Observation (CEACR) - adopted 1998, published 87th ILC session (1999)

Indigenous and Tribal Peoples Convention, 1989 (No. 169) - Colombia (Ratification: 1991)

1. The Committee takes note of the Government's report and of the comments provided by various representative organizations. The Committee also notes that the Constitutional Court and the Supreme Court, as well as lower courts, have handed down a number of rulings that take the provisions of the Convention into account.

2. The Committee notes that the communication sent by a number of organizations, which was transmitted to the Government on 18 August 1998, refers to the construction of a hydroelectric scheme (the Urrá project) which will flood much of the territory occupied by the Emberá-Katío community and, in the absence of any consultations with the indigenous communities affected, will contravene Article 6 of the Convention. The representative organizations concerned requested that a direct contacts mission be sent with a view to safeguarding the rights of the Emberá-Katío people who are settled in the Alto Sinú region. The Committee hopes that the Government will send its comments on this matter as soon as possible.

3. The Committee notes with interest the promulgation of Decrees Nos. 1396 and 1397 of 8 August 1996 establishing the Committee on the Human Rights of Indigenous Peoples and the National Committee for Indigenous Territories, and the fact that the ILO was invited to participate in some of the subcommittees of these bodies. In this connection, the Committee requests the Government to provide information on the practical activities of these bodies since they were established, in particular information on environmental impact studies which should involve the indigenous communities concerned before any environmental licence is granted, in accordance with section 7 of Decree No. 1337.

4. Article 3. In an earlier direct request, the Committee took note of reports that had been received of human rights violations, including massacres in indigenous communities in Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta, and the fact that the Permanent Commission on Indigenous Rights was conducting investigations into these human rights violations, in cooperation with the Office of the People's Advocate. The Committee asks the Government to indicate whether the Committee on the Human Rights of Indigenous Peoples now has the power to investigate these grave allegations and requests the Government to provide information on the progress made in these investigations.

5. The Committee notes, however, that the Government's report contains no replies to many of the questions raised in its direct request in 1995, in particular concerning the practical application of the majority of Articles of the Convention. While it is clear, from the documentation that accompanied the report, that a considerable amount of theoretical work has been done, especially by the Directorate General for Indigenous Affairs, there is little indication of the extent to which the policies recommended have been formally adopted and put into practice. The Committee is therefore addressing other questions on the application of the Convention in a detailed request which it is sending directly to the Government.

[The Government is asked to report in detail in 2000.]