THE UNITED NATIONS COMMITTEE ON THE ELIMINATION OF RACIAL DISCRIMINATION REVIEWS THE UNITED STATES AND QUESTIONS ITS RECORD OF RACIAL DISCRIMINATION AGAINST INDIGENOUS PEOPLES

IITC Delegation includes UCTP Representative, Tai Pelli

Geneva, Switzerland: From August 9 through 13, 2022 four delegates representing the International Indian Treaty Council (IITC) participated in the long-awaited review of racial discrimination in the United States (US) by the United Nations Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (CERD) during its 107th Session in Geneva Switzerland.  CERD is the Treaty monitoring body for the International Convention on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (ICERD), to which the US is a State Party.

The CERD’s review will assess US. compliance with its legally binding obligations under the ICERD to eliminate racial discrimination.  This was the first review of the US since 2014 since the previous US administration chose to ignore the due date for submission of its report in November 2019. The current US report was submitted in June 2021, and representatives from 10 US government agencies participated in the review.

 

On August 9, the CERD provided the opportunity for Indigenous Peoples and Civil Society delegations to make statements about the US lack of compliance with the ICERD and to provide examples of unaddressed and unreported racial discrimination. Summer Blaze Aubrey, IITC Staff Attorney, summarized IITC’s written “Shadow Report” which addressed historic and ongoing violations of the Treaties concluded by the US with Indigenous Nations and the many forms of racial discrimination and human rights violations taking place as a result. There were also two informal breakfast meetings on August 10 and 11 in which Indigenous Peoples and Civil Society again had a chance to speak with Committee members regarding the US’s lack of compliance with the Convention.

 

The IITC also credentialed Chief Gary Harrison, Chickaloon Native Village Alaska, and IITC Consulting Attorney June Lorenzo, Laguna Pueblo and Diné. IITC Board member Tai Pelli also participated, credentialed under her organization, IITC affiliate the United Confederation of Taino People (UCTP). The Western Shoshone Defense Project and the Changing Woman Initiative were among the other Indigenous delegations represented at the session.

 

The Committee carried out its formal review and questioning of the US on August 11 and 12. Mr. Mehrdad Payandeh, CERD member from Germany, focused on Indigenous issues for the review.  He questioned the US about key issues that had been raised by the Indigenous Peoples delegations, including:

• The negative impacts of colonialism on the enjoyment of human rights, highlighting that “human rights violations of Indigenous Peoples are a persistent legacy of colonialism.”
• The concrete implementation of the January 2021 Presidential memorandum on “Tribal Consultation and Strengthening Nation-to-Nation Relationships,” including efforts to give effect to Tribal Treaties.
• The US implementation of dialogues with Indigenous Peoples and traditional and Tribal leaders including Indigenous Peoples of insular territories, such as for example, the Taíno, as well as other unrecognized Indigenous Peoples.
• The failure of the US to implement CERD General Comment 23 regarding the full and non-restrictive implementation of Free, Prior and Informed Consent and the significant and direct impacts on Indigenous Peoples rights and way of life.
• The question of free, prior and informed consent and rights of Indigenous Peoples in regard to their land, territories, sacred sites, and way of life, including the adverse effects of the activities of the extractive industries including extraction of transition minerals, infrastructure projects, and the construction of border fences and walls.
• US response to early warning and urgent action procedures submitted by the Lipan Apache, Native Hawaiian, Gwich’in, Anishinaabe, and Western Shoshone Peoples.
• Concerns over jurisdictional complexities impacting cases of violence against Indigenous persons, especially in cases of sexual violence.
• Concerns over transnational corporations and private security companies and violations of human rights of Indigenous Peoples.

 

Based on his questions, it was clear to the IITC delegation that the Committee and Mr. Payandeh in particular had heard the concerns presented by Indigenous Peoples.  IITC looks forward to the CERD’s concluding observations regarding the US which are expected to be released before the end of the current session on August 30th.

 

Tai Pelli reflected on the power of the Indigenous Peoples delegations’ contributions in Geneva: “The strong and united collaboration of all the Indigenous delegations made a victory out of our participation.  The Committee members took into account all of the issues presented by Indigenous Peoples in their questions to the USA.”

 

The IITC’s  alternative report submitted to the CERD can be found here.  The United States’ periodic report can be found here.

Press Release courtesy of the IITC

TEATRO BREVE de San Juan, PR ridiculiza al Pueblo Indígena Taíno/Jíbaro/Borikua en Parodia Teatral en las redes sociales

12 de abril 2020 - La Confederación Unida del Pueblo Taíno, junto a la comunidad Indígena Caribeña Taíno, Jíbaro, Borikua Arawak denuncia el acto de discriminación racial y burla cometido en su contra por Teatro Breve con la parodia titulada Un Viaje a nuestras raíces que ridiculiza al Pueblo Indígena de Borikén recientemente dispersándose a través de las Redes Sociales. Teatro Breve, hasta ahora había sido considerado la versión de “SNL”(Saturday Night Live) de Puerto Rico y entre otros, “la mejor compañía de Teatro en Puerto Rico”. 

El Pueblo Indígena Caribeño ha sido un pueblo resiliente por 527 años ante los abusos que comienzan con su invisibilización a través de la retórica colonial de la extinción, abuso a nuestras mujeres indígenas, la opresión, demonización y deshumanización,  incluyendo la religiosa. Esto se ha convertido en una licencia para ridiculizar a aquellos y aquellas que afirman su herencia e identidad Indígena como es su Derecho Humano inherente, universal, básico y fundamental, como lo es el Derecho a la libre determinación e identificación. 

El Gobierno Federal de los Estados Unidos, y por su estatus colonial, el gobierno local de Puerto Rico, tienen la obligación  de implementar al igual que de respetar la Declaración de las Naciones Unidas sobre los Derechos de los Pueblos Indígenas, finalmente adoptada por Estados Unidos en diciembre de 2010. 

El Artículo 8.1 - Los pueblos y los individuos indígenas tienen derecho a no ser sometidos a una asimilación forzada ni a la destrucción de su cultura.

Artículo 8.2 Los Estados establecerán mecanismos eficaces para la prevención y resarcimiento de: 

a.) Todo acto que tenga por objeto o consecuencia privarlos de su integridad como pueblos distintos o de sus valores culturales o su identidad ética;

           

d) Toda forma de asimilación forzada o integración forzada;

e) Toda forma de propaganda que tenga como fin promover o incitar la discriminación racial o étnica dirigida contra ellos.

Hacemos también hincapié al hecho de que Estados Unidos (por ende aplica  Puerto Rico en su estatus colonial) es una de las Partes que adoptó el Convenio Internacional sobre la Eliminación de todas formas de Discriminación Racial; énfasis a todos sus artículos y a su preámbulo, entre éste: 

“Convencidos de que toda doctrina de superioridad basada en la diferenciación racial es científicamente falsa, moralmente condenable y socialmente injusta y peligrosa, y de que nada en la teoría o en la práctica permite justificar, en ninguna parte, la discriminación racial,..”

Nosotros apreciamos el Arte, después de todo, somos un Pueblo de muchísimas destrezas artísticas. Reconocemos y nos dedicamos a la revitalización de nuestros lenguajes indígenas, como lo están haciendo las más de 476.6 millones de Personas Indígenas en el mundo. Sin embargo, no podemos permitir que ésto suceda en un entorno de ridiculización y chiste sobre nuestra cultura, especialmente cuando se trata de asuntos de la Mujer que dentro de las Culturas Indígenas tienen un simbolismo muy sagrado, como lo es la Menstruación. 

No tenemos duda que un excelente trabajo pudiera haber sido hecho para enseñar sobre uno de nuestros lenguajes, sin embargo rechazamos y denunciamos este acto que deshumaniza, irrespeta, y ridiculiza nuestra Cultura Indígena. El esfuerzo de nuestros ancestros en la sobrevivencia y respeto; el movimiento organizado de nuestro pueblos de ya casi 50 años (como lo han hecho millones de hermanos indígenas en el mundo) y ante los cuales no somos una excepción; la defensa proactiva de nuestros derechos en el ámbito local, nacional, e internacional, entre otros, no puede venir a ser insultado y minimizado para hacer reír a unos cuántos. 

Nuestra Cultura es una Cultura VIVA. Conocemos nuestros Derechos y le pedimos a TEATRO BREVE, una disculpa pública a nuestro Pueblo Indígena Caribeño y a todos los Pueblos Indígenas, porque la burla hacia uno, es la burla hacia todos. También le pedimos a TEATRO BREVE que desista de la exhibición y distribución de este video de tan mal gusto no solo para los miles de Taíno, Jíbaro, Borikuas del Caribe y la Diáspora, sino por la dignidad de 476.6 millones de personas que han sido resilientes ante la adversidad de la mentalidad colonizada. 

Para más información contacte: Tekina Tai Pelli,

Confederación Unida del Pueblo Taíno (United Confederation of Taíno People (UCTP) 

Oficial de Relaciones Internacionales y Derechos Humanos;

Organización para el Desarrollo Indoamericano del Caribe (CADO, por sus siglas en inglés)

Co-Fundadora y Co-Presidenta

Taipelli21@gmail.com

   Comunicado de Prensa - Confederación Unida del Pueblo Taíno (CUPT) Para distribución inmediata

2008 Joint Taino Report to the CERD Now Available

UCTP Public Notice: The 23 January 2008 Joint Taino Report to the UN Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (CERD) is now available for review at www.uctp.org. To access this historic report at www.uctp.org, please visit the "Documents in English" section, and click on the heading "Taino Advocacy at the United Nations."

The Taino submission to the CERD was a joint effort of the United Confederation of Taino People - Office of International Relations and Regional Coordination; the Consejo General de Tainos Borincanos; and the Caney Quinto Mundo in response to periodic reports of the United States of America, which were reviewed at the Committee's Seventy-second session held in Geneva, 18 February - 7 March 2008. The Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (CERD) is the body of independent experts that monitors implementation of the Convention on the Elimination of Alls Forms of Racial Discrimination by its State parties. The report is 30 pgs in English only.

Taino People Submit Shadow Report to UN Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination

UCTP Taino News - The United Confederation of Taino People (UCTP), the Consejo General de Tainos Borincanos (CGTB), and the Caney Quinto Mundo (CQM) submitted a joint Shadow Report to the United Nations Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (UNCERD) in January, 2008. The UNCERD is the "Treaty Monitoring Body" for the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (ICERD). It monitors compliance of the countries, which have ratified the Convention with its provisions, including the United States (US).

The historic report, the first of its kind ever submitted by Taino People, provides verifiable examples of human rights violations and racial discrimination against Taino People by the governments of the US and Puerto Rico. These violations include the destruction of sacred sites, threats to spiritual and cultural practices, and environmental racism. The report also shows that the Taino attempts to meet with government representatives to resolve these issues have all but been ignored. The report will be considered in the upcoming examination of the US by the UNCERD during its 72nd Session 18 February – 7 March 2008 in Geneva, Switzerland.

The UTCP, CGTB, and CQM also submitted specific information to the International Indian Treaty Council (IITC), which has been included in the IITC's "Consolidated Indigenous Shadow Report" to the UNCERD. The IITC also submitted this extensive report in January 2008 in coordination with the Western Shoshone Defense Project.

"It was important to submit our information in the consolidated report along with other indigenous peoples because it gives context to our individual claims" stated UCTP representative DeAnna Sarobei Rivera. The Director of the Tribal Learning Community & Educational Exchange (TLCEE), a program associated with the Native Nations Law and Policy Center at the UCLA School of Law, Sarobei Rivera was one of the lead writers of the Taino submissions.

Alberto Saldamando, IITC General Counsel, who co-coordinated the development of the report stated, "In compiling this report to the UNCERD, it was clear that the institutionalization of racism and discrimination against Native Peoples is ingrained at every level of US society. The data and the many inputs we received from Tribes, Native Peoples and individuals vividly demonstrate that racial discrimination thrives in schools, universities, prisons and in the so-called administration of justice in the US, at every level of government and society at large."

"Our rights as Indigenous People in Puerto Rico and the Diaspora are affected by U.S. policy and before this time, our voice has never been heard during these important proceedings. These reports ensure that we as a People are taken seriously" stated Mildred Karaira Gandia, a UCTP representative in the state of Florida.

Karaira along with Sarobei Rivera were part of the Taino report’s drafting team, which also included Naniki Reyes Ocasio, Liza O'Reilly, and Roberto Mukaro Borrero. The drafting team incorporated testimony of Taino individuals and organizations from Puerto Rico and the Diaspora into the over 30 page joint submission.

Naniki Reyes Ocasio of the Caney Quinto Mundo stated "The completion of our Joint Shadow Report is another step forward in our struggle to denounce colonization, human rights violations and the racial discrimination directed against us as we continue to defend our rights as Indigenous Peoples for past, present and future generations."

Taino People in Puerto Rico and throughout the Diaspora now await the UNCERD's response to their submission.

UCTPTN 02.19.2008