Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 2018, published 108th ILC session (2019)

Indigenous and Tribal Populations Convention, 1957 (No. 107) - El Salvador (Ratification: 1958)

Articles 2, 5 and 6 of the Convention. Coordinated and systematic development programmes. Collaboration and participation. In its previous comments, the Committee noted the establishment of the Multi sectoral Round table for Indigenous Peoples as a body for dialogue and for the development of political and cooperation programmes, composed of representatives of indigenous organizations and state bodies. It also noted the preparation of a basic document for a Public Policy for Indigenous Peoples and requested information on measures adopted within that framework. The Government indicates in its report that through the Multi sectoral Round-table, greater coordination has been achieved between the Government and the indigenous peoples in so far as that various ministries have initiated education and health programmes that respond to the demands of those peoples. The Government also refers to the adoption of the Five-year Development Plan (2014–19), which includes indigenous peoples in the priority groups targeted by different governmental actions. Target 8.7 of the Five year Plan addresses the promotion of indigenous peoples’ rights, including the salvaging and revival of indigenous culture, and the elimination of all forms of discrimination against those peoples. Additionally, the Committee notes the adoption of the El Salvador Forest Policy (2016–36), the outcome of a national consultation process in which leaders of civil society organizations, indigenous peoples, universities and government bodies, among others, participated. The objective of the Forest Policy is to promote sustainable forest management with one of its strategic axes focused on increasing communities’ participation in activities for the monitoring and protection of forests.

The Committee notes that, according to the information on the President’s website, on 14 November 2018, the Public Policy for Indigenous Peoples was launched, establishing guiding principles for public management that benefits such peoples. The policy has five strategic axes: social development, economic development, cultural development, environmental sustainability and governmental management.

The Committee welcomes the adoption of the Public Policy for Indigenous Peoples and requests the Government to forward a copy, as well as to provide information on the measures adopted, in cooperation with the indigenous peoples, to implement the five strategic axes of the policy. It also requests the Government to indicate the measures adopted under the Five-year Development Plan (2014–19) which relate to the promotion of indigenous peoples’ rights. The Committee requests the Government to indicate how the measures adopted have helped to improve the conditions of life and work, and the level of education, of the peoples in question. The Committee also requests the Government to provide information on the way in which the indigenous communities participate in the implementation of the Forest Policy (2016–36).

Article 6. Improvement of the conditions of life and work. Indigenous women. The Committee notes the information provided by the Government according to which, in April 2018, the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock presented the comprehensive policy for rural, indigenous and campesina women, and formed a policy steering group to guide and oversee progress in its development. This group is composed of various campesina and indigenous women’s groups, governmental entities and international cooperation bodies. The Government indicates that the objective of the policy is to transform rural development policies into instruments that guarantee the rights and autonomy of rural, indigenous and campesina women, in line with the Sustainable Development Goals. The Salvadoran Institute for the Advancement of Women is also developing activities, in coordination with the Salvadoran National Indigenous Coordinating Council, to organize indigenous women’s participation in the implementation of the policies affecting indigenous peoples, as well as the promotion and protection of their rights. The Committee requests the Government to continue providing information on the measures adopted within the framework of the comprehensive policy for rural, indigenous and campesina women, as well as the measures taken at municipal level to guarantee effective protection in terms of hiring and employment conditions, including statistics on the number of indigenous women covered by those measures, their respective localities and the impact on their access to employment and their level of education.

Articles 11–14. Lands. In its previous comments, the Committee requested the Government to continue providing information on processes and programmes for the granting of lands, their impact on indigenous populations and the percentage of the members of those populations who have benefited from such measures. The Government indicates that the Salvadorian Institute for Agrarian Transformation (ISTA) has participated in the development of the national plan on indigenous peoples, which sets out actions to ensure legal protection of indigenous peoples’ lands and promote their participation in decisions that affect their territory. The Government indicates that it has been granting legal land titles to the most vulnerable populations, including the indigenous population, as family property, for a period of 20 years, rather than jointly owned property. Training and awareness raising on indigenous peoples’ rights has also been conducted, and information campaigns have been launched on women’s right to have access to property. The Government provides information on family groups who received property ownership deeds between 2014 and 2018 at national level, by department.

The Committee takes due note of the measures taken to grant legal land titles to the most vulnerable populations, including families belonging to indigenous groups. The Committee recalls that Article 11 of the Convention sets forth the obligation to recognize the right of ownership, collective or individual, of the members of the populations concerned over the lands which they traditionally occupy. The Committee therefore requests the Government to continue taking the necessary measures with a view to recognizing and promoting the rights of indigenous peoples over the lands which they traditionally occupy and to provide more detailed information on the number of indigenous families benefiting from the land titling processes implemented by the ISTA and the corresponding areas. It also requests the Government to indicate the existing mechanisms for the transferral to members of the indigenous peoples of property, collective or individual, traditionally occupied by them.

The Committee notes the information presented by the Government on the procedural steps taken regarding the complaint lodged by the “Plan Los Mochos” Cooperative Association of Agricultural Production for Community Development, and the complaint lodged by the inhabitants of the canton Planes de Renderos for the environmental damage caused in the context of the housing project “Quintas Doradas”. The Government indicates that the two procedures are still ongoing, and reiterates in relation to the complaint lodged by the “Plan Los Mochos” Cooperative Association of Agricultural Production for Community Development that the affected community has not been removed and that the mediation process has not been concluded. The Committee requests the Government to continue providing information on the progress and results of the processes relating to these complaints.