Indonesia and the World Conference on Indigenous Peoples

By Benny YP Siahaan[1]

On 22 and 23 September 2014 in New York, the United Nations will hold for the first time ever, the World Conference on Indigenous Peoples (WCIP).  Aside of government officials, the conference will be attended by more than 200 indigenous peoples organizations around the globe (including from Indonesia) “to share perspectives and best practices on the realization of the rights of indigenous peoples and to pursue the objectives of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP)”.

The decision to hold this world conference was unanimously agreed to by the UN General Assembly (UNGA) in 2010 to organize a high-level plenary meeting (HLPM) on indigenous peoples in 2014. The conference is expected to produce an Outcome Document consisting of, among other things, a set of plans and commitments to be implemented by the UN member states.

Thus far, the WCIP is received with mixed feelings.  On the one side, there is high hope that the meeting would give a push to create a momentum of a new era with States agreeing to implement the provisions contained in the UNDRIP.

On the other side, there is a legitimate fear that the WCIP would become another empty talk shop (as it is common in the UN meetings) with the needs and rights of indigenous peoples immersed in the sea of clichés and false promises of the UN’s meeting jargon. Furthermore, countries that are not supportive to the idea of holding WCIP but did not dare to say “no” on 2010’s UNGA decision (due to the fear of being called stumbling block) may not send  high-level delegations which would  tone down the significance of this conference.

Aside from that skepticism, in my opinion, this first meeting of its kind has set indigenous people issues a new chart in the global political landscape particularly in the long debate on the authority and power of States vis-a-vis indigenous peoples.

Indeed, if we closely observe the development of the international framework of indigenous people issues in world forums in the last two decades, it is quite steady and progressive.  In 2006 the UN agreed to adopt the UNDRIP --the first ever “Bill of Rights” on indigenous peoples.  And to keep indigenous peoples issues alive and being discussed in world bodies, the UN Permanent Forum on Indigenous Peoples (UNPFII) and the UN Expert Mechanism on the Right of Indigenous Peoples (EMRIP) were established in New York and Geneva respectively. UN Special Rapporteur on Indigenous Issues also established. Furthermore, the UN also proclaimed the 9 August as  the World’s indigenous Peoples Day.

The issue is how and where should Indonesia stand in this development? The discussion of indigenous peoples issue in Indonesia is a complex one. On one side, the Government has accepted the adoption of UNDRIP in 2006, but it has reservations that the term of “self-determination” in the declaration  shall not be construed as encouraging or let alone violating  territorial integrity of States. On the other hand, some of the indigenous people organizations in Indonesia may think differently.  There has been a Bill called ”Pengakuan dan Perlindungan Hak Masyarakat Hukum Adat” which is still controversial and has yet to be adopted  although it has been proposed and deliberated for years.

Indeed, the political dimension of the term of “self-determination” in the UNDRIP at least has two aspects: namely external and internal. Externally it may be construed as seeking sovereignty from a nation-state. Internally, it may mean as a self-governance or autonomy. Thus it depends on which side we interpret them.

In this regard, the Papuan Customary Council (Dewan Adat Papua) and an NGO of Bangsa Adat Alifuru Maluku (Alifuru customary nation of Moluccas) which is based in the Netherlands commonly support the external political aspect of self-determination during various indigenous peoples meetings both in New York and Geneva. These NGOs are commonly affiliated with the separatist organizations of the Free Papua Movement (OPM) and the Republic of Southern Moluccas (RMS) respectively.

Currently, there are 193 political units recognized as States with UN membership and several others with other political status. Thus, the claim by some indigenous people that, should they wish to become States (through self-determination), they should be supported, may have serious and negative implications.

Indeed, after the end of decolonization and in a time when State-creation was based on special considerations such as inheritance of colonial boundaries (Uti possidetis principle), we have continued to witness a rise in the number of recognized States and, even more so, in the number of struggling independence movements.

Nonetheless, it is interesting to observe research stating that granting independence to new States, particularly if they are not economically viable, may be counter-productive as they will only become a burden to the international community since these countries will end up depending on foreign aid.

The other issue that is continued robustly under debate is  whether the indigenous people concept is applicable to Indonesia.  Although controversial, this issue is common in the debate of States versus indigenous people. The Government does not accept the indigenous concept applicable to Indonesia since all native Indonesians are indigenous people or commonly called as “pribumi” (sons of land). In this perspective, Javanese, Bataknese etc are indigenous Indonesians.

It is a different situation if we compare the Native American Indian in the US and Canada or Aborigines in Australia vis-a-vis their colonists from the West. Hence the term “masyarakat adat” is widely used by indigenous people NGOs in Indonesia, like AMAN, cannot be translated into English as indigenous peoples since it has different legal significance and meaning.

Apart from that debate, I think it is legitimate for all government to support the well-being of ALL their people to pursue their economic, social and cultural development for their own ends despite whatever name you call them.

 All in all, we should wish that WCIP would bear  fruitful results to both indigenous peoples around the world and States and not otherwise. Have a good conference!

New York,  18  September 2014

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[1] The writer is an alumnus of Tsukuba University in Japan The views expressed herein are personal opinion.