Post by blackcrowheart on Apr 12, 2007 10:41:23 GMT -5
Oxfam Criticizes US Government Over Mistreatment of Native Americans
Boston, MA (Vocus) -- As the U.S. State Department
prepares its compliance report for the United Nations
<http://search.news.yahoo.com/search/news/?p=United+Nations> ' Committee
on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (CERD), Oxfam America is
recommending that the report address human rights violations against
Native Americans cited in a March, 2006 CERD decision.
"Just as the US government urges governments around the world to protect
the human rights of its citizens, the US needs to set the highest
example in our own country. The rights of the Western Shoshone to their
land, their livelihoods, and their culture, should not be compromised,"
said Raymond C. Offenheiser, president of Oxfam America.
The UN decision, in response to an Urgent Action Request filed by the
Western Shoshone peoples, found that the Western Shoshone "are being
denied their traditional rights to land" and that the U.S. government
has failed in its "obligation to guarantee the right of everyone to
equality before the law in enjoyment of civil, political, economic and
cultural rights, without discrimination based on race, color, or
national or ethnic origin."
The Western Shoshone assert that their claim to their ancestral lands is
protected by the 1863 Treaty of Ruby Valley, while the U.S. government
calls their territory "federal land." CERD found that the mechanism used
by the federal government to attempt to extinguish the Western Shoshone
land title "did not comply with contemporary international human rights
norms, principles and standards that govern determination of indigenous
property interests."
In 2002, the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights made a similar
finding, calling the process an "illegitimate" means of claiming land
title.
"We are pleased that CERD and the Inter-American Commission on Human
Rights have recognized our rights to our traditional lands," said Carrie
Dann, a Western Shoshone grandmother and leader on the land rights
issue.
"The U.S. has been attempting to deny us for the last 30 years our
rights to do what we are here to do - to protect our environment and
protect the most precious and sacred things - the land and water and the
right to breathe clean air. What we want now, and what we have always
wanted, is an opportunity to negotiate in good faith an agreement to
resolve these issues," added Dann.
As a result of this dispute, the U.S. government has attempted to charge
the Western Shoshone with millions of dollars in grazing fees, and, when
the fees go unpaid, has confiscated hundreds of horses and cattle,
depriving ranchers of their livelihoods. Classification of Western
Shoshone territory as federal lands has also allowed the introduction of
dozens of large-scale gold mines that make Nevada the second largest
gold-producing area in the world and threaten precious water supplies in
an arid environment.
CERD's decision called for the federal government to cease and desist
from such acts of intimidation and harassment and to "take immediate
action to initiate a dialogue with the Western Shoshone peoples in order
to find a solution acceptable to them, and which complies with their
rights�"
The U.S. government has failed to respond to the CERD decision and also
to a set of questions posed by CERD in August, 2005.
According to the Oxfam statement, "the U.S. government's lack of
response to a situation that CERD considers urgent�has only served
to exacerbate a protracted problem and reflects poorly on our government
and on our country's history of treatment of indigenous peoples."
Media Contacts:
Laura Inouye
617-728-2580
Don Rojas
202-496-1306
###
Oxfam America
Laura Inouye
617-728-2580
Boston, MA (Vocus) -- As the U.S. State Department
prepares its compliance report for the United Nations
<http://search.news.yahoo.com/search/news/?p=United+Nations> ' Committee
on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (CERD), Oxfam America is
recommending that the report address human rights violations against
Native Americans cited in a March, 2006 CERD decision.
"Just as the US government urges governments around the world to protect
the human rights of its citizens, the US needs to set the highest
example in our own country. The rights of the Western Shoshone to their
land, their livelihoods, and their culture, should not be compromised,"
said Raymond C. Offenheiser, president of Oxfam America.
The UN decision, in response to an Urgent Action Request filed by the
Western Shoshone peoples, found that the Western Shoshone "are being
denied their traditional rights to land" and that the U.S. government
has failed in its "obligation to guarantee the right of everyone to
equality before the law in enjoyment of civil, political, economic and
cultural rights, without discrimination based on race, color, or
national or ethnic origin."
The Western Shoshone assert that their claim to their ancestral lands is
protected by the 1863 Treaty of Ruby Valley, while the U.S. government
calls their territory "federal land." CERD found that the mechanism used
by the federal government to attempt to extinguish the Western Shoshone
land title "did not comply with contemporary international human rights
norms, principles and standards that govern determination of indigenous
property interests."
In 2002, the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights made a similar
finding, calling the process an "illegitimate" means of claiming land
title.
"We are pleased that CERD and the Inter-American Commission on Human
Rights have recognized our rights to our traditional lands," said Carrie
Dann, a Western Shoshone grandmother and leader on the land rights
issue.
"The U.S. has been attempting to deny us for the last 30 years our
rights to do what we are here to do - to protect our environment and
protect the most precious and sacred things - the land and water and the
right to breathe clean air. What we want now, and what we have always
wanted, is an opportunity to negotiate in good faith an agreement to
resolve these issues," added Dann.
As a result of this dispute, the U.S. government has attempted to charge
the Western Shoshone with millions of dollars in grazing fees, and, when
the fees go unpaid, has confiscated hundreds of horses and cattle,
depriving ranchers of their livelihoods. Classification of Western
Shoshone territory as federal lands has also allowed the introduction of
dozens of large-scale gold mines that make Nevada the second largest
gold-producing area in the world and threaten precious water supplies in
an arid environment.
CERD's decision called for the federal government to cease and desist
from such acts of intimidation and harassment and to "take immediate
action to initiate a dialogue with the Western Shoshone peoples in order
to find a solution acceptable to them, and which complies with their
rights�"
The U.S. government has failed to respond to the CERD decision and also
to a set of questions posed by CERD in August, 2005.
According to the Oxfam statement, "the U.S. government's lack of
response to a situation that CERD considers urgent�has only served
to exacerbate a protracted problem and reflects poorly on our government
and on our country's history of treatment of indigenous peoples."
Media Contacts:
Laura Inouye
617-728-2580
Don Rojas
202-496-1306
###
Oxfam America
Laura Inouye
617-728-2580