In 2006, Tuhi Mar­tu­kaw, then studying in the Department of Diplomacy at National Cheng­chi University, went with the Taiwan Foundation for Democracy to attend a meeting of the United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues, making connections for further activism on international issues of concern to Aboriginal peoples. Since then, Tuhi has actively sought out every opportunity to participate in the UNPFII and related meetings.

the LIMA Taiwan Indigenous Youth Working Group

The founding of LIMA

The first few times that Tuhi Mar­tu­kaw attended the UNPFII, she went as part of a group from a particular agency or institution. But in 2009, while studying in Germany, she sought out like-minded people concerned about indigenous issues and they formed an improvised group to go to the forum. The members came from all over, some being students studying overseas, others being based in Taiwan. For this reason it was impossible for them to gather for preparatory discussions before going.

Before the trip they didn’t really have a chance to get to know each other, and for many it was only when they arrived at the airport in the host country that they ­actually met face to face for the first time. But as far as the other delegations were concerned, Tuhi and her party represented Taiwan’s indigenous peoples, and each time any of them spoke, it was a reflection on Taiwan’s image. If any member of the group said something inappropriate, or if there were differences of opinion within the group, this would create contradictions in the way others perceived Taiwan’s presumed representatives. This forced Tuhi to come to grips with the importance of dealing with problems like loose organizational structure and lack of time to reach consensus.

For Tuhi, participation in international conferences on indigenous issues is a long-term strategy that requires a standing, coherent group of partners with concern for and consensus on these matters. Therefore she decided to gather together some young Aboriginal people from among her circle of friends and acquaintances and form a permanent organization, rather than simply drumming up an ad-hoc batch of people.

She recruited young indigenous people with various backgrounds, including urban and rural development, land policy, linguistics, and law, and they chose the word “LIMA” as their name, because it is common to many Austronesian languages and creates a sense of inclusiveness and connectedness. And so the LIMA Taiwan Indigenous Youth Working Group was formed in 2013, with Tuhi as its director.

Since 2013, when LIMA attended the 12th UNPFII and its peripheral meetings, they have always organized reading groups to prepare themselves. For example, for the first year, given the theme of “the current status of indigenous peoples in the world,” LIMA prepared materials that looked at that subject from angles as diverse as climate change, health and healthcare, and the environment. Members did individual research on subjects of personal interest, and the group invited experts to join in their discussion sessions. These measures provided group members with concepts that they would need to participate in relevant forums, as well as practice in expressing and presenting their views.

Since its founding, the LIMA Taiwan Indigenous Youth Working Group has participated every year in the United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues.

Human rights issues are Aboriginal issues

It is commonly assumed that most issues of concern to indigenous people revolve around education and culture. But Tuhi emphasizes that all human rights problems are relevant to indigenous peoples. However, in the current Aboriginal movement you rarely hear people talk about these other issues, whether at the level of policy or just general orientation. There is also little exchange or interaction with non-indigenous NGOs, because they don’t understand the lives of indigenous people. It is for these reasons that LIMA wants to be active in issue areas beyond only education and culture, and you can see their presence, home and abroad, at all kinds of conferences as well as at reviews of international legal instruments.

Although the ROC is not in the UN, in 2009 Taiwan voluntarily adopted the two most important international legal instruments related to human rights: the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, and the International Covenant on Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights. Following the UN model, Taiwan invites international experts to come here periodically to review the implementation of these agreements.

LIMA has participated in the review of the two conventions since its first year in existence. Here’s how the process works: After getting reports from both the host government and the non-governmental sector, international experts hold several days of public hearings before presenting their “concluding observations and recommendations.” Each ministry is then required to produce a report in response to the experts’ views, and non-­governmental groups will follow up on whether the government amends relevant laws or measures.

Before the ROC government drafts its reports, it first meets with NGOs, one of them being LIMA, and the NGOs continue to take part in follow-up meetings with the government. Early in 2017, when international experts came for Taiwan’s second review, they investigated whether or not improvements suggested in the first review had in fact been implemented. They spoke with LIMA and other NGOs, who regularly followed up on the government’s progress. Although in many respects—such as the issue of disposal of nuclear waste—there has been only limited progress, causing some people to question the effectiveness of the authorities’ actions, LIMA members have still maintained their communication with the government.

In 2014 LIMA also participated in a review conference on the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (1981). And LIMA will also make its presence felt at international conferences scheduled to be held later this year on the Convention on the Rights of the Child (1990) and the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (2006).

To participate in reviews of any convention, LIMA members have to digest an enormous amount of data and attend countless seminars and discussion sessions. While the process can be exhausting, it permits them to take what they have learned at international conferences and translate it back into substantive policy positions in Taiwan. Being able to compare the contents of these conventions or link them to domestic laws lends real depth to the reading group discussions and makes them much more meaningful. It is even possible that observations made in field research, or actual experiences of life in Aboriginal communities, can be manifested in international review conferences. This permits policymaking to genuinely address the vital issues of life in these communities, and within the communities themselves, to precipitate changes in ways of thinking or in how things are done.

Drawing on the capabilities of young indigenous people from many backgrounds, Tuhi Martukaw (first from left) and the members of LIMA try to participate in as many international meetings as possible.

Beyond street demonstrations

Taiwan’s sensitive diplomatic status sometimes makes it hard for LIMA to formally participate in the UNPFII, but they still are active in the specialized meetings (e.g. the Pacific Working Group or Youth Working Group sessions) that are held in conjunction with the forum. This year LIMA attended the UNPFII preparatory conference for Asia, held in Thailand, allowing them to share the recent Ke­ta­ga­lan Boulevard protest movement with activists from other lands. But it is important to remember, Tuhi Mar­tu­kaw remarks, that the issue of land rights is a long-standing one, and hasn’t arisen just because of the Ke­ta­galan protest. Boosting public understanding and visibility of Aboriginal issues through as many channels as possible is precisely what LIMA has itself been doing.

Back in Taiwan, LIMA holds workshops, and through innovative activities like providing opportunities to sample handmade indigenous foods, or rewriting song lyrics, they hope to help the general public understand that participation in indigenous issues doesn’t have to involve obscure legal and political discourse. And the sharing of daily life experiences creates opportunities for dialogue between different indigenous peoples and different generations.

The members of LIMA often bring ideas about indigenous issues to bear in their professional work or academic research. For example, Tuhi Mar­tu­kaw is a news anchor with Taiwan Indigenous TV, and when she reports international stories she focuses on things that are relevant to Taiwan, such as climate change or land development. LIMA member ­Eleng Ka­za­ngil­jan is another example. During a meeting of a reading group he introduced the case of Peru’s “Potato Park Communities.” Other members of the group were then able to tie this back in to the cultivation of traditional foods by Taiwan’s indigenous peoples and the preservation of biodiversity, providing different perspectives in the context of a world in which economics seems to take precedence over every­thing else.

Recently more and more young indigenous people in Taiwan have taken note of the groundwork being laid by LIMA in regard to issues that affect them. When friends of LIMA members encounter issues relevant to Taiwan’s Aboriginal peoples, they often go to LIMA members to ask about how these issues are being handled internationally, for comparison with the situation in Taiwan. These under-the-radar transformations are an affirmation for all the work the LIMA members have put in.

But if you ask them about the sense of purpose that drives them to volunteer time out of their busy schedules for LIMA, they are modest. As ­Eleng says, “I can’t really say we’re on any kind of grandiose mission here. But if we can get a bit more done on behalf of indigenous peoples than would have been done otherwise, that’s very gratifying.” The hope is that LIMA can continue to attract more young Aboriginal people to participate in public affairs, so that the new ideas and energy of the young can help create a better life on the ground in indigenous communities.        

Drawing on the capabilities of young indigenous people from many backgrounds, Tuhi Martukaw and the members of LIMA try to participate in as many international meetings as possible.

During the “Sunflower” student protest movement, LIMA held an indigenous youth forum right at the protest site, showing how they take advantage of every channel for getting their message out.

During the “Sunflower” student protest movement, LIMA held an indigenous youth forum right at the protest site, showing how they take advantage of every channel for getting their message out.

LIMA holds a variety of low-key activities like salons and sharing sessions—or just hanging out in someone’s apartment—to encourage dialogue among Taiwan’s different indigenous peoples.

the LIMA Taiwan Indigenous Youth Working Group

One of the international groupings in which LIMA participates is the Global Indigenous Youth Caucus (GIYC). LIMA always aims to bring what they have learned abroad back home and use it to make a brighter future on the ground in Aboriginal communities. (photo courtesy of GIYC)