Recognize the Rights of the Indigenous Peoples of French Guiana

Recognize the Rights of the Indigenous Peoples of French Guiana

Started
March 18, 2016
Petition to
President of the French Republic Emmanuel Macron and 2 others
Signatures: 90,401Next Goal: 150,000
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Why this petition matters

French Guiana is a french overseas land located in South America. Six indigenous Nations live there : the Kali'na Tɨleuyu , the Pahikweneh, the Wayãpi, the Wayana, the Teko, and the Lokono. They total approximately 15,000 people and live along the developed coast and in the inland Amazonian Park.

My name is Alexander. I belong to the Nation called Kali'na Tɨleuyu, and I am committed to recognizing the history of my ancestors and respecting the rights of their descendants.

I decided to launch this petition in order to continue the work of my late grandfather who was the customary chief of the village of Paddock. He has carried for many years the voice of the indigenous peoples to the representatives of the French State.

While the eyes of Europe are turned to the success of the rockets launched from the Guiana Space Center in Kourou, the Indigenous people of French Guiana are trying to make themselves heard in a French Guianese society that ignores them.

Despite the condemnations of the United Nations, and the multiple parliamentary reports, France still denies the existence of rights specific to indigenous peoples on the grounds of "the indivisibility of the French Republic".

However, this French Republic located more than 8,000 km from their place of life does not allow them to access the fundamental rights that should yet confer to them French and European citizenship.

Victims of illegal gold mining and of the pollution of their rivers by mercury, victims of the theft of their ancestral knowledge, victims of insecurity and of lack of access to care, victims of alcoholism and subject to a high rate of suicide, the French Guiana Natives are "the orphans of the French Republic."

This has to change.

Through their mobilization, Indigenous peoples around the world have secured the adoption in 2007 of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples by many countries, including France. However, this has not led to any recognition of our rights in national legislation.

That is why, I ask the French government to ratify the International Labour Organization's Convention 169 (Indigenous and Tribal Peoples Convention, 1989), which is the only legal instrument for the implementation of indigenous rights in France.

I ask the French government and the guianeses politicians to hear our calls for :

  • access to decent educational, medical and administrative facilities, to end the isolation of remote villages;
  • implementation of an proper public health policy for the prevention of suicide, of alcoholism and of mercury contamination;
  • environmental protection through putting a stop to clandestine gold mining and limiting the implantation of gold mining corporations;
  • ending the theft of native medicinal knowledge by pharmaceutical corporations and their researchers;
  • teaching in our own native tongues and with respect for our cultures;
  • the return of ancestral lands in overpopulated village areas;
  • the respect of our customary leaders and their systematic participation in decisions concerning their lands in French Guiana.

Given the urgency, France can no longer shirk its responsibilities and ignore the existence of indigenous peoples. France must provide appropriate, timely and practical solutions to establish "Real Equality" among all her citizens.

Let us be responsible, let us be human, and let us act for the Rights of the Indigenous Peoples of French Guiana.

Thanks for signing my petition!

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Signatures: 90,401Next Goal: 150,000
Support now
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Decision Makers

  • Emmanuel MacronPresident of the French Republic
  • Edouard PhilippePrime minister
  • Annick GirardinMinister of the French Overseas