ILO Convention 169
Draft Congressional Bill 34/93 adopting the text of Convention 169 ‘Concerning Indigenous and Tribal Peoples in Independent Countries’ of the International Labour Organization (ILO) – a Specialized Agency of the United Nations – was approved on 19 June 2002 thereby instituting in Brazil the provisions of the first international instrument addressing fundamental issues relating to traditional populations. Prominent amongst these are the rights of indigenous peoples to their lands and natural resources, to non-discrimination and the right to be able to live and pursue their development in a differentiated way and in accordance with their own customs.
Submitted by the Government in 1991, the draft bill passed through the lower house in 1993 and went to the Senate, from where it did not move until 2000, when it was approved by the Constitution and Justice Commission as amended by senator Romeu Tuma (PMDB-SP). The amendment sought the suppression of the terms ‘peoples’ and ‘territories’ from the text of the Convention, alleging that these violated national sovereignty and the Brazilian Constitution, which defines indigenous lands as federal property held in trust for indigenous peoples
This led to an impasse since the texts of international treaties have to be ratified by contracting Parties unchanged. “There was reluctance on the part of the government and its political supporters to agree to further progress on indigenous issues over and above those already contained in the Constitution” argues Nilo Diniz, adviser at the time to Senator Marina Silva. For example, the revised Indigenous Peoples Statute has been stuck in the Congress since 1994 and proposed measures to regulate access to genetic resources are the subject of fierce argument around provisions to guarantee rights and benefits deriving from traditional knowledge of biodiversity.
However the draft bill to ratify the Convention was approved without amendment by the Senate at a single sitting, with the public gallery filled in large part by indigenous leaders who had travelled to Brasilia to follow the vote. The amendment proposed by Senator Romeu Tuma was rejected. Other senators, such as Marina Silva and the late Jefferson Peres reminded the chamber that the Indigenous Peoples Statute was still awaiting approval.
To have ratified Convention 169 signified that Brazil had accepted adapting its national legislation to international treaty obligations. It also signified that Brazil sought to politically reinforce the group of Latin American and Caribbean countries that had already ratified the Convention, such as Mexico, Bolivia, Colombia, Costa Rica, Paraguay, Peru, Honduras, Guatemala, Argentina and Venezuela.
