The Crimean Tatar Resource Center translated the Law of Ukraine On the indigenous peoples of Ukraine into English, Spanish, French and sent it to the world’s leading experts in the field of indigenous peoples’ rights. CTRC will present a series of publications with expert opinions of specialists.
We would like to present to you the comment of Damon Gerard Corrie, Secretary General of the Pan-Global multi-ethnic Indigenous Democracy Defence Organizaton/IDDO, heir to the hereditary chieftain of the eagle clan of the Lokono-Arawak tribal nation of North Eastern Amazonia, South America , to the Law of Ukraine On the Indigenous Peoples of Ukraine.
Original text in English
In its totality, this is generally good, it is better than what Indigenous peoples in Russia obtain, but still not the full range of rights that are enshrined in International customary law – based on the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.
The reason why I see it as being a bit lessenned or restricted in rights as compared to the UNDRIP, is because as often happens, political Nation States have a paternalistic modus operandi, where they want to filter International Laws through the prism of national laws, and while this is better than an alternative whereby indigenous peoples have virtually no Internationally recognised rights at all – as the pre-columbian Indigenous peoples of Suriname continue to endure and experience to this very day, it would have been better if the Government of Ukraine simply adopted the UNDRIP in its undiliuted totality – as the Bolivian Government of Evo Morales did, as when we allow National Governments to re-interpret and diminish International Laws into National Laws, we make only short term gains – at the expense of long term rights that will impact on all unborn future indigenous generation, as they will be forced to accept less rights than we are actually entited to.
However, as we all know, flexibility is essential for sucessful diplomacy in most scenarios, so some aspects may be lost for other aspects to be secured, so whatever communal decision the 3 Indigenous peoples of Ukraine decide to accept in their best interest, will be a decision I too shall support in solidarity in my capacity as Secretary General of the Pan-Global multi-ethnic Indigenous Democracy Defence Organizaton/IDDO.