Abstract:

The right of indigenous and tribal peoples to practise their traditional activities and occupations is internationally recognized. The United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP), adopted by the United Nations (UN) General Assembly in 2007, proclaims the right of indigenous peoples to engage freely in all their traditional and other economic activities (Article 20). The ILO Indigenous and Tribal Peoples Convention, 1989 (No. 169), provides that “[h]andicrafts, rural and community-based industries, and subsistence economy and traditional activities of the peoples concerned, such as hunting, fishing, trapping and gathering, shall be recognised as important factors in the maintenance of their cultures and in their economic self reliance and development”. The ILO Discrimination (Employment and Occupation) Convention, 1958 (No. 111), requires States to adopt and pursue a national equality policy to eliminate discrimination in employment and occupation, including discrimination faced by indigenous and tribal peoples as regards the exercise of their traditional occupations (CEACR (ILO), Giving globalization a human face, 2012 General Survey on the fundamental Conventions, para. 752). This discussion paper explores how traditional occupations practiced by indigenous and tribal peoples are or could possibly be covered better in labour statistics, including options for a statistical definition and statistical indicators. It seeks to provide a basis for further discussion and possible development of guidance and supporting materials on the collection and compilation of statistics on traditional occupations and the preparation of future reports presenting data on indigenous and tribal peoples.