LIb

PFlt{
8;^"1-,.
33q
13th Session of the United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues
UN Headquarter,12
-
23 May 2014
Agenda Item 4: Human Rights
-
Dialogue with the Special Rapporteur
By Binota Moy Dhamai, on behalf of the Bangladesh Indigenous Peoples Forum
Thank you Madam Chair! We express our sincere gratih:de to the outgoing Special Rapporteur on the
fughts of Indigenous Peoples Prof. James Anaya of his work on the promotion and protection human
rights and fundamental freedoms of indigenous peoples. We welcome the new Special Rapporteur
Vicky Tauli Corpuz.
We welcome the Special Rapporteur Asia regional consultation report and recommendations that
presented to the Human Rights Council in September 2013.
In Bangladesh, the indigenous peoples very often experience gross human rights violations,
militarization of the land and tenitories, violence against indigenous women and children, land
grabbing, unlawful arrest and torh.tre, and structural forms of discrimination based upon ethnicity,
ieligious affiliation and gender. The failure to thoroughly, impartially and independently
investigate human rights violations remains a matter of serious concern.
Bangladesh had made clear commitment at the frst UPR cycle in 2009 to implement the Chittagong
Hill Tracts
(CHT) Accord and respect the rights of indigenous peoples as part of their Election
Manifesto 200f. Over the years, there have been repeated demands that the Bangladesh govemment
honor their co'mmitment to the fu1l and effective implementation of the CHT Accord. But the
implementation of the CHT Accord still remains problematic, because of the militarisation and that the
de facto military rule "Operation Uttoran" in CHT.
Due to non-implementation of the Accord, the indigenous
peoples in the CHT has continuously
been facing massive human rights violations, evicting from their traditional land, continuing military
interference in local and civil administration, insecure of indigenous women, and indigenous youths
living in a fearful situation.
We push these following questions to the Special Rapporteur:
1. What follow up actions do the SR envisage with the Asia member states
govemments to ensure
the implementation ofthe intemational human rights obligations for the protection of the rights
of indigenous peoples?
2. What actions do the SR envisage with the Bangladesh
govemments to ensure the
implementation ofthe CHT Accord for the protection ofthe rights of indigenous peoples?
3. What actions do the SR envisage with the governments to implement the treaties and
agreements between state and indigenous peoples?
4. How can the mandate holders facilitate greater attention, support and assistance to address the
particular vulnerabilities such as indigenous women and girls to systemic violence and to have
access to
justice?
Thank
you.