Abstract:

Inequalities and injustices in income, education, health, jobs and political representation have been a distinguishing feature of all multi-ethnic societies with indigenous and tribal populations. Perceived as being among the poorest segments of societies, indigenous and tribal peoples constitute the target of various anti-poverty and social policies. The widening of ethnic inequalities in countries with indigenous and tribal peoples reveals that conventional anti-poverty policies fail to tackle the social and economic exclusion facing them. Social and economic policies must recognize and accommodate indigenous and tribal peoples' needs, aspirations and rights. As district peoples, they have special rights (groups rights) that include the right to be different and to influence decisions affecting their livelihoods and future.