The International Alliance of Indigenous and Tribal Peoples of the Tropical Forests
4th Session of the United Nations Forum on Forests

For the attention of the Vice-Chairman for Working Group I

10 May 2004

Dear Mr Vice-Chairman,

We, Indigenous Peoples, in attendance at the 4th Session of the United Nations Forum on Forests, would like to express our great concern with regard to the contents of the Vice-Chairman’s draft resolution on the Social and Cultural Aspects of Forests.

Indigenous Peoples appreciate their inclusion in the UNFF process and consider this an important initial step towards their effective and meaningful participation in deliberations on the international arrangement on forests. However, despite their being , with very specific interests relating to the Social and Cultural Aspects of Forests, none of their principal concerns has been included in the draft resolution on this theme. Indigenous Peoples clearly stated their position on this topic during the opening discussions and the Multi-Stakeholder Dialogue, yet their vision and clear demands relating to the Social and Cultural Aspects of Forests are not reflected in the issued document.

Despite the obvious importance of the theme of Social and Cultural Aspects of Forests to Indigenous Peoples, only once is the term ‘indigenous’ used throughout the entire draft (and even then only in the preambular language). It seems a remarkable oversight given the clear relevance of social and cultural issues to indigenous peoples in particular.

We are aware that it is ultimately the prerogative of governments to decide on the formulation of the draft resolution, but it is clear that the original document substantially influences how the discussion progresses. Therefore, we are very disappointed to find that Indigenous Peoples concerns are almost absent in the document. We urge the Secretariat to ensure that the perspectives of the Major Groups are incorporated into all drafts of this kind in the future.

Whilst we recognise that the opportunity to modify the language of the present draft resolution according to the perspectives of Indigenous Peoples is now limited, we urge you to ensure adequate consideration of their concerns during the current deliberations on TFRK and the Social and Cultural Aspects of Forests. We also urge the UNFF to adopt a more inclusive approach regarding Indigenous Peoples in the future.

On a related matter, we wish to express our concern about the tardiness with which the TFRK draft resolution was issued. Clearly, where the period of time between the issue of the document and the deliberations on the same subject is so short, it is extremely difficult for indigenous peoples and other major groups to provide inputs into the discussions. We would urge you to rectify this in future sessions, so as to ensure that indigenous peoples are given the opportunity to influence and effectively contribute to processes that impact so particularly on their lives.

Thank you for your consideration in this matter.

Yours faithfully,

Adrien Sinafasi Makelo, AAPDMAC, Democratic Republic of Congo

Flor Morales, Asociación Ixacavaa, Costa Rica

Kittisak Rattanakrajansri, International Alliance of Indigenous and Tribal Peoples of the Tropical Forests, Thailand