Comments on Bank Operational Policy on Indigenous Peoples (February 2005)
February 28, 2005
Indigenous Peoples Coordinator
Mailstop MC5-523
World Bank
1818 H Street
NW Washington DC 20433 USA
Email: indigenouspeoples@worldbank.org
RE: Comments on Revised Draft Operational Policy on Indigenous Peoples (Revised Draft OP 4.10)
Dear Indigenous Peoples Coordinator,
Please find below our comments on the Draft Operational Policy on Indigenous Peoples (Revised Draft OP 4.10).
We the undersigned Canadian organizations and representatives are writing to highlight the need for the World Bank to strengthen its draft OP 4.10 in order to ensure that the policy sufficiently meets international standards and guarantees on the rights of Indigenous Peoples.
In our opinion, for the operational policy to be seen to be credible and effective it must contain mandatory provisions that:
- Are consistent with protections for Indigenous Peoples' rights under existing international human rights standards, in particular the right to self-determination;
- Prohibit the World Bank from funding projects that risk contravening a borrower's obligations under international human rights and environmental agreements;
- Prohibit forced relocation;
- Recognise the right of Indigenous People to free prior and informed consent;
- Recognise and protect Indigenous Peoples' ownership and property rights over lands, territories and resources in accordance with their customary law, values, usage and customs;
- Apply the right to self-identification as a fundamental element in determining the scope and coverage of the policy; and,
- Ensure the coverage of the policy includes structural adjustment and programmatic lending and is not limited only to project-based lending.
The principles articulated above are consistent with demands that have been repeatedly made by Indigenous Peoples' representatives from around the world to the World Bank throughout the review of its Indigenous Peoples Policy. The December 2004 draft policy on Indigenous Peoples does not sufficiently address these requirements and we are calling on the World Bank to ensure that all of these provisions are included and mandatory in the operational policy.
Sincerely,
[ORIGINAL SIGNED]
Michael Bassett,
Coordinator of the Halifax Initiative Coalition
cc. Marcel Mass, Executive Director for Canada, World Bank
Halifax Initiative Coalition members:
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Other organizations that have endorsed this letter:
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