Indigenous peoples snubbed at plastic pollution summit
Hi all—Arielle here. A key purpose of journalism is to give voice to the voiceless. Today's newsletter highlights some voices that were left out of important international talks to address the global plastic pollution. If you value this type of reporting and want to support our work, please consider subscribing today. Indigenous peoples snubbed at plastic pollution summit“This entire process has been a violation,” said one Indigenous representative who engaged in protest at the summit.
Last week’s United Nations plastic treaty negotiations were supposed to result in a global treaty to safeguard frontline communities from the plastic waste crisis. “This entire process has been a violation” of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, said Tori Cress, an Anishinaabe woman from the Beausoleil First Nation and co-chair of the International Indigenous Peoples’ Forum on Plastics. “We were profoundly disappointed because we were shown a complete disregard for Indigenous peoples’ rights.” Frustration rippled throughout the one-week conference in Busan, South Korea, where delegates from more than 170 countries failed to reach a consensus on how to address the 350 million tons of plastic waste generated every year. Negotiators couldn’t cross the divide between countries that supported limiting plastic production and oil-rich countries that vehemently opposed it. But more than disappointment, Indigenous attendees said they felt “heartache and deep pain” over how talks played out. The U.N. chair’s suggested treaty text removed references to UNDRIP and the “existing rights of Indigenous Peoples” found in earlier drafts. “This is not just an oversight; it is a deliberate dismissal of our sovereignty, our rights, and our leadership,” the IIPFP said in a statement, which called the remaining references in the treaty to Indigenous knowledge “hollow and insulting.” And despite being recognized as sovereign nations, Indigenous peoples weren't allowed to participate in the closed-door, country-only negotiations that made up half of the summit. Instead, sovereign Indigenous nations were relegated to civil society status: allowed to be physically present, but barred from most important discussions. Even when Indigenous peoples were allowed to participate, they were given far less time than usual, representatives say. Indigenous groups and other non-sovereign observers were not given time to talk during plenaries, when speakers have the opportunity to address delegates from every country—even though it is customary for the U.N. chair to invite civil societies to speak. “That’s very concerning,” said Delphine Lévi Alvarès, the global petrochemicals campaign manager at the Center for International Environmental Law (CIEL), who has been to every plastic treaty negotiations. In protest, representatives of IIPFP stood with their fists in the air at Wednesday’s plenary, and asked for the right for one of their elders to address the conference. “It took courage to make sure I stood there and called out the chair to give us space to speak,” said Cress, who added she was afraid the U.N. would take away their badges and observer status for disrupting the talks. It was only after other civil society members offered their support that an elder from IIPFP was given two minutes to talk about why Indigenous people are central to solving the plastic waste crisis. “We bear the brunt of the triple planetary crisis and plastic pollution is poisoning our lands, air, waters, ice, food systems, bodies, and very existence,” said Lisa Bellanger, an Anishinaabe Ojibwe woman. "We know that Indigenous people and our knowledge and science systems are an essential solution to ending plastic pollution,” said Cress. Indigenous people suffer disproportionately from the plastic pollution crisis. According to a study published in the journal Integrated Environmental Assessment and Management, Indigenous communities are more likely to live near polluting infrastructure like waste incinerators, and are more affected by plastic waste contaminating their traditional foods and lifestyles. The review concluded that the higher exposure highlights "the need to increase [Indigenous peoples'] engagement in environmental decision-making regarding pollution control." While closed door negotiations at U.N. summits are fairly common, this year was the longest period of time that negotiations happened without observers present. “Once those doors closed, how are we supposed to influence anything?” said Cress. “We need to be at that table because we can't rely on the member states to advocate for us.” The closed-door talks also excluded the vast majority of plastic industry lobbyists—except the 17 lobbyists that came with national delegations. At least 220 fossil fuel and chemical lobbyists attended in total, according to a CIEL analysis, outnumbering Indigenous representatives by nearly nine to one. “Indigenous Peoples already experience barriers to full and meaningful participation in these talks,” Juressa Lee, a Te Rarawa and Ngāpuhi woman from New Zealand and co-chair of IIPFP, said in a statement. “For polluters’ attendance to be marginalizing Indigenous Rights is a contradiction of the entire purpose of this meeting.” The U.N. Environment Program did not immediately respond to HEATED’s request for comment. Here’s are other highlights, and lowlights, from the plastic pollution summit:
Further reading:
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