RIGHTS OF TRIBAL AND INDIGENOUS PEOPLES

That this House welcomes the ratification of International Labour Organisation Convention 169 on the rights of indigenous and tribal peoples by the Central African Republic, the first African country to do so; also welcomes the recent ratifications of Spain, Chile, Nicaragua and Nepal, bringing the total number of ratifying countries to 22; notes that the Convention is the only international law recognising and protecting the land rights of indigenous peoples and that the more countries that ratify the Convention, the greater force it will have; believes that ratifying the Convention is also the best way to protect the world's rainforests, home for many tribal peoples; further notes the UK's earlier failure to ratify the Convention on the grounds that there are no tribal peoples living in the UK; further notes that similar situations did not prevent the Netherlands and Spain from ratifying; and calls on the new Government to ratify the Convention without delay.