MALAYBALAY CITY (MindaNews/6 July) -- Some advocates of indigenous peoples’ rights were disappointed over reports that the Philippines abstained from voting on the Universal Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. The United Nations Human Rights Council approved the resolution adopting the declaration on June 29 with 30 member-states voting in favor and 2 voting against it. The resolution obtained favorable votes from Azerbaijan, Brazil, Cameroon, China, Cuba, Czech Republic, Ecuador, Finland, France, Germany, Guatemala, India, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, Mauritius, Mexico, the Netherlands, Pakistan, Peru, Poland, Republic of Korea, Romania, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Sri Lanka, Switzerland, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, Uruguay and Zambia.

Only Canada and the Russian Federation voted against the resolution.

Aside from the Philippines, 11 other states abstained from voting. These were Algeria, Argentina, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Ghana, Jordan, Morocco, Nigeria, Senegal, Tunisia, and Ukraine.

Three other Council members, Djibouti, Gabon and Mali, were absent during the voting.

Those who criticized the Philippines’ abstention argued that its position was inconsistent with its commitment to protect and promote indigenous peoples’ rights. They pointed out that Congress had enacted the Indigenous Peoples’ Rights Act (Republic Act 8371).

Newspaper reports did not cite the Philippine representative’s explanation on the country’s stand. But it is always the case that any country will vote according to its interests. Humanism is not within the realm of diplomacy, realpolitik is. The Russian Federation for instance is facing a secessionist struggle by Chechnya’s ethnic population, a problem it has dealt with militarily. Self-determination, a concept that permeates the declaration, is something it would not concede to the Chechens.

Canada’s position however was surprising, given its long tradition of supporting issues concerning indigenous peoples. We can only hope it had nothing to do with its economic interests abroad that have adverse impact on indigenous peoples. For example, a Canadian-owned mining firm operating in Zamboanga del Norte has met strong opposition from the Subanen tribe. The tribe has accused the company of committing human rights violations, environmental destruction and desecration of their sacred areas.

On the part of those who voted for the resolution, it can be said that they were comfortable with its language and substance.

As India’s Ajai Malhotra stressed: "With regard to the right to self-determination, this was understood to apply only to peoples under foreign domination, and not to a nation of indigenous persons. With this understanding, India was ready to support the proposal for the adoption of the draft declaration, and would vote in its favor."

The UK, while favoring the resolution, did not accept the concept of indigenous peoples’ collective rights in international law.

Its representative Nicholas Thorne said his country considers the declaration not legally binding.

Thorne was right. Strictly speaking, a declaration has no legal force. Regardless of its phraseology, it is just that, a declaration. True, it carries a “moral force” and may be used as a standard in measuring a state’s performance. But the fact remains that it imposes no obligations on signatories unlike other international human rights instruments such as covenants and conventions.

Nonetheless, the Philippines’ abstention calls for scrutiny considering that Ipra, despite its inherent defects, explicitly recognizes the right to self-determination. Or, am I forgetting the militarization and economic ventures, mining projects especially, which have displaced or threaten to displace indigenous communities in the country?

(MindaViews is the opinion section of MindaNews. H. Marcos C. Mordeno received in 1987 the Jose W. Diokno Award for winning in a national editorial writing contest sponsored by Ang Pahayagang Malaya and the family of the former senator. He currently edits two publications of an environmental NGO. He can be reached at This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it )

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