economic development

United Nations Special Rapporteur James Anaya said at a meeting earlier this month that one of the challenges for indigenous peoples' health is "how indigenous women living near oil, gas and mining operations are '"vulnerable to sexually transmitted diseases, including HIV/AIDS, which are often introduced with a rapid increase of extractive workers in indigenous areas,'" The First Perspective, Canada's source for news about indigenous peoples, reports. Anaya, who is the rapporteur on the rights of indigenous peoples, also noted the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples requires "'in its articles 21, 22(1), 23 and 24 a framework for protecting and promoting indigenous peoples’ health. Together, these articles affirm indigenous peoples’ equal right to the 'highest attainable standard of physical and mental health' (art. 24); their right to improve their economic and social conditions (art. 21); and their right to 'determine and develop priorities and strategies for exercising their right to development' (art. 23)."

Oxfam's Emily Greenspan writes about threats to a Peruvian law requiring the consultation of indigenous people before development occurs. Peru is apparently considering foregoing such consultation in its most productive oil block. "This would violate Peru’s indigenous peoples’ consultation law and the human rights of the indigenous communities inhabiting the area, as articulated in the International Labor Organization’s Convention 169 and the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples," Greenspan writes. There already has been extreme pollution in that block: "Oil companies have dumped millions of barrels of production waters directly into the Tigre, Corrientes, Pastaza, and Marañon rivers in Block 192 over the last four decades," Greenspan further writes.
 

In 1910, President Taft signed the Buy Indian Act into law, The Washington Times reports. The law requires the Interior Department's Bureau of Indian Affairs to give preference to American Indian-owned businesses in awarding contracts and funding. But the Interior Department only just approved the rules that will enforce the legislation, The Washington Times further reports. As a result of the law, an estimated $45 million would go to American Indian-owned and -operated businesses each year.

(I wonder how many other laws never had their implementing regulations put into place.)