristina Coc, spokesperson for the Maya Leaders Alliance, an
association which represents the Toledo Alcaldes Association (TAA) composed of
the elected Alcaldes from the 39 Maya villages within the Toledo District of
Belize were also arrested and charged with unlawful imprisonment.
ENDS
The Special Rapporteur on the rights of indigenous
peoples, Ms. Victoria Tauli-Corpuz (Philippines), is a human rights activist
working on indigenous peoples’ rights. Her work for more than three decades has
been focused on movement building among indigenous peoples and also among
women, and she has worked as an educator-trainer on human rights, development
and indigenous peoples in various contexts. She is a member of the Kankana-ey,
Igorot indigenous peoples in the Cordillera Region in the Philippines. As
Special Rapporteur, she is independent from any government or organization and
serves in his individual capacity. Learn more, log on to:
http://www.ohchr.org/EN/Issues/IPeoples/SRIndigenousPeoples/Pages/SRIPeoplesIndex.aspx
The Special Rapporteurs are part of what is known as the
Special Procedures of the Human Rights Council. Special Procedures, the largest
body of independent experts in the UN Human Rights system, is the general name
of the Council’s independent fact-finding and monitoring mechanisms that
address either specific country situations or thematic issues in all parts of
the world. Special Procedures’ experts work on a voluntary basis; they are not
UN staff and do not receive a salary for their work. They are independent from
any government or organization and serve in their individual capacity.
Check the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous
Peoples: http://www.ohchr.org/EN/Issues/IPeoples/Pages/Declaration.aspx
For further information and media requests, please
contact Ms. Hee-Kyong Yoo (+41 22 917 97 23 / hyoo@ohchr.org) or write to
indigenous@ohchr.org
For media inquiries related to other UN independent
experts:
Xabier Celaya, OHCHR Media Unit (+ 41 22 917 9383 /
xcelaya@ohchr.org)
UN Human Rights, follow us on social media:
Twitter: http://twitter.com/UNrightswire
YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/UNOHCHR
Check the Universal Human Rights Index:
http://uhri.ohchr.org/en
Nema komentara:
Objavi komentar