The Hul’qumi’num Land Claim presentation before the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights WILL BE WEBCAST LIVE ON THE IACHR WEBSITE on Friday, October 28 and 9am ET, from the Padilha Vidal Room of the Commission, and will also be available for taped viewing after that on the Commission’s website.
Here are additional details, and news about a post-hearing press conference:
Canadian First Nations Secure Hearing before
International Rights Commission in Washington, D.C.
Press release (PDF)
Ladysmith BC – The Hul’qumi’num Treaty Group (HTG) will hold a media briefing conference call on Friday, October 28, 2011, following the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) hearing on the merits of their land rights claims. This case is significant because it is the first time that IACHR is considering a Canadian indigenous land rights issue.
“This represents a historic opportunity to address a human rights issue in Canada that could have far-reaching implications for the indigenous movement worldwide,” saidRobert Morales, Chief Negotiator for the HTG.
HTG has had a longstanding petition against Government of Canada for failing to secure, recognize and safeguard the property rights of the Hul’qumi’num indigenous peoples in their ancestral lands.
Morales added: “We are not asking to turn back the clock and investigate historic wrongs; rather urging effective resolution of land rights and consultations with the Hul’qumi’num indigenous peoples regarding the on-going deforestation and development activities by private corporations.”
WHAT: Press briefing conference call following IACHR hearing on Hul’qumi’num land rights case.
WHEN: Friday, October 28, 2011 at 12:00 noon U.S. EDT/ 9 a.m. BC time.
WHERE: Dial in to the following conference numbers:
U.S. Toll free: 1-888-529-0347
Canada/International: +1-719-234-7500
Pass code: 283634
WHO: Chief Richard Thomas, Chief Lydia Hwitsum, Robert A. Williams, Robert Morales HTG Spokespersons; Craig Benjamin, Amnesty International; Heather Neun, Lawyers Rights Watch Canada; and, Jody Wilson Raybould, Assembly of First Nations.
For additional details and to RSVP, please contact:
Rosanne Daniels 250-710-2201
Kelly Cross 202-530-4528
Elizabeth Berton-Hunter 416-363-9933 ext. 332
Here is an additional press release from supporting organizations:
Human rights groups and Indigenous peoples’ organizations will closely monitor landmark international hearing into Canadian land rights case
Press release (PDF)
On Friday, October 28, the Human Rights Commission of the Organization of American States (OAS) will hold its first ever hearings into the violation of Indigenous land rights in Canada.
The case before Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) concerns the 1884 expropriation of over 237,000 hectares of resource-rich land from the traditional territories of the Hul’qumi’num peoples on Vancouver Island. The Hul’qumi’num Treaty Group alleges that Canada has violated international human rights norms by refusing to negotiate for any form of redress for the expropriated lands, which are now mostly in the hands of large forestry companies, and by failing to protect Hul’qumi’num interests while the dispute remains unresolved .
More than a dozen Indigenous peoples’ organizations and human rights groups have filed legal briefs in support of the Hul’qumi’num case.
Craig Benjamin, Campaigner for the Human Rights of Indigenous Peoples with Amnesty International Canada, said, “The case now before the Inter-American Commission highlights crucial issues of justice that affect not only the Hul’qumi’num people, but Indigenous peoples across Canada. The very fact that a respected international human rights body like the IACHR is investigating these issues should be a wake up call to the federal and provincial governments and to all Canadians.”
In agreeing to hear the complaint, the Inter-American Commission ruled that the available mechanisms to resolve this dispute in Canada, whether through negotiation or the BC treaty process, are too onerous and too constrained in their protection of human rights to live up to the standards of international justice.
Grand Chief Matthew Coon Come, Grand Council of the Crees (Eeyou Istchee) said, “Fair and timely resolution of land and resource disputes is essential for reconciliation of Indigenous and non-Indigenous peoples in Canada and for closing the unacceptable gap in standard of living facing so many Indigenous communities. We hope that the intervention of the international human rights body can be a catalyst for rethinking government policies and approaches that have so blatantly failed Indigenous peoples and the cause of justice.”
“Canada cannot credibly demand that other states live up to international standards for the protection of human rights — including the fundamental right to equality and non-discrimination — while dismissing those same standards at home,” said Heather Neun of Lawyers Rights Watch Canada. “Our organizations will be closely monitoring this hearing and are prepared to campaign to make sure governments in Canada act on the Commission’s findings.”
The hearing will be held at the Commission’s headquarters in Washington D.C. on October 28, 2011, from 9-10 am EDT and will be webcast live on the IACHR’s website. Journalists are welcome to attend and do not require credentials to cover this public hearing. Audio recording is allowed but a permit is needed for videotaping.
This public statement was endorsed by:
Amnesty International Canada
Ancient Forest Alliance
Canadian Friends Service Committee (Quakers)
Ecotrust
First Nations Summit
Grand Council of the Crees (Eeyou Istchee)
KAIROS: Canadian Ecumenical Justice Initiatives
Lawyer’s Rights Watch Canada
Union of British Columbia Indian Chiefs
For more information, please contact:
Rosanne Daniels 250-710-2201
Kelly Cross 202-530-4528
Elizabeth Berton-Hunter 416-363-9933 ext. 332
http://www.hulquminum.bc.ca/news
http://www.law.arizona.edu/depts/iplp/international/Hulquminum.cfm
http://www.oas.org/en/media_center/webcast_schedule.asp
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