Democracy means a government that is created by the people, for the people. However, over the years, the systems of democracy have changed, such that misinterpretation of the same has become common. Regarding politics and democracy, the role of indigenous people has dramatically changed in Caribbean America since they have been marginalized, and sometimes wholly excluded from national politics. According to Icaza, (2014) with the return of democratic regimes since the late 1980s, these movements have been a vital force in pushing for crucial changes in the political scene.
Jamaica’s political set up is that of a constitutional monarchy and parliamentary democracy. There are two working parties in the country. The prime minister, assisted by his cabinet, is responsible for the legislative (Wheatle, 2016). The legislature has authority to amend the constitution, as long as two-thirds of both of the house (parliament and senate) vote for it. The law allows a person to be a citizen by birth, descent, marriage or naturalization and has a right to acquire dual citizenship. Upon obtaining citizenship of another country, the individual is free to revoke their Jamaican citizenship.
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The Jamaican constitution also defends and treats human life with dignity by forbidding infringement of human rights to life, security, arbitrary arrest, and detention, among others. The freedom of peaceful assembly, speech, and press are also addressed in the constitution but need to be revisited. This article particularly emphasizes on why citizens need to be aware of their rights and responsibilities when it comes to freedom of association and politics. This will go a long way in ensuring they are aware of what decisions the leadership is making, why so, and the implications of these decisions.
The dynamics of the Jamaican economy revolve around the provision of services, which is the primary source of the country's Gross Domestic Product. Witter (2017) says that Jamaica is endowed with a variety of natural resources, thus fetches a substantial amount from tourism and mining. Jamaica has metallic ores such as gypsum, marble, sand, bauxite, gold, and silver among others. Eco-tourism has become a new constant source of income, accounting for up to 15% of the Gross Domestic Product. Witter however also notes that despite tourism and natural resources, Jamaica had a national debt of 16,181 million dollars, which is 113.89% of Jamaica’s GDP, with the rate of unemployment being a significant contributor to economic instability.
Jamaica was initially inhabited by Arawak’s and was initially known as the island land of wood of water. The Spanish later colonized the island in 1905 but were then thrown by the English, who introduced the slave trade. The slaves later rebelled, and the slave trade was eventually stopped in 1808 and freedom granted to the residents in 1838. Jamaica became an independent State in 1962. According to Beckles (2019), in modern-day Jamaica, political power has been seesawing between Jamaica Labor Party and Peoples National Party. Citizens have not explored their political rights much since this has been the status quo for some time. People vote for their favorite candidates without analyzing their manifestos.
High crime rates, unemployment, drugs, poverty, poor sanitization among others are the day to day challenges that an ordinary citizen goes through. Even as organizations seek to fight for the promotion of political rights, these are some of the struggles that need a solution. At the same time, these problems can only be solved through political empowerment. Citizens need to know how to evaluate candidates during elections. In this article, the reader gets to understand how indigenous people have lacked political power due to exclusion. The native people have been fighting for their rights, and have had little to no influence in politics.
All these said, political rights of indigenous people need to be taken seriously. They also want to enter into politics, be recognized and vie for positions where they can compete fairly with opponents. Since the 1960s, communal and inter-communal organizations rose, but they have lacked impact because they are maimed politically. Such organizations include Association Interétnica de Desarrollo de la Selva Peruana (AIDEP) and Inter-Ethnic Association for Development of the Peruvian Jungle (EADPJ). These organizations were later dismissed without achieving some of their goals, mainly due to poor planning. They were formed out of aggression and had not taken time to understand the root cause and challenges in the Caribbean countries that made citizens lack political rights.
In Jamaica, the general assembly promotes the protection of rights of indigenous people by a dong a declaration that ceased a debate on the rights of native people on the protection of their natural resources, maintenance of culture, governance, and traditions. The resolution on the protection of the rights of indigenous people states that "native peoples have the right to the recognition, observance, and enforcement of treaties" concluded with States or their successors (Wheatle, 2016). For this reason, not only Jamaica but all other Caribbean States have been empowered to fight for their political rights.
Some of the steps that have been taken towards promoting the political rights of indigenous people in the Caribbean States and other proposals that are yet to be implemented. Ivison (2014) notes that cold war has increased in the political arena over a dramatic outbreak of revolutions that are fighting for political rights. In Cuba for instance, hit the news headlines when it ordered to be a member of the Socialist States. Not only was the revolution for political reforms boiling in Cuba, but many Caribbean countries. The quest for the promotion of political rights of indigenous people has been geared by various groups but has not been achieved fully yet.
One major stumbling block has been division among citizens, given that the States are already divided by language. These groups have been unable to give the people the power to speak in one voice concerning their political views due to this division. Therefore, the first issue that any organization that wants to unite citizens of the Caribbean States should deal with is social inclusion achieved by bridging the gaps that exist. Gender mainstreaming to develop gender equality by providing advice and assessment on the impact of gender inequality should be a prime target, especially among populations in informal settlements.
This activity is particularly important to create awareness on the rights and abilities of each person despite their gender, promotion of women empowerment and teaching on political freedom. Once knowledge is instilled in citizens, the organization can conduct capacity building and training among local authorities, as they are the first form of government the citizens come across. Once the local government has been streamlined through the power of the people, they can arise and fight for the promotion of political rights at a national level.
Once citizens are aware of their political rights and responsibilities, relevant organizations need to be pushed to ensure their rights are protected. One major organization is the United Nations, which is a worldwide icon of Human Dignity. Local organizations also need to be vigilant to ensure indigenous people can exercise their political rights without fear of intimidation, which is one of the biggest concerns of many natives. The hate towards indigenous people in politics is so high, such that some have been unable to come out to exercise their rights. There have even been reports of intimidation, kidnapping and even murder as a way of keeping native people away from politics. These organizations will, therefore, protect the lives of all indigenous people.
Conclusion
As these articles have demonstrated, indigenous people have been suppressed, and their rights violated through exclusion from other States. Indigenous people should be protected from infringement of rights, repression or discrimination by the government, social organizations or individuals. It is time that all citizens rose up and realized their role in politics, supported by the government and human rights organizations. Once these three forces are joined, the political rights of indigenous people will be promoted.
Proposal Draft Resolution
Title: Promotion of the Political Rights of Indigenous People.
Preamble
Indigenous people have a right to protection from infringement of rights, repression or discrimination by the government, social organizations or individuals. However, despite the presence of lobby groups, indigenous people still need political awareness and empowerment. This is only achievable by ensuring national legislation and international rules that include the indigenous people in decision making at a local and national level are implemented. In so doing, the Caribbean States will receive adequate representation politically. Evidence of exclusion, the fight for promotion of political rights among indigenous people, declarations and agreements before, challenges that have been faced, and remedies to promote political rights are the issues addressed in this draft resolution.
Committee:
Sponsors:
Signatories:
Action Clauses
Whereas the Committee for…………., reminds the Caribbean Nations on the struggle for independence and the fight for political freedom by lobby groups in the past decade,
Whereas ……….reviews the agreement by the United Nations in July 1996 to protect the rights of indigenous people following the declaration that ceased a debate on the rights of native people, the protection of their natural resources, maintenance of culture, governance, and traditions,
Whereas ………bears in mind that some of the clauses of this declaration have not been fulfilled yet,
Whereas....…….. reminds natives, the Caribbean governments, and human rights organizations on their role in promoting the political rights of natives,
Whereas ……. proposes the continuation of the work started by lobby groups
Whereas ……. desiring that human activists be protected from cruelty and mistreatment
Be resolved that…….committee
Calls upon all Caribbean States to defend their respective constitutions aggressively and respect former freedom fighters.
Encourages all members of lobby groups to keep fighting for political equality for all indigenous people in the political arena
Emphasizes that the 1996 declaration on rights of indigenous people be implemented fully
Encourages lobby groups to ensure their laid down goals are achieved as per their timelines
Emphasizes the need for the United Nations to ensure indigenous people are respected and protected by the law
Condemns infringement on the political rights of indigenous people by individuals and governments
Urges humanitarian organizations to protect natives as they exercise their political rights
Takes note of awakening desire by natives to exercise political rights
Supports increased awareness of the need for better governance among indigenous people
Expresses its hope in lobby groups, through the help of human rights organizations to help promote political freedom
Desires that the government does not interfere with political freedom
Hopes all human right activists will be protected from harassment and mistreatment
Annotated Bibliography
Icaza, R. (2014). Global Europe, guilty! Contesting EU neoliberal governance for Latin America and the Caribbean. In EU Strategies on Governance Reform (pp. 133-150). Routledge.
This article summarizes the challenges that citizens in the Caribbean region go through regarding political freedom due to increased bureaucracy. It depicts the bi-regional governance of Caribbean States as a source of resistance since citizens feel their rights are being infringed. It explains how different lobby groups and movements have come up, all with the thought of neoliberalism, seeking cognitive justice. These groups aim at sensitizing citizens on global and regional governance and their roles in the political arena. Although this is never free of tension, it significantly contributes to justice and unveiling of broken and irresponsible leadership.
Wheatle, S. S. (2016). The rights to equality and non-discrimination and the Jamaican charter of fundamental rights and freedoms.
This article is an extract of the Jamaican constitution, summarizing on referendums, legislation, political parties, bill of rights, civic education and voting, and symbolism. In this paper , the author summarizes the rights of citizens on basic human rights. Wheatle also addresses rights that pertain association, movement and political affiliation, and especially among the native people.
Witter, M. (2017). Prospects for Jamaica’s Economic Development in the Era of the FTAA. The Caribbean Economies in an Era of Free Trade (pp. 169-186). Routledge.
This article analyzes the current economic condition of Jamaica, especially after entry into free Trade Area of The Americas (FTAA) This entry has been spelled out as liberalization, with sugar and banana markets, which have been historically very important to the Caribbean economy, being given up since the 1950s. The turn-around has forced Jamaica to shift from sale of goods to services as the main source of the country’s income. It also gives an insight on the natural resources that Jamaica is endowed with.
Beckles, H. M. (2019). Running in Jamaica: A Slavery Ecosystem. The William and Mary Quarterly , 76 (1), 9-14.
This article is a summary of the origin of Jamaica as a state,how Jamaica was a peaceful island until The Spaniards colonized them. They were later overthrown by English, who introduced slave trade. When the slave trade was banned, the natives were able to fight for their rights, and Jamaica was later declared an independent State.
Ivison, D., Patton, P., & Sanders, W. (Eds.). (2014). Political theory and the rights of indigenous peoples . Cambridge University Press.
This article sheds light on the challenges faced by indigenous people in their social, economic and political life. High crime rates, unemployment, drugs, poverty, sanitization among others are the day to day challenges that an ordinary citizen goes through. All these problems need political power for them to solved, since they are responsibilities of the government. Ivison is keen to outline the challenges of being born and bred in a humble background in the Caribbean countries, especially where basic amenities are not available.
