Trans-Pacific Partnership Threatens Indigenous Land Rights Says UN Rapporteur teleSUR English
go to original February 22, 2016

U.N. Special Rapporteur for Indigenous Rights Victoria Tauli-Corpuz (EFE)

The Trans-Pacific Partnership agreement, better known as the TPP, seriously threatens indigenous land rights, as well as the natural resources they preserve, U.N. Special Rapporteur on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Victoria Tauli-Corpuz said.

According to Tauli-Corpuz, the major issue with the TPP is “the clause of non-discrimination between a local and an international investor ... (it) grants more rights to transnational firms, often at the expense of indigenous rights,” she said in an interview with the International Work Group for Indigenous Affairs.

This is a crucial issue, she argued, as most of the remaining natural resources available on earth are located on indigenous lands — because protecting them is part of the indigenous culture, or because they are located on remote lands.

Unfortunately, indigenous land rights and their legitimate access to natural resources are not defended as strongly as in the past by either the state or international organizations, she said.

Tauli-Corpuz condemned the International Labor Organization for not having a strong program in place in each member state to monitor the effective implementation of U.N. Convention No. 169 on indigenous rights.

Read the rest at teleSUR



Related: Obama Says He Remains `Optimistic' on Pacific Rim Trade Deal (Bloomberg)

Related: The Pope’s Encounter with Indigenous Mexico (CIP Americas)

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