Mechanisms are needed to prevent them from losing their identity, lands, resources and equality, they say
(UCAN) Leaders, representing indigenous people in Sri Lanka, have called on the government to formulate a special law to protect their rights and provide proper access to courts in case these rights are violated.
Five indigenous leaders, dressed in traditional attire, made the call at a press conference in the capital Colombo on 22 Jan., before handing a letter outlining their demands to Prime Minister Harini Amarasuriya.
One of the leaders, Uruwarige Wannilaaththo, said the government should pass an indigenous rights law to address important issues concerning ethnic minority groups and give equal treatment under the law.
“Tribal people face numerous challenges due to forest depletion and government administrative activities, with verbal solutions offered in the past, but no government has implemented permanent solutions to address ongoing issues faced by indigenous communities,” said Wannilaaththo.
He said that they expect a formal resolution to these issues, adding that they even travelled to Geneva to the U.N. to fight for their rights and live freely in the jungle.
Indigenous peoples, known as the Vedda community, make up less than one percent of Sri Lanka’s estimated 22 million people. They are mostly concentrated in 62 villages in rural, forested parts of the island nation.
Wannilaaththo said that the destruction of forests for various development projects threatens the existence of indigenous people, many of whom are facing lawsuits for allegedly trespassing in forest reserves.
“Our life isn’t just hunting, we go to the forest for medicine, potatoes, nuts, and firewood. Yet, for these actions, our people are being sued,” he said.
Sri Lanka’s indigenous people are considered one of the most marginalized communities in the country due to poverty and a lack of education and social development.
The country does not have a special law ensuring recognition of indigenous people’s rights in line with the 2007 U.N. Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.
The declaration calls on member states to implement effective mechanisms to prevent actions that deprive indigenous peoples of their identity, lands, resources, and equality.
Indigenous community leaders say the establishment of national parks has devastated their ancestral lands, forcing them to abandon age-old traditions and a self-sufficient lifestyle. Forced relocation and being restricted from entering their forests have left them grappling with serious challenges and a loss of heritage.
Sunimalee Somaweera, a rights activist from Colombo, said that due to their displacement, they can no longer return to the self-sufficient lifestyle they had enjoyed for generations. It has disrupted their way of life and their connection to traditional knowledge and practices, she added.
“The loss of their homeland has also forced them to abandon their unique medical practices, which combined plant and animal substances, ritual treatments, and witchcraft, all passed down orally through generations as vital aspects of their culture,” Somaweera told UCA News.
Sri Lanka’s indigenous people deserve the protection of their fundamental rights in the constitution that guarantees “the right to equality, freedom of occupation, and freedom of movement” for everyone, she noted.
She said the issues faced by the Vedda community have been discussed for more than 50 years, yet no practical solution has been provided to address them.
Various governments have made efforts to pass a law to protect the rights of indigenous peoples but have consequently failed to do so.
from The Island https://ift.tt/eWRCHk7
No comments:
Post a Comment