I. Introduction
1. A Regional Workshop on the Outcome Document of the World Conference on Indigenous Peoples for East and Central Africa (the Workshop) was organised by the African Commission’s Working Group on Indigenous Populations/Communities (the WGIP or the Working Group) in collaboration with the Mbororo Social and Cultural Development Association (MBOSCUDA) in Yaoundé, the Republic of Cameroon, from 15 to 16 December 2015.
2. The Workshop brought together a total of 35 participants representing states, national human rights institutions, civil society organisations, media professionals as well as members of the Working Group and the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UN SRIP). Eight Central and Eastern African States were represented, including Burundi, Cameroon, Congo, Kenya, Uganda, Central African Republic, the Democratic Republic of Congo and Tanzania. (See Annex I for a complete list of participants).
II. Objectives of the Workshop
3. The objectives of the workshop were to:
Ø Inform and raise awareness among participants on the content of the Outcome Document, and other relevant international legal instruments on the rights of indigenous peoples;
Ø Promote ownership of the Outcome Document for broader dissemination at national and local levels;
Ø Initiate dialogue among various stakeholders in order to make the Outcome Document operational at national and local levels.
III. Items on the Agenda
4. The participants exchanged views on various issues relating to the rights of indigenous peoples in Central and East Africa. The discussions focused particularly on the following issues: the presentation of the various aspects of the Outcome Document; the rights guaranteed and commitments made under the UNDRIP and ILO Convention No. 169; the principle of free, prior and informed consent as contained in the Outcome Document; indigenous women and children vis-à-vis the Outcome Document; good practices in Africa in the promotion and protection of the rights of indigenous peoples; the role of various stakeholders in awareness raising and the ratification of relevant human rights instruments and the adoption of laws, policies and programmes aimed at recognising, promoting and protecting the rights of indigenous peoples as well as the role of various interested parties in the follow-up and monitoring of implementation (see Annex 2 for the agenda of the Regional Workshop).
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