The International Law for Tribal People

Across the world, tribal peoples’ lands are being stolen and their communities devastated. ILO Convention 169 is the only international law designed to protect tribal peoples’ rights.
Most governments refuse to ratify it.

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When tribal peoples lose their lands, their societies disintegrate and individuals often succumb to alcoholism and fatal diseases.

The only international law that can secure tribal peoples’ land rights is the International Labour Organization Convention 169. ILO 169 recognizes and protects tribal peoples’ land ownership rights, and sets a series of minimum UN standards regarding consultation and consent.

ILO 169 has been around since 1989, but only twenty-two countries have ratified it so far. At this rate, it will be another 170 years before every country has ratified the Convention. Every country that does so, strengthens its force, and gives tribal peoples a greater chance to survive and thrive.

What does ILO 169 say?

It protects tribal peoples’ right to:

» Own the land they live on and use
» Make decisions about projects that affect them
» Equality and freedom

I’m in the UK
I’m not in the UK

Please write to your MP asking him/her to support ILO 169

Please take a moment to send an online message through WriteToThem.com asking your MP to support the only international law for the world’s threatened tribes, ILO 169. The UK government has not ratified it, saying that it’s not relevant because no tribal peoples live there.

But of course UK companies do business in countries with tribal peoples; and, through Britain’s overseas development budget, your taxes fund many projects that affect them. Ratifying ILO 169 would help to stop abuses against some of the world’s most vulnerable peoples.

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Please urge the Bangladesh government to ratify ILO 169

Please send a letter to the Bangladeshi government, urging it to ratify ILO 169 as a matter of urgency. In 2008, Bangladesh said it would consider ratifying ILO 169, but it has still not done so.

In the meantime, the rights of the country’s Jumma tribes continue to be cast aside as they suffer displacement by settlers and violent repression by the Bangladesh military. Ratifying ILO 169 would protect the rights of the Jummas and help stop abuses against them.

Sheikh Hasina
Prime Minister
Office of the Prime Minister
Old Sangshad Bhaban
Dhaka – 1215
Bangladesh

May 25, 2013

Dear Prime Minister

I am writing to urge you to ratify International Labour Organization Convention 169 concerning Indigenous and Tribal Peoples as a matter of urgency.

ILO 169 is the only international law that recognizes and protects tribal peoples’ land rights, and sets a series of standards regarding consultation and consent. The Convention recognizes tribal peoples’ rights to equality and freedom from discrimination, and their right to determine their own futures.

I note the government’s commitment to consider ratifying the Convention, made in October 2008 as part of the National Strategy for Accelerated Poverty Reduction II. This commitment should be acted upon immediately.

Several states ratified the Convention recently, bringing the total to 22. This figure, alongside the recent adoption of the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples by Australia, New Zealand and the United States, indicates the increasingly universal acceptance of tribal peoples’ rights.

By ratifying ILO 169, Bangladesh would bring its stance on tribal peoples’ rights in line with international standards and show the international community that it is committed to the protection of its tribal people.

I urge your government to ratify ILO Convention 169 without delay.

Yours sincerely,

Don't use my name publicly

Will my letter make a difference?
Yes. Time and again, letters from Survival supporters have called governments and organisations to account. Policies have changed and lives have been saved.

Should I post, fax or e-mail?
The most powerful way is to print and post your letter. We will e-mail you a ready-to-print PDF of your letter, together with postage information.

We sometimes also publish e-mail addresses or fax numbers where there is a realistic chance of these being read. However, e-mail addresses change and fax machines get unplugged. If you can, please post your letter.

ILO 169 is not just a law for tribal peoples, it is a law for everyone

ILO 169 is not just a law for tribal peoples; it is a law for everyone. It plays a key role in saving the world’s rainforests, putting control of the land back in the hands of the people who have looked after it for generations.

It is no coincidence that so much of the world’s remaining rainforests and biodiversity are on tribal peoples’ lands.

ILO 169 recognizes and protects tribal peoples’ land rights, allowing tribes to prosper, and the forests in which many live to flourish.

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