Recognising Indigenous People, The Bangledeshi Way: The United
Nations Declaration, Transnational Activism And The Constitutional Amendment
Affair Of 2011
Dr. Eva Gerharz1
Junior Professor
Faculty of Social Science, Ruhr-Universität Bochum
ABSTRACT
The UN Decades on the Rights of Indigenous
People have led to increased support for and sympathy with indigenous people
all over the world. Networks and groups have been formed and transnational connections
created, with the aim of generating possible solutions to the problems of
indigenous people in countries where marginalization reaches a long way back.
Many activists welcomed the UN Declaration as a document of high moral value
legitimizing them to exert pressure on the state in order to recognize
indigenous people’s rights.
Indigenous activists in Bangladesh and their allies
anticipated the Declaration’s global appreciation as a window of opportunity
when the government initiated the amendment of the constitution in 2010. Backed
by their transnational connections and partners inside and outside Bangladesh,
the demands were geared towards the recognition of the notion of indigenous people
in the constitution. It was hoped that the principles of the declaration would
be endorsed in the constitution and lead to greater equality through
affirmative action. Initial positive responses by the government however were
revoked later on: The representatives argued that the concept of indigenous
people as formulated in the declaration referred to “first nations” only,
whereas in Bangladesh the majority are regarded as more indigenous to the land
than the so-called ethnic minorities.
Despite the deep disappointment resulting from the
disparaging position of the government, the declaration has had positive
effects on the position of indigenous people in public discourse. Moreover, cross-ethnic
alliances have been strengthened which enable indigenous activists to access
more powerful segments of society and polity. Lastly, the international donor
community has become more sensitive towards the plight of indigenous people,
which has had an impact on cooperation with the government and civil society.
1. INTRODUCTION
The adoption of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights
of Indigenous Peoples in September 2007
raised high expectations among indigenous peoples’ movements all over the
world. Many of them expected the newly emerged global discourse to have an
enormous potential to improve their bargaining position vis-à-vis their
governments, and they hoped that this would help them to articulate their
demands more successfully. This situation could be observed in angladesh, where
indigenous activism has gained new impetus since the late 1990s. Institutions
and networks advocating indigenous claims and rights have been formed, and
indigenous discourses have “taken root” (Bal 2010). But while some activists
have enthusiastically promoted globalised notions of indigeneity and
established networks to gain support for their political demands, the
prevailing majoritarian politics endorsed by the state has continued to set
more or less clearly defined limitations. After some initial achievements concerning
the inclusion of indigenous claims in different political and societal domains,
a decisive “window of opportunity” was provided by the Constitutional Amendment
in 2011. The indigenous peoples’ movement advocated the constitutional
recognition of indigenous people, a demand that was eventually turned down by
the Government of Bangladesh. One of the main reasons for the adoption of this
rather harsh standpoint was the increasing pressure on the Bangladeshi
government “from the outside”. In May 2011, a few weeks before the
Constitutional Amendment was approved in the Bangladeshi parliament, the
prevalence of human rights violations in Bangladesh had been discussed in the
United National Permanent Forum on Indigenous Peoples in New York leading to
some insistent recommendations to the Government of Bangladesh.
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