Caso individual (CAS) - Discusión: 1995, Publicación: 82ª reunión CIT (1995)

Convenio sobre pueblos indígenas y tribales, 1989 (núm. 169) - México (Ratificación : 1990)

The Government supplied the following information on points 4 and 5 of the observation made on this Convention:

Mexico was the first Latin American country to ratify Convention No. 169. In this way, it reiterated recognition of the country's multicultural composition, originally based in its indigenous peoples, and assumed all its responsibilities to protect and promote the development of its languages, cultures, usages, customs, resources and specific forms of social organization. This Convention has been ratified by only seven States and entered into force, upon Mexico's ratification, on 5 September 1990.

By virtue of the Convention, the Government has adopted the measures necessary to assure, on an equal footing, the rights and opportunities that the national legislation grants to other members of the population. Account was taken in the reports to the ILO of the fulfilment of the international obligations undertaken, and the Committee of Experts has noted this with satisfaction and interest, as expressed in its last report.

The Government states, in relation to point 4 of the observation, that it has begun consultations with the National Indigenous Institute, the Directorate of the Labour Inspection Service of those States of the Federation which have indigenous populations and interested organizations with a view to preparing the report which will be submitted in due course to the Committee of Experts, within the normal time period. This information will be supplementary to that already given in previous reports and will provide a broad view of the practical results obtained.

In point 5 of the observation, it is stated that the absence of basic protection for indigenous workers' rights and working conditions was one of the origins of the outbreak of violence in the State of Chiapas in January 1994. In this respect Mexico has maintained, and has been supported in this by various independent sources, that the basic cause of the conflict was the conditions of extreme poverty and economic backwardness that, unfortunately, still prevail in this zone despite the Government's efforts to remedy them.

Chiapas is the State of the Federation which has the highest level of needs for improvements in the well-being of its population. It is more than double the national average rate. More than half the inhabitants are minors under 14 years of age. The various indigenous groups that live in this State are dispersed throughout 12,000 localities which average less than 100 inhabitants.

With regard to the technical observations given in the previous report relating, among other things, to labour inspection among indigenous populations, the Committee of Experts itself recognized that "it is aware that a situation of the kind outlined in the previous report will take time to correct" and that "it hopes that the Government will keep it informed of the situation of indigenous workers in this region and elsewhere, and of the practical steps taken to improve the situation". The Committee concludes by encouraging the Government "to continue the efforts it has already made to improve the working situation". With regard to this question, the Government has begun to collect the necessary information for, on the one hand, the preparation of the next report, and, on the other hand, the adoption of the corresponding measures to give adequate attention to the problems referred to.

The Government is pleased to note that the information presented in its previous report has been described as encouraging by the Committee of Experts and it wishes to repeat to the Conference Committee on Standards its constant concern for the rights of indigenous workers, as well as their conditions of work. It is studying all the practical measures which could guarantee these rights and improve these working conditions. In addition, it is considering whether it would be useful to have recourse to the technical collaboration of the Office through its multidisciplinary team situated in San José, Costa Rica, with a view to finding the most appropriate solutions to the technical problems which might arise under this, or other, ILO Conventions ratified by Mexico.

In addition, a Government representative reiterated the written information provided.

The Workers' members emphasized that it was the first time that a case had been discussed under this Convention, which was aimed at protecting the rights of indigenous peoples and at guaranteeing their integrity. The Committee of Experts in points 4 and 5 of its observation noted that very serious problems existed with respect to the elementary protection of the rights and conditions of the workers in the rural sector, most of whom were indigenous people. It had underlined, as had other authorities, including the National Indian Institute, the absence of protection in practice for the rural workers, pointing out to the coercive recruitment practices, denial of trade union rights, non-payment of wages, etc. These practices were due notably to the total absence of labour inspection while Article 20(4) of the Convention highlighted the importance that the Government should attach to the creation of adequate labour inspection services, in particular in the rural sector.

The Workers' members noted on the basis of the information provided by the Government that there were modifications and improvements in the legislation. However, they were preoccupied with the concern that it was not enough to provide for principles in the legislation, if the legal framework and the social infrastructure were not really operational and if not enough initiative was being applied to remedy the situation. In these circumstances, the Workers' members considered that it was not really surprising to see that the population, such as the indigenous people of Chiapas, revolted against social exclusion and poverty. Referring to the Declaration and the Programme of Action adopted by the World Summit for Social Development, the Workers' members recalled that the fight against social exclusion and poverty in order to strengthen social peace and social justice should be an absolute priority of each government. To achieve this, sustainable and coordinated policy should be developed.

The Workers' members noted that, according to the Government representative, his Government wanted to apply the Convention in practice. It was important in this respect to ask the Government to implement a strong and coherent policy to guarantee, in law and in practice, protection for the workers in the rural sector and in the areas of indigenous population, as well as to insist that the Government organize an efficient system of inspection, provide detailed information on the application in practice of the Convention and, finally, that it avail itself of the technical assistance of the ILO in this area.

The Employers' members concentrated their comments on the two issues raised in paragraphs 4 and 5 of the observation of the Committee of Experts. Concerning paragraph 4, this observation was based on the report presented by the National Indian Institute which denounced serious abuses against indigenous people, such as the non-payment of wages and the denial of the right to organize. They expressed the hope that the Government would very soon take the appropriate measures to eliminate such abuses.

In respect of paragraph 5, which dealt with the acute problem in the Chiapas State, the Employers' members agreed with the Government representative that the causes of this manifestation of violence lay in the extreme poverty and the backwardness of those regions where the indigenous peoples lived. While the Employers' members recognized that the solution to this problem would require a certain time, they insisted on the fact that all efforts should be deployed in order to remedy the situation, including having recourse to the technical assistance of the ILO, and to provide detailed reports in this respect.

The Workers' member of New Zealand underlined the importance of the Convention which provided an excellent framework in order to understand the situation of indigenous and tribal peoples throughout the world. She commended the Mexican Government for ratifying this crucial Convention, providing a strong example to most other countries with indigenous peoples. In considering the report of the Committee of Experts in the case of Mexico, one had to bear in mind that the Convention recognized the aspiration of indigenous peoples to exercise control over their own institutions, ways of life and economic development and to maintain and develop their identities, languages and religions within the framework of the States in which they live. The Convention also acknowledged that in many parts of the world these peoples were unable to enjoy their fundamental human rights to the same degree as the rest of the population of the States within which they lived and that their laws, values, customs and perspectives had often been eroded.

It was clear from the report of the Committee of Experts that this was indeed the case in Mexico, in terms of evidence of serious abuses against workers in the rural sector, most of whom were indigenous. The Government had responded by saying that it had begun consultations with the National Indigenous Institute, the Directorate of the Labour Inspection Service of those States of the Federation having indigenous populations, and interested organizations with a view to preparing a report. The speaker hoped that the Government would provide detailed information on the matter.

However, not only governments had failed up to now to recognize and promote the rights of indigenous peoples but also trade unions had only recently begun to understand and incorporate indigenous peoples in their membership in ways which ensured compliance with the requirements of the Convention. For that reason, she insisted on the vital role of the labour inspectorate. By way of concluding remarks, she urged, as did the Workers' and Employers' groups, the Government, not merely to consider, but indeed to have recourse to the technical collaboration with the ILO with a view to tackling these serious problems.

The Government representative thanked all the speakers for the comments they had formulated and pointed out that the Government had developed, with the participation of indigenous communities, a systematic and coordinated programme to protect their rights and to ensure respect for their integrity. Only a month ago the President had submitted to Parliament the National Development Plan which contained five fundamental objectives for the period 1995-2000. The second of these objectives was the consolidation of a system of social conviviality with equal justice for all and resolution of conflicts. On the basis of the Plan appropriate programmes paying special attention to the problems of indigenous and rural populations should be considered. A number of chapters in this Plan were dedicated to indigenous problems. The Government indicated that it wanted to establish a new relation with the indigenous peoples to be based on the respect and the recognition of cultural diversity, and to promote the participation of indigenous peoples in the planification, definition, application and administration of programmes for the improvement of health, welfare and education of the indigenous communities.

The Committee noted with interest the written and oral information provided by the Government, as well as the discussion which had taken place. It welcomed the changes that had been made in the National Constitution and legislation to take account of the ratification of the Convention.

The Committee, while taking into account the National Development Plan of the country, noted that there were real problems in the implementation of the national labour legislation to the rural Indian populations of the country, and it was concerned that this appeared to have contributed to the unrest in the Chiapas State beginning in 1994. It also noted the indication that the Government was undertaking consultations with a view to finding solutions to these problems but regretted that the last report contained no information on the ground situation. It hoped that the Government would soon agree to receive a technical advisory mission from the Office to explore ways of improving the situation. It looked forward to receiving information for its next session indicating the achievement of substantial progress on the practical situation concerning protection for the indigenous people, including through the strengthening of inspection, which had been called for by the Committee of Experts.