Friends of the Lubicon
PO Box 444 Stn D,
Etobicoke ON M9A 4X4
Tel: (416) 763-7500
Email: fol (at) tao (dot) ca
www.lubicon.ca
May 2, 2006
Lubicon Nation Councilor Alphonse Ominayak addressed the United Nations Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights yesterday in Geneva.
He told the Committee that Canada has failed to implement two successive UN decisions on the plight of the Lubicon Nation and that the situation of the Lubicon people is getting worse.
He noted that last October the UN Human Rights Committee (UNHRC) told Canada to "make every effort to resume negotiations with the Lubicon Lake Band, with a view to finding a solution which respects the rights of the Band under the Covenant, as already found by the Committee. It should consult with the Band before granting licences for economic exploitation of the disputed land, and ensure that in no case such exploitation jeopardizes the rights recognized under the Covenant".
Since that time there have been no negotiations between Canada and the Lubicon Nation.
In the six months since the UNHRC told Canada to "consult with the Band before granting licences for economic exploitation of the disputed land, and ensure that in no case such exploitation jeopardizes the rights recognized under the Covenant", the Alberta government has sold gas and oil leases and exploration licences to over 65,000 hectares of unceded Lubicon traditional Territory, approved 50 new oil and gas wells and approved almost 50 new pipelines.
Copies of the Lubicon submission and background documentation are available here.
The United Nations Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights will ask questions of Canada on Friday, May 5, in Geneva.
fol-request at masses.tao.ca