Considering that the UN Working Group on Indigenous Populations is a standard-setting body that seeks to promote the recognition and realisation of the rights of indigenous peoples at the international and national levels;

Considering that at its 19^th session the UN Working Group on Indigenous Populations aims to further the recognition of the rights of indigenous peoples in the development process;

Emphasising that, until now, the World Bank has been viewed by other multilateral development banks, international financial institutions and development agencies as a standard-setting institution for development policy and practice;

Affirming that indigenous peoples value a strong and clear World Bank safeguard policy that safeguards their traditional and customary rights to land and requires Bank staff and borrower governments to respect their human rights and their right to self-determination;

Stressing that the Indigenous Peoples Policy underpins the effectiveness and credibility of other key safeguards including the Bank’s Involuntary Resettlement, Environmental Assessment and Forests policies;

Recognising that an effective safeguard policy for indigenous peoples is an essential mechanism for achieving the World Bank’s mandate of sustainable poverty reduction;

Recalling that indigenous peoples and civil society organisations have long argued that any revision of the World Bank’s Indigenous Peoples Policy (Operational Directive 4.20) should be based on a thorough participatory review of its implementation to learn practical lessons about how the policy contents and compliance with its provisions can be improved;

The undersigned representatives and members of indigenous peoples organisations participating in the working group’s 19^th session do not feel ownership of the contents of the March 2001 Draft of the World Bank’s revised Indigenous Peoples Policy (Operational Policy/Bank Procedures 4.10) because as it stands the draft:

·        does not build upon and reinforce the positive language in the existing policy;

·        fails to incorporate many of the key recommendations made by indigenous peoples during previous consultations on the Bank’s “approach paper” on the revision process;

·        uses language that confuses consultation with effective participation;

·        lacks binding provisions that seek to guarantee indigenous land and resource security;

·        fails to recognise the right to free, informed prior consent;

·        does not prohibit the involuntary resettlement of indigenous peoples

·        is not consistent with existing and emerging international standards on human rights and sustainable development;

·        does not advance international standards for dealing with indigenous peoples in development.

We, the undersigned, are also concerned about the plans for approval of the draft policy which is scheduled to be finalised before the full findings of the OED implementation review are available.

The participants at the 19^th session of the UN Working Groups on Indigenous Populations therefore call on the World Bank Group to make modifications to the March 2001 draft of the World Bank’s Indigenous Peoples policy (OP/BP4.10) so that it:

a)         includes clear binding safeguard provisions to protect the rights of indigenous peoples, especially their rights to land and natural resources;

b)         contains mandatory provisions that empower indigenous peoples and respect their right to prior informed consent;

c)         extends its safeguards to cover full structural adjustment loans;

c)         is consistent with existing and emerging international standards on human rights and sustainable development;

d)         requires the effective participation of indigenous peoples and their representative organisations in the governance and monitoring and evaluation of  World Bank-financed projects and programmes that affect them;

The signatories below also call on the World Bank to:

e)         delay the finalisation of the policy until the full findings of the OED are available (Phase I and Phase II).

Unless these modifications are made to the draft policy and the schedules for policy finalisation, we are not convinced that the March 2001 Draft of OP.BP4.10 will further the rights of indigenous peoples in World Bank operations. We therefore urge the Bank to amend the draft in ways that set new and improved standards for indigenous peoples in development.

The undersigned likewise urge the World Bank to ensure that its other policies including its Involuntary Resettlement Policy (OP4.12) fully respect the rights of indigenous peoples. To this end, we demand that the Bank remove language in the March 2001 draft of the Resettlement Policy that discriminates against those without formal recognised legal rights to land and resources. We further encourage the World Bank Group to show leadership to the international development community by acting on the call by UN human rights bodies to avoid any development operations that might result in the involuntary relocation of indigenous peoples.

Goyo D. Cutimanco,   IETSAY/ Costa Rica               

Elizabeth Chamorro,   Casa Nativa "Tampa Allqo"     

Miguel Valbuena G.,   ONIC - Colombia                   

Sebastian Jansasoy,   F.zio-ai - Colombia,   

Ruben Ortiz,   Programa Kichin Konojel

Gloria Sanic,   Kichin Konjel              

Tulio Aulvaoz,   Mesa Permanente                                

Adela Geramion,   FEINE, Ecuador

Josefino Martinez,   Comite de Solidaridad , Triqui 

Velerio Canipa Tanove,   Aisabal, Aymara                                  

Magdalena Choque Blanco,   CADMA                                 

Nilo Cayuqueo,   Abya Yala Fund, Ecuador                               

Carlos Mamani C,   THOA, Bolivia                        

Nelson de Leon,   Asoc. Napguana, Panama                                

Maria Eugenia Choque,   THOA, Bolivia

Alberto Saldamando,   IITC    

Ernestina Ortiz Pena,   Coordinadora Nacional de Mujeres Indigenas de Mexico

Tomas Alarcon E.,   CAPAJ, Peru

Guillermo Contreras,   CAPAJ, Peru

Jatun Wasi

Poncio Tajun,   Turum Umam

Elaine Potiguara,   Grumin/Red de Comunicacion Indigena, Brazil

Marcelino Diaz de Jesus,   Asemblea Nacional Indigena Plural pro la Autonomia (ANIPA)