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Métis Nation plays pivotal role at UN Conference on racism

As the representative of the Métis National Council (MNC), Tony Belcourt, President of the Métis Nation of Ontario, brought his message about racism against the Métis in Canada, and in particular Ontario, to the international stage...while attending the Regional Conference of the Americas on Racism in Santiago, Chile. The conference was a preparatory meeting for the United Nations World Conference Against Racism, Racial Discrimination, Xenophobia and Related Intolerance to be held in South Africa on August 31 - September 7, 2001.

In his presentation to the conference, Belcourt stated: "We are a people; one of the Aboriginal peoples recognized in Canada's constitution. Unfortunately, this recognition is as far as it goes. Our right of self-determination is ignored. Indeed, our very existence as a people is denied by the country of Canada and, in particular, the Province of Ontario despite constitutional recognition. This is a denial of a basic human right and therefore a violation of the international covenants signed by Canada."

The MNC also played a key role at the conference regarding the participation of Indigenous Peoples in the process of drafting the "Declaration and Action plan" which is being prepared for the conference in South Africa. Tony tabled an intervention on behalf of all Indigenous Peoples present to request that the drafting process be opened to them. Following the intervention, although no formal response was made by the end of the conference to the request, the doors to the drafting committee rooms were opened to Indigenous representatives to allow them to observe. This enabled them to intervene privately with delegates of the various states at the drafting table.

Some progress was made on the recognition of the rights of Indigenous Peoples in the Draft Declaration and Action Plan. At a dramatic moment, Mexico and the United States tabled a "compromise text" which was accepted for the section of the Draft Declaration and Action Plan dealing with "Indigenous Peoples". Until then, some states rejected the use of the term "peoples" in reference to Indigenous Peoples.

"The compromise text in the Draft remains unsatisfactory to Indigenous Peoples, however it is an opening that we welcome", Mr. Belcourt said. "We note that Canada has reserved its position on the text and we intend to pursue amendments which would remove the qualifications on the use of the term 'Indigenous Peoples'", he added. Tony noted that representatives of Indigenous Peoples will participate in a number of meetings next year leading to the conference in South Africa, including the "open-ended working group" meetings scheduled for Geneva in January, 2001.

"While it is important that we deal with the issues of racism at the international level, it remains equally important that we deal with them at home in Canada", Belcourt said. "We need to put them on Canada's agenda and I hope that, by raising them at the level of the UN, we can begin a constructive dialogue about racism here. We need to not only recognize that these serious issues exist, but we need to begin to do something about them", he concluded.