(b) Principal theme, Utilization of indigenous peoples' lands by non indigenous authorities, groups or individuals for military purposes

Protection for indigenous peoples' cultural heritage shall recognize that indigenous traditional lands and waters can only be adequately preserved if managed by the indigenous peoples themselves.

While the Committee takes note of the State party's efforts to demarcate indigenous lands, such as the promulgation of the Indigenous Peoples Habitat and Lands, Demarcation and Protection Act, it is concerned that the effective ownership and use of indigenous lands and resources continue to be threatened and restricted by repeated aggression from individuals and private groups against indigenous peoples, in order to move them from their land.

In this regard, the Committee invites the State party to provide information on the settlement of cases of conflicting interests relating to indigenous lands and resources, particularly those in which indigenous groups have been displaced from their lands.

The initiatives taken by his Government to advance the rights of indigenous people included the establishment of banks for indigenous women a census of indigenous households a programme to strengthen community management scholarships for indigenous students a programme to protect indigenous migrants and a programme to map indigenous lands.

Since indigenous peoples' cultural heritage is intrinsically connected to their traditional lands and waters, protection for indigenous cultural heritage shall also include measures to preserve and safeguard the environment thatwhich indigenous peoples traditionally inhabit.

In Costa Rica, lack of appropriate planning in relation to the restoration of ancestral lands has provoked great difficulties for indigenous communities in relation to their indigenous traditional knowledge.

The Working Group decided that its principal theme at its twenty fourth session would be Utilization of indigenous peoples' lands by non indigenous authorities, groups or individuals for military purposes .

Armed conflicts on indigenous lands and their consequences are a recurring reality in many regions, and call for continual monitoring.

(g) Recognize further that indigenous peoples' cultural heritage is intrinsically linked and connected to their traditional territories, lands, waters and natural resources.

The work of MINUGUA in this area confirmed discriminatory practices such as sexual harassment against indigenous women denial of justice in indigenous languages impediments to the practice of indigenous spirituality restricted access for the indigenous to communications media and non recognition of communally owned lands and traditional law.

1. Indigenous peoples have the right to the lands, territories and resources which they have traditionally owned, occupied or otherwise used or acquired.

In relation to indigenous lands and territories, including sacred sites (may include exploration, such as archaeologic explorations, as well as development and use).

A number of indigenous organizations stated that conflicts involving indigenous peoples were most often related to issues of land and resources, to the exercise of the right to self determination, and to the undertaking of projects undertaken by non indigenous entities either closer to or within the ancestral lands of indigenous peoples.

A number of indigenous participants raised the issue of militarization of ancestral lands as a cause of conflict, sometimes in connection with the exploitation of natural resources on these lands, as in the case of the Chittagong Hill Tracts of Bangladesh.

1. Military activities shall not take place in the lands or territories of indigenous peoples, unless justified by a significant threat to relevant public interest or otherwise freely agreed with or requested by the indigenous peoples concerned.

15.3 States should ensure, where appropriate, that registration systems record and or recognize the rights of possession of traditional and indigenous communities to collective lands.

Another factor threatening traditional knowledge was eviction of indigenous peoples from their lands, as this heritage was inextricably linked to land and the resources therein.

1. Indigenous peoples have the right to determine and develop priorities and strategies for the development or use of their lands or territories and other resources.

Ever since colonial times, Canada's indigenous peoples have been progressively dispossessed of their lands, resources and culture, a process that has led them into destitution, deprivation and dependency.

A number of indigenous participants raised the issue of territorial sovereignty over their ancestral lands and the difficulty of proving their claims to them through existing governmental channels.

Violent conflicts and militarization fundamentally affect the lives of indigenous women and their families and communities, causing violations of their human rights and displacement from their ancestral lands.

1. Indigenous peoples have the right to the conservation and protection of the environment and the productive capacity of their lands or territories and resources. States shall establish and implement assistance programmes for indigenous peoples for such conservation and protection, without discrimination.

In the light of general recommendation XXIII on the rights of indigenous peoples, the Committee recommends that the State party take measures to recognize and protect the rights of indigenous peoples to own, develop, control and use their lands, territories and resources.

The high standard of proof required is reported to have the consequence that many indigenous peoples are unable to obtain recognition of their relationship with their traditional lands (art.

Indigenous peoples shall not be forcibly removed from their lands or territories. No relocation shall take place without the free, prior and informed consent of the indigenous peoples concerned and after agreement on just and fair compensation and, where possible, with the option of return.

The lands concerned stock twice as much carbon as other lands.

2. States shall undertake effective consultations with the indigenous peoples concerned, through appropriate procedures and in particular through their representative institutions, prior to using their lands or territories for military activities.

For example, the issue of militarization of indigenous lands had been raised in completely different areas of the globe but communications within the United Nations system on this issue was lacking.

A number of participants consistently stated that the principle of free, prior and informed consent encompassed not only a procedure to be elaborated, but also a right associated with indigenous peoples' right to self determination, treaties and indigenous peoples' rights to lands, territories and natural resources.

We remind this Forum that the material scarcity found among many indigenous groups is a direct result of the pillaging, colonizing, exploitation and domination of their lands and traditional ways of life.

Emphasizing the contribution of the demilitarization of the lands and territories of indigenous peoples to peace, economic and social progress and development, understanding and friendly relations among nations and peoples of the world,

2. States shall take effective measures to ensure that no storage or disposal of hazardous materials shall take place in the lands or territories of indigenous peoples without their free, prior and informed consent.

The visit revealed, inter alia, the devastating effects of the internal armed conflict on indigenous communities murder and torture, mass displacement, forced disappearance, forced recruitment of young people into combat units and rape of women, as well as occupation of indigenous people's lands by guerrilla, paramilitary and other illegal armed groups.

3. States shall give legal recognition and protection to these lands, territories and resources. Such recognition shall be conducted with due respect to the customs, traditions and land tenure systems of the indigenous peoples concerned.

Moreover, in 2001 it had introduced a law demarcating and guaranteeing the habitat and lands of indigenous peoples, which provided for a broad and participatory demarcation process and the formulation of regulations for its implementation.

Most conflicts on lands inhabited by indigenous peoples are related to the control of natural resources such as wood, minerals or oil or of areas considered strategic by either or both parties to the conflict.

(a) Ensure legal acknowledgement of the rights of indigenous and tribal peoples to possess, develop, control and use their communal lands and to participate in the exploitation, management and conservation of the associated natural resources

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The Special Rapporteur has also expressed concern about other urgent issues, including the forced internal displacement of many indigenous people, the exploitation of the natural resources on their lands, the spraying of their lands as part of the campaign against illicit crops and the need to consult them before taking decisions on matters that affect them, notably in the area of economic development.

The Forum is concerned that, unless the particular situation of indigenous peoples are adequately taken into account, some Millennium Development Goals processes may lead to accelerated loss of lands and natural resources for indigenous peoples, and thus of their means of subsistence and their displacement, as well as to accelerated assimilation and erosion of their culture.

The Forum recommends that Member States, United Nations bodies and mechanisms, the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights and other parts of the United Nations system strengthen the machinery to address the urgent, gross and ongoing human rights violations, militarization of indigenous lands and systemic violence committed by Member States against indigenous peoples.

(b) makes no sense ConsideringIn view of indigenous peoples' right to self determination and right to lands, territories and resources, traditionally owned or otherwise occupied and used, be governed by, and give full effect to, the principle of free, prior and informed consent for any description of, access to, or acquisition of elements of, indigenous peoples' cultural heritage

Communal ownership of reservation lands ends.

The local administration also includes prime agricultural lands including numerous drug farms on lands that were taken from the local farmers.