Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 2023, published 112nd ILC session (2024)

Indigenous and Tribal Peoples Convention, 1989 (No. 169) - Bolivia (Plurinational State of) (Ratification: 1991)

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Article 1 of the Convention.Peoples covered by the Convention. The Committee notes that, according to a press release of the National Statistical Institute of 12 November 2022, it is planned to carry out a new census of the population and housing on 23 March 2024. The Committee encourages the Government, within the context of the census, to take into account the criterion of self-identification for the determination of the indigenous peoples existing in the country and, insofar as possible, to compile statistical data on the socioeconomic situation of those peoples.

Articles 2 and 33. Institutional framework and coordinated and systematic action. The Committee noted previously that, under the terms of the Framework Act on Autonomies and Decentralization (Act No. 31) of 2010, Original Autonomous Rural Communities (AIOC) have been established and it requested the Government to provide information on the manner in which coordination functions between Original Autonomous Rural Communities and other Government bodies in relation to programmes for indigenous peoples. The Committee notes the Government’s indication in its report that indigenous peoples, communities and organizations participate directly in plans, programmes and projects, as well as in Government bodies based on building the necessary consensus for the development of indigenous peoples with identity. The Government refers by way of illustration to the intercultural community family health model which recognizes and consolidates the participatory process of the population’s forms of organization, within the context of which other social determinants of health are addressed, such as housing, education, land and water. The Committee notes that, according to the information available on the official website of the Deputy Ministry of Autonomies, there are currently five original indigenous nations which have already created their Original Autonomous Indigenous Rural Governments (the Uru-Chipayas, Charagua, Raqaypampa, Salinas and Kereimba Iyaambae). The Committee requests the Government to provide specific information on the existing participation mechanisms through which the various indigenous peoples and communities are able to collaborate on a regular basis in the design of development plans and programmes which affect them at the national, departmental and local levels. Taking into account the transversal focus adopted by the Government at the institutional level with a view to ensuring respect for the rights of indigenous peoples, the Committee requests it to indicate how coordination functions between the various institutions responsible for the implementation of the Convention, with examples. Finally, it requests the Government to provide examples of plans or projects that have been designed and implemented by Original Autonomous Rural Communities to promote economic and social development in their lands.

Article 3. Human rights. The Committee notes that, in relation to existing measures to combat violence against indigenous peoples, the Government refers to Act No. 45 of 2010 to combat racism and all forms of discrimination, which provides for specific prevention and education measures for the eradication of racism and discrimination, as well as legal resources to which victims of discrimination can have access. Section 7 of the Act also establishes the National Committee against Racism and All Forms of Discrimination as the body responsible for promoting, developing and implementing comprehensive policies and regulation to combat racism and all forms of discrimination.

The Committee also notes that, according to a press release of 24 May 2022 of the Defender of the People, between January 2013 and March 2022, there were 66 cases of racism and discrimination for reasons of cultural origin or belonging to an original rural indigenous nation or people.

The Committee requests the Government to provide information on the activities undertaken by the National Committee against Racism and All Forms of Discrimination to prevent and combat all forms of racism and discrimination against the peoples covered by the Convention. It also requests the Government to continue to provide information on the cases lodged in relation to acts of discrimination against persons belonging to indigenous peoples and on the investigations and, where appropriate, penalties imposed in this regard.

Article 4. Special measures. Peoples in situation of vulnerability. In its previous comments, the Committee welcomed the adoption of the Act on the protection of highly vulnerable original indigenous nations and peoples (Act No. 450) of 2013. The Committee once again requests the Government to provide specific information on the measures and policies for the protection of highly vulnerable indigenous peoples established under Act No. 450 of 2013.

Article 5. Recognition of cultural practices. The Committee previously noted the General Act on coca (Act No. 906), which seeks to protect and revalue original and ancestral coca as the cultural heritage, rescuing the ancestral and cultural practices of original peoples, while regulating its use to prevent its commercialization for illicit purposes. The Committee once again requests the Government to provide information on the application of Act No. 906, including information on the measures adopted to promote and regulate the production of traditional coca by indigenous peoples.

Article 7(1). Development and participation. In its previous comments, the Committee noted the Patriotic Agenda 2025, which is a development agenda based on 13 pillars, including the eradication of extreme poverty and the socialization and universal provision of basic services. The Committee notes the adoption of the Economic and Social Development Plan (PDES) 2021–25, which is articulated around the 13 pillars of the Patriotic Agenda. It observes that one of the challenges of the PDES is to promote the prospection, exploration and sustainable exploitation of natural resources while taking care of the natural environment, for which purpose new exploration projects are planned in the hydrocarbon and metallurgy mining sectors.

The Committee recalls that, in accordance with Article 7(1) of the Convention, the peoples concerned shall have the right to decide their own priorities for the process of development as it affects their lives, beliefs, institutions and spiritual well-being and the lands that they occupy or otherwise use, and to exercise control, to the extent possible, over their own economic, social and cultural development.

The Committee requests the Government to provide information on the manner in which indigenous peoples participate in the application of the Economic and Social Development Plan 2021–25 insofar as it may affect their way of life, including in relation to mining or hydrocarbon exploration projects undertaken in the lands that they traditionally occupy. It also once again requests the Government to provide information on the measures adopted within the context of the Patriotic Agenda 2025 to reduce poverty in indigenous communities and guarantee their access to basic services.

Articles 21 and 22. Employment and vocational training. In its previous comments, the Committee noted the existence of various training programmes offered by indigenous universities and it requested the Government to provide information on the measures adopted to promote the access to skilled employment of indigenous men and women and their impact. The Committee notes that, according to the comprehensive study on the characteristics of informal women own-account workers in Bolivia prepared together with the ILO and UN Women, which was published in 2022, a majority of indigenous women are informal own-account workers when compared with their peers who are not classified as indigenous, and they also have a lower educational level than the group of women who are not own-account workers and are not informal. The Committee once again requests the Government to provide information on the vocational training programmes intended for indigenous men and women which address their specific needs, with an indication of the manner in which indigenous peoples participate in the design and implementation of such programmes. It also requests the Government to provide information on the policies and programmes implemented, in collaboration with indigenous women, to promote their transition from the informal to the formal economy, including information on the progress achieved and difficulties encountered.

Article 26. Education. With reference to the implementation of the intercultural and plurilingual education model, the Committee notes that, in its concluding observations of 2021 for Bolivia, the United Nations Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights expressed concern at the lack of resources allocated for the implementation of the various regional intercultural curricula, especially for the Juaniquina, Cayubaba and Itonama original rural indigenous nations and peoples (E/C.12/BOL/CO/3). The Committee once again requests the Government to provide information on the implementation of plans and programmes to promote intercultural education for the peoples covered by the Convention including, where possible, information on school attendance, maintenance and completion rates for boys and girls belonging to indigenous peoples.