New report examines labour standards of Indigenous people in the Asia Pacific

International Labour Organization report focuses on 23 countries . . .

Thirty years have passed since the International Labour Organization (ILO) adopted the Indigenous and Tribal Convention Number 169. Since then, the 23 countries that have ratified the convention – and many other countries, organizations, and Indigenous communities – have used it as a tool to protect and advance rights for Indigenous peoples around the world. The ILO report released on Monday takes a look at how Convention No. 196 has been implemented since 1989, and examines current social and economic conditions of Indigenous peoples in 23 countries, which represent 83 per cent of the global Indigenous population.

Asia Pacific highlights . . .

About 70 per cent of the global Indigenous population of 476 million lives in the Asia Pacific (compared to .01 per cent in North America). Data from five countries in the region shows that Indigenous peoples constitute nearly 16 per cent of the extreme poor. The report also found that they are more likely than non-Indigenous people to work in the informal economy, which employs 86 per cent of Indigenous women. The data also shows that 46 per cent of employed Indigenous adults have no education, compared to 16 per cent for non-Indigenous adults.

Indigenous inclusion required to meet Sustainable Development Goals . . .

The ILO report argues that realizing the UN’s 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development will be difficult without additional effort and direct engagement to work with and empower Indigenous people, especially women, to co-develop public policies, programs, and initiatives that meet their community needs and aspirations. The report suggests that further implementation of Convention No. 169 can help. In 2015, Canada, along with all other UN member states, adopted the 17 Sustainable Development Goals to “end poverty, protect the planet, and improve the lives and prospects of everyone, everywhere,” but it has not ratified Convention No. 169.

READ MORE