The United Nations has defined
indigenous according to the most
widely accepted definition of José
Martínez-Cobo, the Special
Rapporteur to the Subcommission on
Prevention of Discrimination and
Protection of Minorities. In his
report, entitled Study of the
Problem of Discrimination Against
Indigenous Populations, Cobo states
that, "Indigenous communities,
peoples and nations are those which
having a historical continuity with
pre-invasion and pre-colonial
societies that developed on their
territories, consider themselves
distinct from other sectors of
societies now prevailing in those
territories, or parts of them. They
form at present non-dominant sectors
of society and are determined to
preserve, develop, and transmit to
future generations their ancestral
territories, and their ethnic
identity, as the basis of their
continued existence as peoples, in
accordance with their own cultural
patterns, social institutions and
legal systems."
In addition, the definition or
"coverage" used
in the
International
Labour Organization's
Convention 169 (1989) is also
widely accepted. Article 1 states:
-
tribal peoples in independent
countries whose social, cultural
and economic conditions
distinguish them from other
sections of the national
community, and whose status is
regulated wholly or partially by
their own customs or traditions or
by special laws or regulations;
-
peoples in independent countries
who are regarded as indigenous on
account of their descent from the
populations which inhabited the
country, or a geographical region
to which the country belongs, at
the time of conquest or
colonization or the establishment
of present state boundaries and
who, irrespective of their legal
status, retain some or all of
their own social, economic,
cultural and political
institutions.
Moreover and most importantly, in
accordance with indigenous peoples'
perspectives, both the ILO and
Martinez-Cobo emphasize
Self-identification as one of the
main variables in any definition.
Article 2 in the ILO
Convention 169 clearly
states that, "Self-identification as
indigenous or tribal shall be
regarded as a fundamental criterion
for determining the groups to which
the provisions of this Convention
apply".
UNDP's definition incorporates both
that of Martinez-Cobo and the ILO.
It also recognizes that despite
common characteristics, no single
accepted definition of indigenous
peoples that captures their
diversity exists. Therefore,
self-identification as indigenous or
tribal is usually regarded as a
fundamental criterion for
determining indigenous or tribal
groups, sometimes in combination
with other variables such as
language spoken and geographic
location or concentration. UNDP
further extends the definition to
include a much wider array of groups
who are susceptible to being
disadvantaged in the development
process.
The UN Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC)'s
Sub-Commission on the Prevention of
Discrimination and Protection of
Minorities Working Group on
Indigenous Populations defined
indigenous populations in the
following way, which combines both
objective and subjective elements.
"Indigenous communities,
peoples and nations are those
which, having a historical
continuity with pre-invasion and
pre-colonial societies that
developed on their territories,
consider themselves distinct from
other sectors of the societies now
prevailing in those territories, or
parts of them. They form at present
non-dominant sectors of society and
are determined to preserve, develop,
and transmit to future generations
their ancestral territories, and
their ethnic identiy, as the basis
of their continued existence as
peoples, in accordance with their
own cultural patterns, social
institutions, and legal systems."
E/CN.4/Sub.2/1983/21/Add.8, para.
369/
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