Indigenous groups protest over proposed land delineation guidelines

The exclusion of private land in recent delineation guidelines published by the Council of Indigenous Peoples has been met by a wave of vehement protest within the indigenous community. On March 14, Taiwanese indigenous groups held a land-rights justice forum where representatives from indigenous tribes and allied groups called for the government to retract recently proposed land guidelines, which are believed will result in the fragmentation of traditional land.

The traditional area refers to the land that indigenous peoples originally lived on, which according to a 2007 survey by the Council of Indigenous Peoples covers an estimated area of 1.8 million hectares – 50% of the total land of Taiwan. As soon as guidelines covering traditional land come into legal effect, indigenous people will be entitled to free, prior and informed consent (FPIC), meaning that landlords must first negotiate with indigenous people and obtain consent before initiating any major development projects. 

As for the question of whether or not to include private land, the Council of Indigenous Peoples responded that private property rights are guaranteed by the country’s constitution. It added that any misgivings surrounding the Constitution regarding the incorporation of private land can be raised by Indigenous legislators through the proper judicial proceedings or the ‘Statute Governing Promotion of Transitional Justice (促進轉型正義條例草案)’. 

The struggle of indigenous peoples for land-rights justice remains ongoing. Whether the final agreement can provide indigenous peoples with land-right justice and safeguard the property rights of private land will require further communication and consultation with the government.

Indigenous groups protest over proposed land delineation guidelines 

URL：https://www.peopo.org/news/332007

(以下是中文對照)

劃設辦法惹議 原住民團體反彈

近日行政院原住民委員會公布原住民族土地劃設辦法，未納入私有土地而引發原住民反彈，3月14日，原住民團體舉行土地正義論壇，各族議會代表以及結盟團體齊聚一堂，一同呼籲退回土地劃設辦法，以免造成傳統領域的破碎化。

傳統領域是指原住民原本的生活領域，根據原住民委員會調查，傳統領域面積估計為180萬公頃，總共占國土面積高達50%，一旦按照劃設辦法納入傳統領域，即可賦予原住民「諮商同意權」，一旦有對土地衝擊較大的開發，地主必須向部落協商並且取得同意才可執行。

關於是否劃分私有土地的爭議，原住民委員會回應，私有財產權是受憲法保障，若納入私有土地有牴觸憲法的疑慮，而有原住民立委則提出，可以透過司法訴訟或促進轉型正義條例來通案解決。

目前，原住民的抗爭還在持續當中，是否有辦法既還給原住民土地正義，又保障到私有土地的財產權，還有待政府透過溝通及協商來解決。