Article 2 Elimination of Racial Discrimination
30. For §§28-29, the NHRC recommends:
(1) The NHRC reminds the government of the importance of protecting the
rights and interests of indigenous groups by establishing subordinate
laws under the Indigenous Peoples Basic Law and implementing concrete
policies. It is crucial to design a decision-making system for indigenous
peoples that is based on the relevant human rights standards. The system
should include a fair and just mechanism that respects traditional ways
of selecting representatives, and thereby promotes the participation of
indigenous communities in the decision-making process for laws and
policies that may affect them.
(2) The design of the current regulations regarding the threshold for
convening meetings and participating in decision-making over community
matters is based on household registration. The NHRC believes such
a basis is in conflict with indigenous traditions and fails to take into
account fluctuations in the community population due to education,
marriage, employment, elections, and temporary residence, among other
factors. By requiring indigenous peoples to form organizations and make
decisions in ways acceptable to the government, the government is in
effect intervening in and undermining their traditions, which is neither
justifiable nor reasonable. The government should promptly review the
current mechanisms for consultation and participation based on the spirit
of General Recommendation No. 23, the ICCPR & ICESCR, and the UNDRIP
to ensure that the indigenous peoples are able to select representatives
in accordance with their own traditional customs, culture, and decisionmaking systems, and that they have the right to maintain and develop
their own decision-making systems.
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