Upper Mazaruni Indigenous group to appeal portions of High Court ruling

Dec 18, 2022 News

Kaieteur News- The Upper Mazaruni District Council (UMDC) on Saturday said that it intends to appeal portions of the High Court ruling on the rights of the Akawaio and Arecuna people’s rights to Upper Mazaruni lands.

Chief Justice (Ag) Roxane George-Wiltshire on Friday ruled in the decades-old Amerindian land rights case that while the Akawaio and Arecuna people have rights to the Upper Mazaruni lands which were in dispute for over two decases – their rights are not in exclusion to others.

The group, in a statement which followed a press conference, said though it feels it emerged victorious in the case, there is some concern that the Chief Justice “did not elaborate on precisely what it means to have communal title and what she meant by the exclusions to our title.”

As a result, the group said it will appeal portions of the ruling that would allow the Government to control their lands. “We plan to appeal to the Court of Appeal on the portions of the ruling that leave room for the government to continue infringing on our communal land title,” the UMDC said.

The UMDC maintains that the court has reaffirmed its position that the government must first seek and obtain consent prior to any projects that it intends to undertake in the area.

The group is also claiming rights to carbon credits generated on the land.

The UMDC noted that “because it is our land, the government must seek and obtain consent prior to any projects that it intends to undertake involving these credits.”

“We expect the government to live up to its repeated commitments in this regard, as well as international law obligations. Free, prior, and informed consent is an incident of property rights of Indigenous peoples, and the 1959 District has been judicially declared to be our property, something we have always known,” the group said.

The UMDC said too that it is their understanding that, in light of the Court’s ruling, Government agencies such as the Guyana Geology and Mines Commission (GGMC) and Guyana Forestry Commission (GFC) do not have the authority to issue any concessions in the communal lands without the express permission of their communities.

“We intend to write to various Government agencies to formally notify them of this position. In addition, we intend to seek advice and information regarding the status of concessions granted between 1998 [when the case was filed] and the date of this judgment. Our communities are the clear victors in this case,” the group added in the statement.

The Indigenous people of the Upper Mazaruni District have long sought legal title for recognition of their rights to traditional and ancestral lands.

The CJ’s ruling has brought the curtains down on the 1998 case, which was before the Demerara High Court.

The land dispute case was filed against the State by the Akawaio and Arecuna Indigenous peoples who were represented by Nigel Hughes. The State was represented by the Attorney General.

The two groups approached the court seeking declarations that they not only have rights to the land they deem ancestral land but exclusive rights to the lands in question.

In her ruling, the Chief Justice confirmed that the Indigenous groups have rights to the lands in dispute albeit not exclusive.

The Akawaio and Arecuna people argued that that from time immemorial, they continuously occupied the Upper Mazaruni lands and by virtue of this, they have inalienable rights to the lands.

In her explanation, Justice George-Wiltshire said that she could not declare that the Indigenous Peoples have rights exclusive to the lands because those rights are subjected to the State.

Further, the Chief Justice said while traditionally, from the 1800s and onwards, there was a practice by the Akawaio and Arecuna people to occupy the disputed lands evidence presented to the court shows that non-indigenous persons have been occupying the lands.

The two Indigenous groups were awarded $250,000 in costs.