PESTICIDES, TRIBAL HEALTH, AND

HUMAN RIGHTS, NORTH AND SOUTH

“States shall take effective measures to ensure that no storage or disposal of hazardous materials
shall take place in the lands or territories of indigenous peoples without their free, prior and
informed consent.”

--- Article 29, para. 2, United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples

In 1997 a University of Arizona scientist conducted a study of the health effects of

industrial agricultural pesticides in the homelands of the Yaqui Indians in Sonora,
Mexico, a few hours south of the border (Yaquis are federally recognized in both the
US and Mexico). Yaquis living or working near the fields are exposed to frequent
aerial spraying of pesticides. For some, their only source of water is contaminated
irrigation canals. Yaqui farm workers carry poisons home in pesticides-soaked
clothing, unknowingly spreading the contamination to their children.

This study detected high levels of pesticides in the cord blood of newborns and in
mother’s milk, and found birth defects, learning and development disabilities,
leukemia and other severe health problems in Yaqui children. Cancer and other
serious illnesses are very high among family member of all ages. Deaths from acute pesticides
poisoning are increasing.

US tribal communities are also affected by contamination passed on through the food chain and the
natural environment. Because these toxics bio-accumulate, persist and travel in the environment,
moving to the North, Arctic Indigenous Peoples (Alaska, Canada and Greenland) report high levels of
contamination of mothers’ breast milk and subsistence foods. Dangerous pesticides use in the US
has increased 33 times since 1945. Programs to start aerial spraying of pesticides and herbicides
are being proposed in South East Alaska and in the Matanuska Valley!

US POLICY ALLOWS PRODUCTION AND EXPORT OF BANNED PESTICIDES

Industrialized countries such as the United States continue to produce and export toxic chemicals
including pesticides to “developing” countries even after they have been banned in their own
countries due to well known serious health effects. The International Journal of Occupational and
Environmental Health noted that between 1996 and 2000, the United States exported nearly 1.1
billion pounds of pesticides identified as known or suspected carcinogens, an average rate of almost
16 tons per hour. Most were sent to the developing world for use in agriculture. The World Health
Organization estimates that pesticides kill at least 20,000 men women and children each year, and
millions suffer chronic illnesses as a result of exposure to these toxins. The development, health and
potential of our Future Generations is at stake. Nursing infants, young children and unborn babies in
their mothers’ wombs are the most severely harmed.

“From a traditional perspective, the health of our Peoples cannot be separated from the health of
our environment, the practice of our spirituality and the expression of our inherent right to self-
determination, upon which the mental, physical and social health of our communities is based.”
 PESTICIDES, TRIBAL HEALTH, AND HUMAN RIGHTS,
Page 2 NORTH AND SOUTH

PESTICIDES, HUMAN RIGHTS AND INTERNATIONAL LAW

In 2001, the UN Rapporteur on the Adverse Effects of the Illicit Movement and Dumping of Toxic and
Dangerous Products and Wastes on the Enjoyment of Human Rights used harsh words to describe
the US practice of exporting chemicals and pesticides banned domestically to developing nations:
“Just because something is not illegal, it may still be immoral. Allowing the export of products
recognized to be harmful is immoral”.

The production, export and unmonitored use of banned,

Pesticides pollute the air, soil, and water
where they are used, and near factories
where they are made...
prohibited and dangerous toxics including pesticides violates a
range of human rights for Indigenous Peoples around the
world. Many of these rights are protected under International
Laws and Conventions. These rights include the Rights of the
Child, Right to Health, Food Security, Development, Life,
Physical Integrity, Free Prior Informed Consent, Cultural Rights,
the Right to be Free from all Forms of Racism and Racial
Discrimination and the Right of All Peoples not to be Deprived
of Their Own Means of Subsistence.

Indigenous Peoples were involved in bringing about a legally-binding International Treaty for the
Elimination of 12 of the worst “Persistent Organic Pollutants” (POPs), including 9 Pesticides. This
Treaty, sometimes called the Stockholm Convention, went into effect 2004 . The Convention calls for
the “precautionary principle”, which means that chemicals should not be used or released until they
are proven to be safe for the environment and human health. Unfortunately, most governments and
corporations still do not abide by the “precautionary principle”.
We use no pesticides. Why should we
be poisoned?

The United Nations has been alerted to this problem, which

affects Indigenous Peoples' health and human rights in and
outside the US. Testimonies from impacted community
members have been submitted to UN human rights bodies
by the International Indian Treaty Council. The UN has
questioned both the US and Mexico about policies and
practices allowing dangerous and banned substances to be
produced, exported and used. More awareness and support
is needed by tribal leaders, tribal members and the general
public to call upon the United States to halt these practices.
...they also drift on the air and water and poison
people far away from where they are used.

FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT:

The International Indian Treaty Council: andrea@treatycouncil.org
The North-South Indigenous Network Against Pesticides: sara@treatycouncil.org
Alaska Community Action on Toxics: shawna@akaction.org
Log on to: www.treatycouncil.org
July 2008