ILO Convention No. 169 ratified by the Central African Republic

This week, the Central African Republic has ratified the ILO's Convention on Indigenous and Tribal Peoples (Convention No. 169). This ratification marks a huge step forward in that the Central African Republic is the first country in Africa to ratify this Convention, thus dispelling the argument commonly put forward that the term "indigenous peoples" does not apply in Africa.

Convention No. 169 is, with the UN declaration on indigenous peoples, the main international human rights instrument to deal specifically with the rights of indigenous peoples, and provide wide ranging protection for the rights of indigenous peoples. It is also a legally binding instrument, attaching specific obligations to the Government of CAR to recognize and respect indigenous peoples' rights, in particular the right to be consulted and to participate in all decision making on issues that affect them.

In the Central African Republic, indigenous peoples are the hunter-gatherer peoples of the tropical rainforests who live a seminomadic life in the heart of the forest, inextricably linked to it, and the nomadic herdsmen Mbororo.

The Rainforest Foundation UK welcomes the decision of the Government of CAR to formally recognize indigenous peoples' rights. RFUK has been working for two years in CAR with civil society groups to promote indigenous peoples' rights, and in 2009 it published a comprehensive report of the situation of the indigenous peoples of the CAR rainforests. Now the Convention has been ratified, there is a long way to go to ensure its provisions are implemented. RFUK will pursue its work to facilitate the implementation of the ILO Convention 169 in CAR through support to its partners.