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Aboriginal rights precondition for UN entry: group

Representatives from several Aboriginal groups hold a press conference yesterday urging the government to abide by the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples and fully implement the Aboriginal Basic Law. PHOTO: CNA

Aboriginal rights activists yesterday lauded the UN's adoption of the Declaration on Rights of Indigenous Peoples and urged the government to respect Aboriginal rights before making efforts to gain UN membership.

Activists made the call during a press conference in Taipei.

The declaration, passed by the UN General Assembly last week, seeks to protect Aboriginal peoples' rights on land, culture and self-determination.

"The passage of the declaration is one great leap forward in terms of protecting the collective rights of indigenous peoples," Taiwan Association for Human Rights secretary-general Lin Shu-ya (林淑雅) told the news conference.

"To become a UN member, [the government] must understand the responsibility of a member state in the global community," Lin said. "Which includes respecting and protecting indigenous peoples' rights."

The core values outlined in the declaration already exist in Taiwan's Aboriginal Basic Law (原住民族基本法), but have never been respected by government authorities, Truku Autonomy Promotion Committee chairman Teyra Yudaw said.

"Democracy isn't just about elections. Taiwan is not a complete democracy until everyone's rights are well-protected."

Teyra Yudaw, Truku Autonomy Promotion Committee chairman

"Aboriginal rights are a reflection of the condition of a country's human rights," Teyra said.

Teyra mentioned several cases, such as the Smangus incident and the Sun Moon Lake hotel construction plan, as examples of how the government violates Aboriginal rights on land, and thus violates the Aboriginal Basic Law.

The Smangus incident refers to a case in which three Atayal tribesmen from Smangus in Hsinchu County were accused by the Forestry Bureau of stealing national property when they picked up a tree felled during a typhoon.

The people of Smangus insisted the tree had fallen within the community's traditional domain, which meant it was within their rights to handle it. The bureau, however, defined the site as part of a national forest.

The other case, in which the Nantou County Government seeks to build a luxury hotel near Sun Moon Lake, has met with protests by the local Thao people, as the site would intrude on holy ground and part of a Thao community.

"Democracy isn't just about elections. Taiwan is not a complete democracy until everyone's rights are well-protected," Teyra said.
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