Media Home
UN Web TV
UN Audiovisual Library
UN PhotoUN INDIGENOUS RIGHTS
Download
There is no media available to download.
Share
STORY: UN / INDIGENOUS RIGHTS
TRT: 01:29
SOURCE: UNIFEED-UNTV
RESTRICTIONS: NONE
LANGUAGE: ENGLISH / NATS
DATELINE: 26 OCTOBER 2015, NEW YORK CITY / RECENT
RECENT, NEW YORK CITY
1. Wide shot, exterior United Nations Headquarters
26 OCTOBER 2015, NEW YORK CITY
2. Various shots, press briefing in progress
3. SOUNDBITE (English) Victoria Tauli-Corpuz, Special Rapporteur on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples:
“The human rights of indigenous peoples are very much undermined in the face of Bilateral Investment Treaties (BITs) and investment clauses of Free Trade Agreements (FTAs).”
4. Med shot, press briefing in progress
5. SOUNDBITE (English) Victoria Tauli-Corpuz, Special Rapporteur on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples:
“It’s a sad situation for the rights of indigenous peoples, particularly the indigenous peoples in voluntary isolation. Many of these indigenous peoples are threatened of being contacted precisely because of the infrastructure, the roads, the highways that are being developed.”
6. Med shot, press briefing in progress
7. SOUNDBITE (English) Alfred De Zayas, Independent Expert on the Promotion of a Democratic and Equitable International Order:
“There is hard-law that can be invoked on behalf of the indigenous but as far as soft-law is concerned, really you experience a moral vertigo when you look at these immoral and frivolous litigations against the state and against the rights of the indigenous.”
8. Wide shot, press briefing in progress
9. SOUNDBITE (English) Alfred De Zayas, Independent Expert on the Promotion of a Democratic and Equitable International Order:
“Indigenous people have the right to determine and develop priorities and strategies for the development or use of their lands and territories and other resources. That, of course with ISDS (Investor-State Dispute Settlement), impossible, forget it.”
10. Zoom out, closing of press briefing
The Special Rapporteur on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples voiced her concern today (26 Oct) over the adverse impact of free trade and investment agreements on indigenous communities saying they “undermine” their human rights.
These include a number of free trade and investment agreements, such as the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) and the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP), which are currently being negotiated.
Addressing reporters at a news conference at the United Nations Headquarters in New York, Victoria Tauli-Corpuz said “the human rights of indigenous peoples are very much undermined in the face of Bilateral Investment Treaties (BITs) and investment clauses of Free Trade Agreements (FTAs).”
Tauli-Corpuz noted that some of the principles included in the investment treaties, such as the principle of fair and equitable treatment and non-discrimination, are the same for both foreign and national investors. This could have a potential detrimental effect on the rights of indigenous peoples and minorities, and have negative impacts on the promotion of a democratic and equitable international order.
“It’s a sad situation for the rights of indigenous peoples, particularly the indigenous peoples in voluntary isolation. Many of these indigenous peoples are threatened of being contacted precisely because of the infrastructure, the roads, the highways that are being developed,” Tauli-Corpuz said.
Meanwhile, Alfred De Zayas, Independent Expert on the Promotion of a Democratic and Equitable International Order, said some of the lawsuits currently ongoing between foreign corporations and governments, were a “moral vertigo”.
“There is hard-law that can be invoked on behalf of the indigenous but as far as soft-law is concerned, really you experience a moral vertigo when you look at these immoral and frivolous litigations against the state and against the rights of the indigenous,” De Zayas said.
Speaking about the Investor-state-dispute settlement (ISDS) chapters in BITs and FTAs, which risk putting at risk the States' ability to legislate in the public interest, De Zayas said, “indigenous people have the right to determine and develop priorities and strategies for the development or use of their lands and territories and other resources. That, of course with ISDS (Investor-State Dispute Settlement), impossible, forget it.”
