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Native Americans Victorious |
GENEVA - On March 10, in a historic and strongly worded decision by the United Nations Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (CERD) the United States was urged to "freeze", "desist" and "stop" actions being taken or threatened to be taken against the Western Shoshone Peoples of the Western Shoshone Nation. In its decision, CERD stressed the "nature and urgency" of the Shoshone situation informing the U.S. that it goes "well beyond" the normal reporting process and warrants immediate attention under the Committee's Early Warning and Urgent Action Procedure.
This action challenges the US government's assertion of federal ownership of nearly 90 percent of Western Shoshone lands. The land base covers approximately 60 million acres, stretching The land base is used for military testing, open pit cyanide heap leach gold mining and nuclear waste disposal planning. The U.S. has also imposed millions of dollars in trespass fines on Western Shoshone who continue to assert their original and treaty rights.
Based upon these actions, last year, with the support of the Univ. of Arizona Indigenous Law and Policy Program, the Western Shoshone filed a renewed legal action accompanied with 13,000 signatures from citizens across the US at the United Nations CERD.
As a result of these actioncs CERD calls upon the United States to immediately: Respect and protect the human rights of the Western Shoshone peoples; Initiate a dialogue with the representatives of the Western Shoshone peoples in order to find a solution acceptable to them; Freeze all efforts to privatize Western Shoshone ancestral lands for transfer to multinational extractive industries and energy developers; Desist from all activities planned and/or conducted on Western Shoshone ancestral lands; Stop imposing grazing fees, livestock impoundments, hunting, fishing and gathering restrictions and rescind all notices already made.
The decision is historic in that it is the first time a United Nations Committee has issued a full decision against the U.S. in respect to its highly controversial Federal Indian law and policy. The Committee gave the U.S. until July 15 to provide it with information on the action it had taken. This decision demonstrates a solid commitment by the United Nations human rights system to make the Western Shoshone's struggle a priority.
"The Western Shoshone Nation is very thankful to the Committee members for their decision affirming U.S. discrimination and destructive policies do not go on unaccounted for," says Judy Rojo of Western Shoshone. The victory brings a breath of hope to indigenous communities across the U.S.
This action challenges the US government's assertion of federal ownership of nearly 90 percent of Western Shoshone lands. The land base covers approximately 60 million acres, stretching The land base is used for military testing, open pit cyanide heap leach gold mining and nuclear waste disposal planning. The U.S. has also imposed millions of dollars in trespass fines on Western Shoshone who continue to assert their original and treaty rights.
Based upon these actions, last year, with the support of the Univ. of Arizona Indigenous Law and Policy Program, the Western Shoshone filed a renewed legal action accompanied with 13,000 signatures from citizens across the US at the United Nations CERD.
As a result of these actioncs CERD calls upon the United States to immediately: Respect and protect the human rights of the Western Shoshone peoples; Initiate a dialogue with the representatives of the Western Shoshone peoples in order to find a solution acceptable to them; Freeze all efforts to privatize Western Shoshone ancestral lands for transfer to multinational extractive industries and energy developers; Desist from all activities planned and/or conducted on Western Shoshone ancestral lands; Stop imposing grazing fees, livestock impoundments, hunting, fishing and gathering restrictions and rescind all notices already made.
The decision is historic in that it is the first time a United Nations Committee has issued a full decision against the U.S. in respect to its highly controversial Federal Indian law and policy. The Committee gave the U.S. until July 15 to provide it with information on the action it had taken. This decision demonstrates a solid commitment by the United Nations human rights system to make the Western Shoshone's struggle a priority.
"The Western Shoshone Nation is very thankful to the Committee members for their decision affirming U.S. discrimination and destructive policies do not go on unaccounted for," says Judy Rojo of Western Shoshone. The victory brings a breath of hope to indigenous communities across the U.S.
