The Wapichan people and the Guyanese Government Agree Terms of Reference for Formal Land Talks 26 July, 2016

The Wapichan people of southern Guyana have been seeking recognition of their rights to their traditional territory since at least 1967, the date they submitted a formal request to the Amerindian Lands Commission (ALC). The 1969 ALC Report deemed that the area identified by the Wapichan was too big for the Wapichan to administer. The ALC instead recommended title to smaller areas centred around a number of villages. These areas were titled in 1976. The Wapichan have, however, consistently demanded that their full territory be legally recognised and protected, irrespective of the early smaller titles, and maintain that they are fully capable of managing and controlling their lands and resources. They have undertaken a number of projects towards this end, for example mapping, documentation of customary use/tenure, development of a management plan, and developing and implementing territorial monitoring initiatives.

Their work was acknowledged when the South Central Peoples Development Association, which is a federation of Wapichan communities in Guyana, won the 2015 UNDP Equator Prize and subsequently, the Government of Guyana awarded the association the national Medal of Service. They have also submitted formal applications for the extension of their existing titled areas pursuant to the Amerindian Act 2006 to cover their entire traditional territory rather than the smaller pockets already titled.

In October 2015, the Wapichan – via the South Rupununi District Council – wrote to the President of Guyana, H.E. David Granger, requesting that the government commence a process of formal talks aimed at resolving their land rights issues. The President responded positively in November 2015 and delegated responsibility for these talks to the Ministry of Indigenous Peoples Affairs (MIPA). Following internal discussions among the leaders of the communities and then in each community, the Wapichan proposed a draft Term of Reference (TOR) for Formal Talks and submitted these to the MIPA. These were extensively discussed by a government delegation and the Wapichan in a two day-long meeting in April 2016. The meeting was held in the village of Potarinau, a site chosen because of its historical connection to one of the Wapichan leaders who presented the 1967 submission to the Amerindian Lands Commission. The government delegation included the Vice President and Minister of Indigenous Peoples Affairs, Sydney Allicock, and two of his chief advisors – a high level delegation. Following a number of negotiated amendments to the TOR, Minister Allicock and Toshao Nicholas Fredericks signed the TOR on behalf of the MIPA and the Wapichan, respectively.

The TOR governs the process of formal talks, the primary objective of which is “to agree on the measures required to fairly and finally resolve the land and territorial rights claims of the indigenous peoples in accordance with applicable law, through a process based on equality and mutual respect that guarantees and respects the indigenous peoples’ free, prior and informed consent.”

The term “applicable law” refers to the laws of Guyana, including the Amerindian Act 2006 and the Constitution, and international human rights norms binding on the State. The TOR covers a variety of issues, including seeking agreement on the principles and process that will be used to assess and determine the applications for title that were submitted by the 17 Wapichan communities; agreeing on when and how the free, prior and informed consent of the Wapichan will be sought and obtained in this process; and equal treatment of information, maps, and studies produced by the Wapichan, something not required under the extant law.

This is an historic development representing the first time that Guyana has agreed to enter into structured talks with indigenous peoples to resolve outstanding land issues. It also represents a significant change in approach from the largely unilateral decision-making on this issue that took place until very recently. The first meeting of the parties took place in May 2016 and substantial progress was made on a number of points, as well as agreeing on issues for discussion at the second meeting scheduled for July 2016. The talks were conducted in an open and collaborative spirit. While simply talks at this time, the Wapichan are cautiously optimistic that agreement could be reached via this process on their longstanding concerns about protection for their lands, concerns that have intensified in recent months with the massive invasion of two areas of their territory by gold miners. If successful, it is also a process that could be a model for and extended to other indigenous peoples in Guyana.

By Fergus MacKay, Forest Peoples Programme