Organization Amazon Cooperation Treaty
ACTO
Permanent Secretariat

Program
"Strategic Framework for developing a regional agenda for the protection of indigenous peoples in voluntary isolation and initial contact."

Regional workshop

Sharing Experiences on Methodologies of

Protectionand Legislation

Brasilia, Brazil, 30 May to 1. June 2012

Background
Aftera consultationprocess with Member Countriesof ACTObetween 2007and 2008, were definedgovernment prioritiesforRegional IndigenousPeoplesAgendaof the Amazon,that waspresentedat the FirstRegional Meeting ofHighAuthorities ofIndian Affairsof ACTOin September2008 inGeorgetown, Guyana. At that timethe Member Countriesidentified aspriority issuesof the indigenous agendaof ACTOthe following topics:

(1)Indigenous peoplesin voluntary isolation andinitial contact;
(2) Protectionof traditional knowledgeof indigenouspeoples and othertribalcommunities;
(3)Landsand territories ofindigenous peoples andothertribalcommunities.

In order tocontinue theprocess of consultation withconsensedoutcomesregarding the topic Indigenous Peoples in Voluntary Isolation andInitial Contact, Regional Workshop onIndigenousPeoplesin Voluntary Isolation andInitial Contactorganized in June2009 inQuito, Ecuador, which validatedthe initiativeof developing aspecific program toestablish a set ofregional guidelinesfor the protectionof this peoples.

After completing the consultation process for almost two years, the program Strategic Framework for Regional Agenda for the Protection of Indigenous Peoples in Voluntary Isolation and Initial Contact was approved on February 15, 2011, with funding from the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) and contributions from Member Countries, with the OTCA, through the Permanent Secretariat, the body responsible for the implementation of activities.

In order to discuss and approve the initial documents of the project, to begin its execution, was realized the First Meeting of Focal Points of this program in August 2011 in Brasilia, Brazil.

The approved program is to contribute to the protection of the rights of indigenous peoples in voluntary isolation and initial contact, through the definition of policies and actions agreed between the governments of the Member Countries of ACTO, indigenous organizations and nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) with expertise in the issue.

The Strategic Framework for the Protection includes: (i) a regional mechanism for the coordination inter-institutional supported by national authorities, (ii) a consensed strategic framework that incorporates measures to protect the physical and cultural integrity, (iii) an action plan of measures of territorial protection, including legal protection and physical control of the activities that develop external agents in the territories occupied by these peoples and surrounding areas, (iv) the establishment of a regional strategy for health care that includes prevention legislation with the characteristics of the peoples or the intercultural approach and system of health emergency in the regions inhabited by these peoples, and (v) the systematization of thedata and knowledgeof the situationof indigenous peoplesin isolation andgeneration capacity andcommitment to their protection.

To givecontinuity to the proposalsapproved at theFirst Meetingof Focal Points, it is proposed the realization of theRegional Workshopon MethodologiesExperience SharingProtectionand Legislation,as partof the activities ofthe following components ofthat program:

Component 2. Regional Guidelines for a Concerted Strategic Framework

This component will produce: (i) a set of basic principles considered technically

essential for an effective strategic framework for protection; (ii) an analysis of regulatory strengths and weaknesses in each country with regard to the basic principles agreed upon; and (iii) commitments by all the countries on measures to strengthen their own regulatory frameworks and that of the region.

Component 5. Sustainability Tools for the Regional Strategic Framework

To make sure that the Strategic Framework is implemented and remains

sustainable this component will strengthen and improve capacities in Participant Countries and social groups in transboundary communities, especially indigenous groups, to carry out the necessary protection and surveillance activities, by: (i) deepening knowledge on indigenous peoples in isolation and initial contact, their rights and territories in each country; (ii) training relevant actors in specific protection methodologies; and (iii) developing a communication and information exchange strategy to raise society's awareness and facilitate regional monitoring.

General objective
Promote an exchange of experiences on methodologies for protection and national legislation on indigenous peoples in voluntary isolation and initial contact, as a contribution to the establishment of a Strategic Framework to Develop a Regional Agenda for Protection of this peoples.

Specific Objectives
•Discussion technique to learn methodologies and standards of the Member Countries, identifying the potential for better regional coordination;
• Development of a document containing recommendations for improvements and / or upgrades to existing standards and methodologies in Member Countries that meet the specific situations of the initial contact isolated indigenous and regional level.

Activities andmethodology of the workshop
PowerPoint presentationsand additional informationofcurrentlegislationand methodologies ineach participating country;case stories.

The presentation must containthe informationregardingthe questionsand itemslistedbelow:

  • Whatis meant by indigenous peoples in voluntary isolation andinitial contact
  • ineachParticipatingCountry?
  • Is there any official registration about the presence ofindigenous peoplesin voluntary isolation andinitial contact?
  • Is there a national policy on protection processes for indigenous peoples in isolation and initial contact in each Participating Country? If there is, how it is structured national policy?
  • Is therenational legislation onthe matter? What kind ofrules has beenissued?Believes that theseareeffective in ensuringthe rights ofisolatedindigenous peoplesand initial contact, according to the national constitution ofeachParticipatingCountry?
  • How doprocessesof protection?Who isresponsible for implementationand howthe participation ofindigenous communities and othertribal communities?
  • Point outspecific examplesof protectiondeemedappropriate andinappropriateprotection cases, witha summary analysisofpositive and negative factors.
  • What methodologies, measures, mechanisms orinstrumentsdeemednecessary for the protectionof the rights of indigenous peoplesin isolation andinitial contact?

Developmentof the Meeting
Presentations will bemade ​​by representatives ofeach Participating Country.After the presentations, there will be timefor comments,discussion and clarification.A moderatorwill actto facilitatethe discussions andsystematization

Results

  • Information on current legislationand methodologiesin each Participating Countryand the experiences, challenges, best practices and strategies usedin their processesfor the protection ofisolatedindigenous peoples and initial contact;
  • Aconsensus documentwith recommendationsthat will contributeto agrowinglegal frameworksuitable fordifferent situations in whichindigenous peoples isolation andinitial contactlive, in regional level, with the full detailsof the presentations, the results of the discussions and recommendations;
  • The documentmust be sentsubsequentlyto the representativesof the Member Countriesof ACTOfor final approval.

Participants

Government techniciansdirectly involvedwith the formulation ofpolicies toprotect the rights of indigenous peoplesin isolation andinitial contact, and implementing them.

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