Russia (bbabo.net), - The country's government has developed amendments to the law "On the general principles of organizing communities of indigenous peoples of the North, Siberia and the Far East of the Russian Federation." The document is planned to be considered at the spring session of the State Duma in March 2022. But first he was sent to the regions to discuss and make proposals.
Anna Davydova, Deputy of the Legislative Assembly of the Kamchatka Territory:
- The bill, if adopted, will seriously change the rules for the activities of indigenous communities. It will allow to eliminate the currently controversial points. Of the significant advantages - a ban on double registration. This means that a person can only be a member of one community, while now there are cases of dual membership. Only representatives of indigenous peoples have the right to become chairmen of communities. And these organizations can include no more than a third of people who are not indigenous, but who permanently live in places of traditional residence of small peoples and carry out traditional economic activities.
It is also proposed to reduce the age of joining communities from 16 to 14. After all, children learn from their parents, and the sooner teenagers belonging to indigenous peoples can participate in hunting and fishing, the closer their national traditions will be to them.
In addition, the draft law proposes to introduce mandatory registration of members of indigenous communities (indicating the date of entry into the community, exit from it, place of actual residence, traditional way of life, traditional economic activity).
Veronika Dry, Head of the Association of Indigenous Minorities of the Amur Region:
- There are 26 communities in the Amur Region that receive state support for reindeer breeding. And a few more, where deer are not bred, they are engaged in various taiga trades. The main indigenous people in the region are the Evenks.
The first thing I want to note in the new bill is the expansion of the types of activities that communities can engage in. The former law contains only the phrase "non-profit organization" with all the ensuing circumstances. The proposed draft law allows communities to engage in any type of activity (including traditional) that is provided for by its charter and does not contradict the legislation of the Russian Federation.
Further. There are people, from birth, living in the same territory and engaged in the same types of traditional activities as representatives of indigenous peoples. But they are not Evenks, if we talk about the Amur region. With the adoption of new amendments, they can also participate in the life of communities, be part of them and enjoy the same rights as the indigenous peoples, by decision of the general meeting. For example, in our village of Ust-Urkima, Tyndinsky district, there is a Russian who is engaged in reindeer herding and knows the Evenki language no worse than the Evenk. There are many such examples in the Amur region.
There is another very important nuance for us. Family members of citizens from among indigenous peoples are equated to members of the community. The rights and obligations of such persons, including the procedure and nature of their participation in the economic activities of the community, will also be determined by its charter.
Elena Golomareva, Chairman of the Committee of the Parliament of Yakutia on Indigenous Peoples of the North and Arctic Affairs:
- Representatives of six indigenous peoples of the North live in Yakutia: Evenks, Evens, Dolgans, Yukaghirs, Chukchis and Russian Arctic old-timers. In total, there are 40 thousand of them - this is 16 percent of the total number of indigenous peoples of Russia. About 200 communities are registered in the republic, which lead a traditional way of life: they herd deer, fish and hunt.
In recent years, there are only two dozen real communities in the Khabarovsk Territory, and several times more false ones
For them, the bill provides for a number of important changes. These include the concretization of Article 8: one person cannot be a member of two tribal communities at the same time. A lot of work has been done to include northerners in a single list of small peoples, which will simplify the registration of benefits, pensions and benefits due to people. And the elimination of duplication will help to find out the exact number of tribal communities throughout the country.
For many years tribal communities were held back by economic restrictions due to their non-profit status. The new amendments give the green light to entrepreneurship among indigenous peoples. This will help preserve and develop their potential, which is especially important in a changing world.
What hasn't been decided yet? The Association of Indigenous Minorities of Yakutia today speaks of the need to eliminate the contradictions between the Land Code of the Russian Federation and the federal law "On Guarantees of the Rights of Indigenous Minorities". It is necessary to ensure the free use of ancestral lands for traditional farming. Only then will we be able to talk about saving people and preserving the territories of traditional nature management for future generations.Lubov Odzyal, President of the Association of Indigenous Minorities of the Khabarovsk Territory, Ph.D.:
- The Law on Communities in the form in which it exists now is simply created so that unscrupulous businessmen can conduct their business under the guise of indigenous peoples. I really hope that the new rules will put the system in order.
In the Khabarovsk Territory, there are big problems in the field of fishing as a traditional occupation of indigenous peoples. The quick profits that fishing can bring attract many non-Aboriginal entrepreneurs. In recent years, there are only two dozen real communities in our region, and several times more false ones. They are engaged in fishing, using quotas of small peoples. The situation is complicated by the fact that the founders of communities still have the right to be people who are not representatives of indigenous people. I personally know such individuals - the structures they organize are located in places where the indigenous peoples do not live at all. In the Komsomolsk region, for example, this has become a mass phenomenon.
It is very good that the law is trying to solve the dual membership situation. The latter does not always mean that a person himself joined two or even three communities. Everything is simpler: "obtained" the personal data of the indigenous people, enrolled these people in your "organization" - and apply for fishing. Now federal lists are being made, a register of indigenous peoples is being formed, perhaps this will also help to restore order. In the meantime, it is impossible to prevent the fact that you will be recorded in several communities. It is not uncommon: a person applies for fishing and is refused, while many suspect that a quota for a pseudo-community has already been issued for their personal data. How to avoid such danger? No way. We need strict accounting in state organizations. Now only the first steps are being taken. A global verification of communities is needed - especially those that receive large limits on members, submit lists of several hundred people.
At the same time, there is another problem: real communities are on the verge of closing due to impoverishment. But these are legal entities that pay 100% fees for UBR (and not 15%, like industrial enterprises), taxes, state duties, bookkeeping, reporting, connected to the Mercury system. And now they are given quotas only to provide for members of the community. It is not right. Some of the communities are city-forming enterprises in remote national villages. They provide support to budgetary institutions, assist in holding national cultural events. They need funds to run their business. Therefore, it is so important to allow this activity and allocate a fish limit to the community as a legal entity, and not just to its members for subsistence.
bbabo.Net