Court yet to make decision on protection of Indigenous peoples’ lands in Region 7

After 20 years

…justice delayed is justice denied – Upper Mazaruni District Council Chairman

A ruling on a court battle which dated back 20 years to ensure that the lands occupied by Guyana’s first people of Region Seven (Cuyuni-Mazaruni) are protected is yet to be laid down.

This is according to former President of the Amerindian Peoples’ Association (APA) and Chairman of the Upper Mazaruni District Council, Toshao Mario Hastings, who on Thursday stated that although this matter was filed decades ago by the Indigenous people, the court is yet to make a ruling and was not sure the reason for the hold up.
“A collective action taken by the Akawaois and Arecunas…the lawsuit one Mendelson et al v the Attorney General, this case has passed successive political administrations and executive Presidents. So we have had our case pending and we are awaiting a decision. We know that at present there are a lot of legal cases being filed in the high court and rulings have been made in a very short time, but here we have our case pending for almost 21 years”.
During the launching ceremony of a Participatory Assessment of the Land Tenure Situation of Indigenous Peoples in Region Seven report, Hastings explained that some of the Toshaos who filed as plaintiffs in the case as well as some of the village leaders in the Upper Mazaruni who testified have passed away.
However, the Indigenous people are imploring that the judicial arm of the country deals with the matter in an expeditious manner.
“We await a decision and hope that this will be done soon because justice delayed is justice denied. As Guyana moves to have significant foreign investments such as oil drilling scheduled to commence soon, we call for an urgent, legal reform that protects our rights as Indigenous peoples. Reform legislation must protect our rights to traditional lands and respect our right to free, prior and informed consent in future developmental designs of policy, legislation, regulations, programmes and projects,” Hastings stated.
According to the Toshao, this land tenure assessment report is a clear documentation which authorities in Region Seven will use to guide their “support policy makers” since the document highlights the concerns of Indigenous peoples in that Region as well as recommendations.
“Indigenous peoples are indisputably recognised globally as the true protectors of lands and forests. We call on the Government to respect our right to sit at the national table to design the future of our country… This report points out opportunities for government agencies to work with us in ensuring that the land tenure situation is righted hereon in a participatory manner and in a manner that guarantees the collective rights of Indigenous peoples”.
Hastings added that in cases where titles may have been issued, these were done without consultation and without the Free Prior and Informed Consent (FPIC) of Indigenous peoples.
Inevitably, this has resulted in severe challenges on rights violations since Indigenous peoples’ right to own, use and occupy traditional lands is constrained in many ways, he noted.
“Our hunting, fishing, spawning, farming, gathering grounds, lie outside of our titled lands. Our sacred sites outside of titled lands are being desecrated by mining which is done without our consent. We are faced with fragmented titles enabled by deficient laws that do not recognise our collective right nor support our collective decision making”.