Here:
Inter-American Commission on Human Rights
Onondaga Land Petition Proceeds in the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, Organization of American States
Case of Maya Kaqchikel Indigenous Community of Sumpango v. Guatemala
From Nicole Friederichs:
Suffolk Law’s Human Rights and Indigenous Peoples Clinic secures victory for indigenous communities in Guatemala.
On Friday, December 17, the Inter-American Court of Human Rights ruled in favor of indigenous communities in Guatemala in the Case of Maya Kaqchikel indigenous community of Sumpango, et al. v. Guatemala. Suffolk University Law School’s Human Rights and Indigenous Peoples Clinic has been the legal representative of the four named indigenous communities in this case since 2012.
The Court ruled that the State of Guatemala violated the indigenous communities’ rights to freedom of expression and thought, culture, and non-discrimination by promoting a regulatory framework which prevented indigenous peoples from accessing radio frequencies to develop and operate community radio stations. The Inter-American Court ordered Guatemala to (1) adopt legislative and regulatory measures to ensure for the recognition of community radio, (2) reserve indigenous community radio as part of the radio spectrum and (3) to halt all government raids of existing indigenous community radio. This court victory culminates decades of advocacy by indigenous communities in Guatemala and indigenous organizations such as Cultural Survival, one of the petitioners in the case.
What is of particular significance is the Court’s recognition of indigenous peoples’ right to operate their own media, and the relationship of this right to freedom of expression, culture, self-determination, and non-discrimination. This is the first known international case to recognize this right and its recognition by the Inter-American Court should influence how other judicial and human rights bodies interpret and promote this right to media under the U.N. Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.
The legal team was led by Nicole Friederichs, Director of Suffolk’s Human Rights and Indigenous Peoples Clinic, along with Suffolk Law Adjunct Prof. Amy Van Zyl-Chavarro. Suffolk Law Prof. Lorie Graham submitted expert testimony, on which the Court relied in its analysis of indigenous peoples’ right to media. Nicole Friederichs noted, “This decision is a victory not only for indigenous communities in Guatemala, but also for indigenous peoples throughout this hemisphere in protecting their rights to freedom of expression and culture and promoting pluralism in media.”
Sioux Tribes Request Precautionary Measures to Protect Against DAPL
Download(PDF):
- Request for Precautionary Measures Pursuant to Article 25 of the IACHR Rules of Procedure Concerning Serious and Urgent Risks of Irreparable Harm Arising Out of Construction of the Dakota Access Pipeline
- Press Release: Tribes Ask International Human Rights Commission to Stop Violence Against Water Protectors at Standing Rock
Filed on behalf of Standing Rock, Cheyenne River, and Yankton Sioux Tribes by the American Indian Law Clinic at Colorado Law, Earthjustice, and Fredericks, Peebles and Morgan LLP.
Measures requested:
- Deny the easement allowing construction of the pipeline under the Missouri River at
Lake Oahe as soon as possible; - Complete a full environmental impact statement in formal consultation with the Tribes;
- Establish clear rules requiring that indigenous peoples who may be affected by
government decisions have the opportunity for full and meaningful prior informed
consent within the meanings established in the UN Declaration on the Rights of
Indigenous Peoples and the jurisprudence of the Inter-American Court and this
Commission; - Establish clear rules ensuring full environmental and social assessment of activities that may affect indigenous peoples, with the full participation of the affected indigenous peoples;
- Immediately take all actions necessary to guarantee the safety of those engaging in
peaceful prayer and protest concerning DAPL, and to ensure the full enjoyment of their rights to expression and assembly; - Any other action this Commission deems appropriate.
Onondaga Nation Files Petition with Inter-American Commission on Human Rights
The Onondaga Nation Files Petition Against United States with Inter-American Commission on Human Rights
Sovereign Nation in Upstate New York Seeks International Support After U.S. Courts Fail to Address Violations
Washington, DC – Today, the Onondaga Nation, a treaty-recognized sovereign Indian nation with its homelands in upstate New York, filed a petition against the United States with the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR). Since 1788, 2.5 million acres of land have been stolen from the Onondaga Nation by New York State, and the failure of the U.S. court system has left the Nation with no choice but to seek assistance for human rights violations from the international community.
To bring attention to the filing, chiefs from the Onondaga Nation and supporters gathered at the Friends Meeting House in Washington, DC wearing traditional dress and with a historic wampum belt commissioned for the Nation by President George Washington to signify peace and friendship while ratifying the 1794 Treaty of Canandaigua.
Click here to view photos of the Onondaga Nation’s demonstration outside the White House and the George Washington belt.
Click here to view the Onondaga Nation’s petition and annex to the petition as filed with the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights.
“Our access to basic equality and justice was fundamentally denied by the United States’ courts,” said Tadodaho Sid Hill of the Onondaga Nation. “Now, we’re calling on the international community to help us reach a healing process following centuries of violations and broken promises.”
On March 11, 2005, the Nation filed a Land Rights Action in the United States District Court, which the federal court dismissed. The Nation then appealed to the Second Circuit Court of Appeals, which affirmed that dismissal. Finally, the Nation filed a petition for a writ of certiorari with the Supreme Court seeking review of the dismissal and its affirmance. On October 15, 2013, the Supreme Court denied that petition. No further remedy is available in the United States court system.
“Where the U.S courts failed, the international community can help us preserve our role as an environmental steward of the land,” added Hill. “That means greater access to our surrounding lands and to cleansing the industrial pollution in Onondaga Lake, which remains a vital location to our nation’s spiritual life.”
The response from the U.S. courts bars the Nation from any domestic remedy and refuses it the chance to articulate the violations of New York State dating back to the late 18th Century. The federal courts’ inherently discriminatory ruling refused to consider the merits of the Nation’s case, holding that indigenous peoples’ claims for relief arising from violations of their land rights are “inherently disruptive” and, therefore, cannot be considered.
The Nation’s petition at the IACHR outlines the United States’ responsibility for violations of the Nation’s property rights, equality, judicial protection and due process – outlined in multiple domestic and international agreements, including multiple treaties, the American Declaration of the Rights and Duties of Man and the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.
A positive result for the Onondaga Nation at the OAS could establish a framework to resolve the ongoing dispute and offer a case study for indigenous peoples barred access to justice by the U.S. court system.
The Onondaga Nation has never sold or otherwise relinquished its lands or its rights as a sovereign nation. Between 1788 and 1822 the State of New York took approximately 2.5 million acres of Onondaga Nation land, violating federal law, the Constitution and various treaties. Major land “acquisitions” by New York State in the 18th century were conducted with unauthorized individuals without the knowledge or consent of the authorized Onondaga chiefs. On multiple occasions, the State deceived the Onondagas into thinking the State was only leasing the land.
About The Onondaga Nation: The Onondaga Nation is one of the six nations of the Haudenosaunee (Iroquois) Confederacy. Onondaga Nation survives as a sovereign, independent nation, living on a portion of its ancestral territory and maintaining its own distinct government, laws, language, customs, and culture. Today, the Onondaga Nation consists of a 7,300-acre territory just south of Syracuse, NY. For more information visit http://www.onondaganation.org/land-rights/onondaga-nation-files-suit-in-world-court/
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International Commission Holds Historic Hearing on Violence Against Native Women in the U.S. – U.S. Officials and Native Advocates Agree Violence Must End
WASHINGTON, D.C. — During an historic hearing dedicated to their missing and murdered Native sisters throughout the Americas, Native women and tribal advocates resorted to an international human rights body to raise global awareness on the epidemic of violence against Native women in the United States. Representatives of the United States appearing at the hearing admitted that this level of violence against Native women is “an assault on the national conscience.” Continue reading
ICT Coverage of Hul’qumi’num Treaty Group Land Claim Presentation at IACHR
Here. An excerpt:
WASHINGTON—Six First Nations of British Columbia have taken to the international legal sphere in an effort to shame the Canadian government into recognizing long-standing land claims. Their rationale is simple: We never gave you the land, you took it, so either give us back the land, or give us some other form of remuneration, for stealing and profiting from the plunder.
The First Nations’ efforts were showcased in the capital of the United States on October 28 at a hearing before the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) of the Organization of American States (OAS). The OAS is billed as the world’s oldest regional organization, dating back to 1889, and the IACHR was established in 1960 as a vehicle for the organization to promote and protect human rights.
The unprecedented hearing was granted to the Hul’qumi’num Treaty Group (HTG), which is made up of the Cowichan Tribes, Lake Cowichan First Nation, Halalt First Nation, Penelakut Tribe, Lyackson First Nation and Stz’uminus First Nation. The group accuses the Canadian government of violating the human rights of its 6,400 members by failing to recognize and protect their rights to property, culture and religion as recognized under the OAS’s principal human rights instrument, the American Declaration of the Rights and Duties of Man. Canada has been a member of the OAS since 1989.
Robert A. Williams, Professor of Law and American Indian Studies and Director of the Indigenous Peoples at the University of Arizona, presents evidence at the hearing. He is flanked by Heather Neun of Lawyers Rights Watch Canada and HTG president Richard Thomas, chief of Lyackson First Nation.
Update in Hul’qumi’num Land Claim: Press Release and Link to IACHR Presentation this Weekend
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: Continue reading
Violence Against Native Women gaining global attention
WASHINGTON, D.C. — The epidemic proportions of violence against Native women in the United States continues to gain global attention. The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights will hold a hearing on Oct. 25, 2011 at 10:15 a.m. at the General Secretariat Building of the Organization of American States (OAS) in Washington, D.C. The Commission is an autonomous organ of the OAS, created by countries to protect human rights in the Americas.
Navajo Group Petition to Human Rights Commission
Here’s a copy of the Petition filed by ENDAUM (Eastern Navajo Diné Against Uranium Mining) with the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights to challenge the NRC’s issuance of a uranium mining license to HRI.
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