Centro Cultural Techantit
1930
Wilshire Boulevard, Suite # 305
Los Angeles, California 90057
Tel.: (213) 413-4988; Fax: (213)
413-5004
To: United Nations Special Rapporteur
on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, Professor James Anaya
Re: Thanks
for Visit and Talks with Indigenous Peoples in El Salvador
Dear Special Rapporteur Anaya:
I wish to take this opportunity
on behalf of the indigenous nations of El Salvador, to express our gratitude
for the show of support you rendered in your recent visit to El Salvador. We especially want to thank you for
visiting the Nahuat Pipil, Lenca, and Kakawiras Nations and taking time to
listen to the concerns of our indigenous people.
Your visit has filled us with
hope. Regardless of the fact that
nothing concrete has been done as yet, we now have great expectation of a
change based on the fact that someone in your position has listened to our
needs and concerns.
I have received communications
from various individual members of the Nahuat Pipil communities you
visited. One person told me that
he had to give thanks to God because finally someone has listened to us and
given us a chance to explain the plight of our people. Another said that he had prayed that he
would not leave this life until something had been done to recognize the
sacrifice of all those who gave their lives in the struggle for the rights of
our indigenous peoples. He now
sees that those peoples’ lives will be memorialized and their sacrifice
recognized. One indigenous woman
contacted me and said that she is gratified to learn that now there will be
movement in recognizing the rights of women and that steps will be taken to
accord them their due status in society.
As a follow-up to your visit to
El Salvador, I wish to make the following requests:
First, as you are aware, the
Consejo Municipal of Izalco and of Nahuizalco have been successful in passing
ordinances designating these two towns as indigenous townships. These ordinances are included in the Tátul Tecpan Itzalco that was delivered
to your hands by the Alcalde del Comun Nahuat Pipil of Izalco, Tata Tito Reyes
Pasin upon your visit to Izalco on August 15, 2012.
The designation as an
Indigenous Township accords these communities various human rights and serves
to promote the free exercise of traditional cultural customs and practices,
including those of a spiritual nature.
In the context of the systematic exclusion of Indigenous Peoples within
the national constitutional framework of El Salvador, these ordinances are
singular examples of a process that has given juridical recognition and
personality to the communities of Izalco and Nahuizalco for the first time
ever. As an example of the best practices that should serve as
standard for the relationship between Indigenous Peoples and the states, these
two ordinances provide an example which we hope you may highlight in your
report on El Salvador.
The ordinances were passed as a
direct result of the intervention of Centro
Cultural Techantit as an organizing and educating resource for all parties
involved. Other indigenous
communities of El Salvador desperately need to acquire the same
designation. However, there is a
great lack of awareness and comprehension on the possibilities and potential
for the recognition of our Indigenous Rights which such ordinances can bring to
effect.
I would therefore like to
request that you exercise your influence and in furtherance of your mandate as
special rapporteur consider encouraging the government of El Salvador to
sponsor a national program under which all indigenous communities across the
entire country are made aware of their right to Indigenous Township, as
recognized under the ordinances that have been already passed in Nahuizalco and
Izalco. Such a policy and program would
be of tremendous benefit in establishing norms and processes for the
recognition, respect, and protection of Indigenous Rights in El Salvador. As a gesture of goodwill, such a
program would also lend to the healing process so much needed by to the
indigenous peoples of El Salvador who are still suffering the collective social
trauma which was inflicted by the massacre of 1932.
Secondly, as matters presently
stand, the secretariat in El Salvador responsible for indigenous peoples’
affairs consists of three individuals, nothing else. Those three individuals
have been afforded no resources. With
no resources provided to this office, it can do nothing. The government needs to have an office
with the staff and necessary support to deal diligently and meaningfully with
the affairs of the indigenous peoples.
Third, it is important that the
government educate its officials with regard to indigenous peoples and their
rights. Government employees, in
their representation of the Salvadoran government need to be informed and sensitized
to the existence of indigenous peoples and the special rights to which they are
entitled.
A fourth and final matter of
concern that needs to be addressed has to do with the lack of representation of
indigenous women in the legislative process. The exclusion of women from law making is a long-standing historical
reality in El Salvador. It will
not change on its own. A
government program is required for this process. The government needs to take action to assure that a place is
made for women in the legislature at all levels, and especially for indigenous
women. As part and parcel of
conducting such a program, the government needs to take steps to protect women
from the violence to which they are too often subject.
Thank you very much for your
assistance and support to the Indigenous Peoples in El Salvador.
Sincerely,
Haydee Sanchez
President, Centro Cultural
Techantit
